blending the mix

thanks for the montage erniea

I, like mobile crunch, decided not to comment on the iphone yesterday (just to get myself some cheap traffic from technorati) until I had digested its features and capabilities, but one thing stands out above all else:

IT IS THE ONLY PHONE APPLE PRODUCE

Consider the wider mobile phone market. With at least 6 major manufacturers bringing out around between 10 and 20 new models a year for many different reasons, just how will the iphone compete?

Fashion, business, size, gender, status and colour are just a handful of reasons why there are a plethora of different models on the market. After all, Nokia pioneered the personalised phone for good reason and look how many different models THEY have.

Whether you want a phone that does everything you need (say SE P990i), email (Blackberry), or just a plain and simple device to make phone calls (now that’s a good idea!) the current manufacturers have created a plentiful mix of models to suit all tastes and requirements - because not everyone wants the same thing from a phone.

Does Apple think it can be all things to all people - especially in the mobile phone world? There is much more to breaking the mobile phone market than having a nice looking piece of kit.

Sure, people will buy the iphone (or whatever it ends up having to be called because of this) because it is Apple. But, think back to how many mobile phones you may have bought over the years because it was the latest phone only to get hacked-off with it soon after.

Beauty over Brains.

Does Apple in fact, run the risk of having its whole brand damaged by what could potentially be a medium-term failure?

What happens when the early-adopters soon get hacked-off when use of the browser and movie player and image viewer and email restrict ACTUAL phone use to a few minutes here and there? What happens when the PC-crowd can’t get to grips with the OS X operating system (although the mobile crowd tend to accept changes in OS when switching between phones) and what if the current iphone doesn’t quite look so great when Nokia or SE release their next generation of phones?

What else does Apple have in the pot? Hang one…why do they need to? The have one phone that doesn everything.

Unless the iphone’s USP(s) of allowing a full mobile internet and telephone experience with no shortfall in performance of the device’s core function - conversation then I honestly hope that Apple try and keep up with the other manufacturer’s so that it becomes the product I SO hope it attempts to be!

Hey, at the very best I have only seen the WSJ video of the phone so I can’t really criticise it but by god do I want one!

Tags: iphone, apple, mobilecrunch, nokia, se, sonyericsson, osx

My Sony laptop is on the verge of packing in, after years and years of (ab)use it is at death’s door.

The CD drive does not allow me to burn back-up discs anymore and it is pot luck as to whether or not it will work from one day to the next.

So, I am offering a unique opportunity to sponsor ME.

Apple, Microsoft, Dell, or indeed any company willing to provide me with a half-decent laptop will have their name mentioned as part of my email signature.

In ALL communications in which I participate and which requires me to use the laptop (pretty much all the time!), I will apply the following signature text for a full 12 months (and I WILL provide weekly evidence of this):

Paul Fabretti

Director

Written on an Apple Macbook Pro by Company X.

Or

"Written using the latest Dell Precision M90"

or whatever suits the company providing it! You get the picture!

I may even think about something that sounds good too!

I am a minimum 3-times a day, 3-blog blogger with a (growing) average 800 unique visitors per month (ok, not a lot but growing all the time!). I am an active member of linked-in, openbc, ecademy as well as the pinkomarketing wiki and google group.

I am also an eBay (UK) Gold Power seller. A link to the company providing my laptop will also be included in ALL my eBay auctions.

Some will no doubt snigger at the visitor numbers (and advertisers may balk at the numbers!) but I am an extremely active member of the communities in which I mix, and present you with an opportunity to touch business professionals deeper than any banner ad would.

If this is of interest to you and you would be able to provide me with a laptop, I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Tags: ebay, Dell, Apple, Macbook Pro, laptop, pinko marketing

Gizmodo reports that Motorola has teamed up with Skype to offer a bluetooth connected headset for telephone calls which also acts as a set of normal bluetooth music headphones.

The clever part is that the music is stopped when you receive a call, much like on a Sony Ericsson w800i mobile phone (or other!)
In theory, I think this is a great idea, but it isn’t exactly wireless roaming is it? Although a step in the right direction, I cannot imagine MANY people would be happily sat around the house or office with these things on, listening to music waiting for phone calls!

Technorati Tags: Motorola, Skype