NEWS: With hype high, iPhone may have to fight a flop

[spacerog]

With hype high, iPhone may have to fight a flop
http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/070625/iphone_hype.html?.v=1

As the press feeds the iPhone frenzy ahead of its U.S. launch on Friday, experts say the wireless device could easily top a long list of digital duds, all of them once touted as "The Next Big Thing."

"God himself could not design a device that could live up to all the hype that the iPhone has gotten," said David Platt, a computer science professor at Harvard University.

Idiots.

- SR

[Marksman]

Harvard is for dummies!

[Knowsall]

Soooo Agreed Spacerog.
Idiots

[Spin This!]

Idiots? So someone is an idiot if they don't agree with your point of view? Grow up. Flop is certainly an overstatement but the author brings up some good talking points.

There seems to be two sides here: those either love it or hate it. For those who hate it, their mind is pretty much already made up—they hate AT&T or Apple, they feel the price is too expensive, they already have an iPod, or...(insert a reason here).

"God himself could not design a device that could live up to all the hype that the iPhone has gotten," said David Platt, a computer science professor at Harvard University.

I think the professor's comment is more facetious than anything else. It's almost a compliment to Apple's ability to get people to provide hype & publicity generating. I mean, who wouldn't want to have the kind of publicity Apple is getting?

For those who (will) love it, let's hope the novelty doesn't wear thin. People expecting the world out of this phone are surely not going to get it and complain at the top of their lungs how the phone didn't live up to the hype, how the touchscreen interface sucks, etc etc.

What really wasn't discussed is what's considered a flop? If Apple makes the 10 M mark, would the iPhone still be considered a flop? What was M$'s target with the Zune? As greedy as M$ is, I don't think they ever intended to overthrow the iPod... just grab a piece of the market—just as Apple's doing with the cell phone market.

[jswan]

I thought this line was kind of silly:

"You can imagine iPhone will be the miracle box that solves all problems ... but when you actually have your hands on it and realize it takes five or six button presses to get something, then you start to get annoyed," he said.

Five or six button presses? Five or six? Seriously? Compared to existing phones, that's phenomenal. Add to that the fact that you'll be pressing nice big onscreen buttons instead of tiny plastic buttons. The iPhone has faults, but ease of use is pretty unlikely to be one of them, in my opinion.

[TrippalHealicks]

I thought this line was kind of silly:

"You can imagine iPhone will be the miracle box that solves all problems ... but when you actually have your hands on it and realize it takes five or six button presses to get something, then you start to get annoyed," he said.

Five or six button presses? Five or six? Seriously? Compared to existing phones, that's phenomenal. Add to that the fact that you'll be pressing nice big onscreen buttons instead of tiny plastic buttons. The iPhone has faults, but ease of use is pretty unlikely to be one of them, in my opinion.

I don't even see where or how it would take 5 button presses to get anywhere, anyway!!?!?

[Ranged30]

Man the Microsoft people are out in force today trying to hate on Mac as usual. If you don't like the phone or want the phone then why are you posting in this forum?

[applefreak]

Anyone who swears fealty to a corporation and isn't a shareholder or sponsored is an idiot. Some of you are sounding like PS3 fanboys before launch day.

Apple is genius in marketing and building anticipation for new products. Can iphone live up to the hype? Maybe. Most probably not at launch day if they sell anything short of the 3 million units Apple says will be available. Recall that the ipod first sold a few hundred thousand on launch day, and that was a new market with little competition. Not to mention no service contracts impeding 65% of the available customers.

The first thing the press is going to do is examine Apple's sales by Monday with a magnifying glass and they will be critical, causing the stock to take a hit. Who cares? I'll have my iphone and eventually it will become more popular than the Razr while transforming the industry to create much better phones.

I believe you guys will be shocked when posts start coming in on Friday night and throughout the weekend that other than big metro stores this phone was a lot easier to get than the press made it out to be. People in the suburbs and rural areas will probably have days to pick one up from the initial shipment.

[blackoutcrl]

go play with an excel sheet or something....

[theraker007]

you have to admit though the expectations are astronomical, any slight mishap with the phone and people will go ape ****