CityBeat
newsanalysis by Tony Seaton
Huntingtonnnews.net writer/producer
In just one week, Apple will unleash what many are predicting will be the end of the cell phone-as-you-know-it. If you thought the Cabbage Patch Kids Kraze and Wii Envy were something, just wait.
The iPhone Phenom is going to dwarf them. But there will be no shortages this time.
Sure, it's pricey, but execs of companies from Motorola, Eriksson, Nokia, Verizon and dozens of others are asking themselves: "What if?" What if people by the millions will be willing to pay that kind of dough-re-mi for a phone with all the cool features the iPhone promises? What if $500 for a phone that isn't a toss-away-when-it's-obsolete-phone is the wave of the future? What if the iPhone never becomes obsolete?
What if that future is here, now?
If it is, and many, including Apple, predict just that, those companies are in a world of hurt. Just like those, [ahem, Microsoft...The ZUNE?] who bet against the iPod, they'll be eating Apple Dust by the end of the summer.
By some estimates, Apple has anywhere from four to ten million phones ready to rock on June 29th. That's the day. D-Day, or i-Day, if you will. The day Cingular/AT&T, on Third Avenue,will be swamped, by all predictions, with those who just HAVE to be the first kid on the block to have one. Or the first exec in the suite, as the phone's target market is more likely to be the 30,40,50-something than the Tweener or the Gen-Xer. [You see, only Ma Bell of all companies, had the foresight to hook up with Apple, and now they've got a lock on that market--If you want an iPhone, you've got to get it with an AT&T two-year agreement.]
Although, one feature just announced that will also come with your new iPhone, might appeal to that younger demo as well. “iPhone delivers the best YouTube mobile experience by far,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Now users can enjoy YouTube wherever they are—on their iPhone, on their Mac or on a widescreen TV in their living room with Apple TV.” To achieve higher video quality and longer battery life on mobile devices,
YouTube has begun encoding their videos in the advanced H.264 format Apple uses, and iPhone will be the first mobile device to use the H.264-encoded videos. Over 10,000 videos will be available on June 29, and YouTube will be adding more each week until their full catalog of videos is available in the H.264 format this fall according to sources.
iPhonePhreaks Awake. The time is nigh.
