Apple IPhone5 is here
*Well, it turns out I posted this just an hour before the world found out there is no IPhone 5 only IPhone 4S.*
As I type this, the twitterverse is abuzz with the Apple Store being down and the signature sticky note tacked on the webpage. Apple enthusiasts on Twitter seem to be short of having a seizure from the excitement of Apple’s new IPhone 5. (which will now be officially launched any minute). For being a tech enthusiast, a tech newshound and an Apple lover (in moderation), I have to admit I have not lost sleep over something like a new phone. The Apple PR department manages to pull off a Hollywood thriller like buzz and excitement before every product launch-with the shroud of secrecy, the prototypes being strategically lost in bars and the rumor mill that is relentless. I also heard a story about a guy who got mugged for his new IPhone 4-back in the day, and in the fight that ensued, lost his fingers for something that he later said “will be junk in a few days”. One thing you can count on is that in tech world, like Facebook’s updates, Apple’s IPhones and Google’s acquisitions, there is always something new “coming soon”. So my advice to all Apple crazies is calm down- It is only a phone.
Picking up on my last post..
For tech innovators, marketers, it is quite unsettling to be working in such a volatile industry. You are only one new upgrade, one new product away from being obsolete. When Steve Jobs introduced the Apple IPhone in 2007, he was perfectly aware of what it will do to the sales of IPod touch. But he went ahead with the IPhone anyways. This is a classic example of companies cannibalizing their own products in view of longer term sustainable products and revenue streams. I also suspect that Amazon’s e-readers will soon be obsolete as newer versions of Kindle Fire come out. One way of managing this is pricing the e-readers extremely low which Amazon already seems to be doing.
Cannibalization strategy impacts the existing revenue streams and it is very hard for companies to go down this path. But what would you rather do? Have others beat you in the game by innovating and bringing out better products or come up with a better product yourself at the risk of losing short term revenues? For all of Netflix’s botched strategies in recent months, this company is getting ready to cannibalize its own DVD business by betting on streaming. They seem to be following the above mentioned line of thought but as I said in this post, if you don’t take your customers with you on to the next product, then it is a disaster.
P.S.
By the time you read this post, IPhone 5 will be officially launched -sending the Web in a tizzy. So let me end with a tweet I just read-“How do you find new IPhone owners at a party?” “Don’t worry they’ll show you”
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