Enterprise Pain Points

Steve Jobs was forced to announce the iPhone earlier than he wanted to, and the blame belongs to Digg, Apple Fan Boys, Wall Street Analysts, and the FCC.

When the iTV and Leopard were discussed in late 2006, Steve alluded to further surprises coming in January. He didn’t mean the iPhone. Steve wanted to talk about things that would have been available in the near future (OS X10.5 Leopard, iWork/iLife, and possible MacMini, Octo-Macs, etc) It’s clear now, that all of the rumors and speculations around the iPhone, forced his hand. Here’s why:

1. The hype around iPhone prior to MacWorld was deafening. Digg, Apple Fan Boys, anyone with a copy of Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. Expectations for Apple products are off the charts. If you don’t feed the angry crowd, God help you! In this case, if Steve didn’t announce a spectacular iPhone, the negative noise levels may have depressed the Stock Price and intensified the focus on Apple Stock Options issue. Not something Apple needs right now. Blame: Digg, Kevin Rose, Apple Fan Boys, and Wall Street Analysts
2. The process for FCC approval requires Apple to submit the iPhone Designs to the Federal Communications Commission. This process would have led to a leak and spoiled Apple’s launch. Therefore Apple had to pre-announce. Blame: FCC

Had Apple had a few more months to work on the iPhone, here’s what would have changed.

1. Better OS X integration and platform story. OS X is the platform for several reasons and Widgets are just the beginning. There needs to be more tooling (e.g. SDKs, etc) added to the iPhone to really exploit this incredible tool. I’m sure there is a strategy to open up the iPhone for different types of OS X, so this part of the story is incomplete.
2. iTunes downloadable via WiFi, Sharing, DRM issues, etc. These things are coming, however, Apple didn’t have enough time to re-work contracts with the music companies and now unfortunately, they may not be in the best bargaining position.
3. Cisco and Apple would have already come to an agreement. An Agreement is in the best interest for both of them. Cisco owns the trademark in the U.S. Apple owns the trademark outside the U.S. Too bad this wasn’t worked out sooner. It could have been if Apple had more time.
4. 3G iPhone. The biggest omission. With more time (unfortunately, a lot more time 6-8 months) Apple would have integrated 3G hardware.
5. GPS capability. You have to believe it’s coming. More time would have guaranteed it sooner than later.

The wisdom, or rather “hysteria of crowds” forced Steve to pre-announce a product that’s not ready, not available, and doesn’t have the best technology throughout, and it should.

Is the iPhone still the coolest thing since sliced bread - No Question!

Which goes to show you… Not many companies are as innovative as Apple, Inc. This isn’t a accident. Apple has the elusive “IT”. The genius is within, and Apple will continue to offer us breakthrough technology and products ( and will force Cingular to, eventually). But for the Love of all things fast and automated, give Apple a break. Tone down the hype and let Apple do its thing.
Don’t worry, when it gets here, it’ll be amazing! “i” Promise!

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