iPhone 3GS: renovation waves in action

iPhone sales have now hit 17 million since the launch in June 2007, well ahead of Apple's target of 10 million. But Apple are not sitting on this success by any means. (I still can't help sniggering at how far off the mark iPhone-hater Laura Riess was back in 2007: "The iPhone is a distraction not an opportunity for Apple. A novelty product built on the technology whims of Jobs and another in a long line of convergence chasers." Whereas you, dear readers, were spot on when your vote was that it would be a big hit, selling at least 10million units.)

The iPhone 3GS and new 3.0 software, out later this month, are the latest examples of Apple's excellence in brand rejuvenation. Let's look at how they do this.

1. Renovation Waves
Apple are repeating on the iPhone what they did with the iPod. They launch, and then follow up with wave after wave of new news. On iPhone it has been:
Wave 1 - May 2007: launch

Wave 2 - Jan 2008: 2.0 software with new features

Wave 3 - April 2008: 16GB version launchd

Wave 4 - July 2008: 3G iPhone

Wave 5 - June 2009: 3GS iPhone and 3.0 software

2. Better and better sausage
Don't let anyone tell you Apple and iPhone is about lifestyle and image. Its all about the product design, or sausage. The 3GS phone has several cool new features including:

- double the memory

- longer battery life

- better camera

- video calling and recording

- "tethering" (you can use it to access the internet on your laptop)

And the new software has a series of upgrades, admittedly to offer features that have been a long time coming, like cut-and-pasting of text, and landscape email writing.

3. The amazing apps store
As the iPhone gets better, so the app store continues to have more and more to offer users. This makes the device even "stickier", and more and more like a mini PC in your hand. In only 9 months there have been a mind-boggling 1billion downloads from the store!

iPhone sales were up 245% in 2008, giving Apple an 8% share of global smartphone sales. This still lags well behind leader Nokia with 43%. But the incumbent's growth rate a paltry 0.8%, look at Nokia.

Comments

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[FC]

Hi David,
The product looks great and when they make the iPhone as thin as the iPod Touch I might get one... however, I have the nagging doubt that if I did Apple would not view me as a valued new customer but as a new revenue stream.
rgds
Fergus