Apple knows how to get all of the attention.
For a company that commands less than 10 percent of the computer market, Apple seems to rule 90 percent of all technology media coverage.
It’s not about sleek marketing, however; for anyone can pull off a funny commercial. Marketing only leads people to the product, and in this case, the product isn’t cheap plastic. It’s innovation.
This is precisely why Apple’s going to be the first to bring mobile video-conferencing to the United States. It can’t afford not to.
Apple revolutionizes to survive. That’s what the iMac was about. That’s what the iPod was about. And the iPhone shouts “revolution” like Paul Revere shouts “Red Coats!”
The iPhone, somewhat sacrilegiously, was originally dubbed the “JesusPhone” by bloggers and reviewers because it did what other phones couldn’t: perform miracles.
Suddenly Internet on the go made sense. Touching a screen felt so natural that nothing else could beat it. For one brief shining moment, Apple had conquered the industry and changed the world.
Apple breathes that kind of innovation. It’s life-supporting oxygen for Steve Jobs.
And every time a new iPhone launch is imminent, fanboys attack their wireless keyboards, spewing demands for their dream feature on the next iPhone: video conferencing.
Like the dickens, Apple takes note. Forums, rumors blogs, and comments become a drawing board for Jonathan Ive, and the race is on.
Apple knows that it has to be the first to provide mobile video chatting. Fans demand miracles of the iPhone and as product unveilings pass by, the iPhone can only disappoint so long.
Cupertino isn’t the only city reading the Mac forums. Competitors, looking for any way to get an edge on the iPhone, are building and testing prototypes too.
It’s now more than ever that Apple realizes AT&T could very well be the bigger enemy. If the cell network can’t even support today’s 3G data load in a way that satisfies customers, adding the strain of multi-way video chats will cripple the network even further.
After all, speed is of the essence and innovation cannot thrive on weak links.
Really? What about another small company,called HTC, that launched the HTC EvO 4G on Sprint that has video conferencing built in? Since that phone is already out there, and on a network that doesn’t suck, Apple is just playing catch-up right now.