Derek Smith
“Marketing the iPhone: A Work of Genius”
About the iPhone and Apple Inc.
The iPhone is an Internet-connected, multimedia smart phone designed and marketed by Apple Inc. This product offers a multi-touch screen with a virtual keyboard when necessary. The iPhone offers a camera phone, text messaging, audio conferencing, call holding, call merging, caller ID, visual voicemail, a portable media player (equivalent to a video iPod), the Internet, and much more. The Internet is compatible with email, web browsing, and Wi-Fi connectivity. “The first-generation phone hardware was quad-band GSM with EDGE; the second generation added UMTS with HSDPA” (Apple Inc., 2009).
Apple announced the iPhone on January 9, 2007 after months of rumors and speculation. The original iPhone was introduced in the United States on June 29, 2007 before being marketed worldwide. Time magazine named it the Invention of the Year in 2007. A new version was released July 11, 2008, the iPhone 3G which supports faster 3G data speeds and assisted GPS. On March 17, 2009, Apple announced version 3.0 of the iPhone OS operating system for the iPhone released on June 17, 2009. The iPhone 3G S was announced on June 8, 2009. It was released in the U.S., Canada and some European countries on June 19, will be released in Australia and Japan on June 26, and will see international release in July and August. (Apple Inc., 2009) According to rumor an iPhone 4G is said to hit stores in the US in December 2009.
The iPhone offers strengths that help Apple to have an easier time marketing their product as well as make it more difficult to companies to compete against. These Strengths include:
Innovative – The iPhone has an innovative touch screen that is patented and unmatched by any other mobile product today. It also has many functions all in one device.
Compatibility –The phone will work with iTunes and with other Mac/Apple products like the new Apple TV, allowing for wireless connectivity...