Anything that happened in the world of IT this week that wasn’t related to the iPhone could have happened on another planet, if you were reading tech media. The runup to the commercial release of this totemic object of desire left the chroniclers of tech, from blog to mainstream, in one quivering mass of anticipation. Steve Jobs has once more masterfully orchestrated a Media Event. In time we’ll see if he created a blockbuster product.
For those who don’t have an RSS feed of iPhone news on IV drip, here’s a look at the top stories this week.
Cue the queue
As of Friday morning, the “gotta-have-its” formed lines at Apple stores in New York but were only a few hundred strong, Reuters reported.
Devotees who had arrived earlier, Infoworld said, were led by a distinctive everyman of the modern media event, Greg Packer — famous for providing “man in the street” quotes on diverse topics for the last several years.
And finally, here’s the deal on launch day store protocol, an AT&T manager explains.
Why, oh why, go with AT&T?
There are a few clouds in the sky of the saturation media coverage. Both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal noted eleventh-hour anxieties over Apple’s service-provider partner in the iPhone release, AT&T. The carrier’s Edge wireless network may not show the new phone’s online capabilities in their best light; Apple seems to be hoping that customers will connect via Wi-Fi hot spots to get better performance.
The anointed few weigh in with reviews
There’s a bit of crankiness in the blogosphere about just who got the few devices Apple made available for review. Crunchgear provides a roundup of the first looks from Walt Mossberg, David Pogue, Edward Baig and Steven Levy. The latter was apparently the victim of the first attempted iPhone mugging, reports blog Valleywag. Levy was jumped while appearing live on Fox News; his assailant was apprehended.
The messianic comes into play, again.
In the meantime, thanks to a hype-prone medioblogracy, the nickname “jesus phone” had appeared in more than 100 news stories by Friday, scoring for Jobs a viral brand tie-in with someone whose Q Score is probably dangerously higher than the CEO’s own.
Rocco Palmo runs with the religious metaphor on bustedhalo: “June 29th marks the feast day dedicated to the founders of the church of Rome: Saints Peter and Paul. The observance is an ancient one, but this year it coincides with a religious festival of a more modern sort. For the believers of this other faith, it’s the day of deliverance they have long awaited, the moment when they’ll finally be able to grasp the Holy Grail which they’ve long lusted and defended against all nay-sayers, sight unseen.” More alarmingly, he notes a Vatican-Apple tie-in that could feed conspiracy theorists for years to come, reporting that the “Vatican webmistress” had recently disclosed a Mac conversion.
But is it environmentally friendly?
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that an avalanche of e-waste could follow the iPhone. Greenpeace itself has tossed the gantlet at Apple in a posting on its web site that asks “How green is that iPhone?”
Business is skeptical
While Apple signaled its intent to invade the Blackberry market of corporate users, said Infoworld, the Wall Street Journal found IS departments saying, in essence, “not so fast.” If the iPhone becomes a corporate status symbol and the top executives want it, technology managers will have no choice but to make it work with e-mail systems and security structures. But still, Businessweek isn’t convinced you really need one.
And Blackberry is ready with a Curve
Clearly Research in Motion won’t sit passively by as its turf is encroached upon. It recently introduced the Curve, which also uses AT&T service, well-received by thestreet.com. RIM shareholders didn’t seem fazed as Apple got ready to open stores at 6:00 p.m. Friday; RIM shares were up in trading on the day, with a 73 percent first quarter sales increase bolstering confidence.
Next up: It’s the iPhone aftermarket!
The San Jose Mercury News reports that the iPhone is already “unleashing a cottage industry of touch-screen protectors, leather hip carriers and car adapters.” Take care that they fit, though – apparently Apple’s unwillingness to share specs made it that much more challenging to design add-on gear.
Can it live up to the hype — and stave off the schadenfreude?
Gartner’s Mike McGuire pointed out the double-edged sword that is hype in overdrive: “The blessing is you’ve created an amazing amount of demand. The curse is you have a very high level of expectations to meet. … If there’s a misstep, there will be a lot of gloating people in the industry.”
