As with all Apple marketing, the iPhone marketing strategy is very clear, simple and clever. With the plain and simple apple icon, Apple focuses on the pure innovative style of their products without all the fluff. The iPhone was released by Apple in June, 2007. The ground-breaking style of the iPhone was touted for months before the initial release and has remained the best of the best when it comes to cell phones over the past several years. before the iPhone’s official release, Apple ran four television commercials promoting the new cell phone.

The first of the commercials portrays the new iPhone as the next step up from the popular iPod. The iPod was all the rage up until this point, and the iPhone was supposed to be the next-generation iPod, oh, and it’s also a phone The advertisement displays all of the enhanced features available in the iPod, and more, the point being There’s never been an iPod that can do this.

So, say you’re watching Pirates of the Caribbean
Finger clicks on video and displays wide screen movie.
Mmm, did somebody say Calamari?
Finger clicks back to menu, selects Maps application to search ‘Seafood’.
The closest would be.
Map displays all seafood locations and highlights location nearest to you.
Ah

Finger clicks seafood location, and restaurant phone number displayed. iPhone dial’s.

The first four iPhone commercials flaunted the convenience, innovation, and usefulness of a single product with the functionality of not only a phone, or a music device, but a product that can, among other things, listen to music, watch videos, view photos, make conference calls, check e-mail, browse the web, and view maps.

Not only does Apple utilize television for their marketing strategy, but they make use of their website by posting videos, they also published a handful of press releases that could have been released in one single document. Apple often uses this tactic to build up hype and leave the consumer wanting more.

With Apple’s brief press releases, giving the audience little to go off, Apple leveraged a law of social physics – news, like nature, abhors a vacuum. in the absence of real information, those who care about a product will grasp at any rumor that comes their way. Apple may publicly disavow the rumor Web sites that scramble for scraps about the companies plans, but secretly their marketing department must be delighted. It would cost a lot to buy that kind of Web advertising. (Silverman, 2007)

The official iPhone website does more than just provide information about the product. The website provides top tips and tricks for the use of an iPhone, as well as a huge focus on apps. almost the entire iPhone page displays images of apps, provides the App of the Week, the website also contains sections titled Apps for everything, and the Top Apps. Apple’s website is a great marketing tool for current iPhone users and consumers that have an interest in purchasing the iPhone. The promotion of the apps will create a stronger source of revenue for Apple. as customers see top rated applications, they are more likely to download the app, rather than searching through 25,000+ apps to find one that may be of any value to the consumer.

Successful younger men were the target audience that Apple had originally focused on. Apple had hoped that with this target audience, and the fact that 48% of this audience did not already own an Apple iPod, would allow them to reach their forecast of 10 million sales by the end of 2008.

One month prior to the release of the iPhone, Solutions Research Group profiled a cross-section of those aware of the phone. The forecast of potential buyers for the day of the release ranked a majority of T-Mobile customers, AT&T’s only GSM-based product competitor, at 15%. The second largest group expected to purchase the new iPhone was AT&T’s existing customer base, at 12%. The Solutions Research Group also found that 72% of males, versus 28% of women were most likely to investigate the phone at its minimum price of $499. (Malley, 2007)

The obvious current target audiences for the Apple iPhone include young people between the ages of 20 and 35, affluent teenagers, jet-setters, and mobile employees who work outside of the office.

Apple is known for their simplistic, but catchy commercials. in recent television commercials for the Apple iPhone, There’s an App for that is the new catch phrase that places a strong focus on the apps available from the App Store. Apps, or applications, are in every category, from games to business, education to entertainment, finance to health and fitness, productivity to social networking. These applications have been designed to take advantage of iPhone features such as Multi-Touch, the accelerometer, wireless, and GPS (Apple, 2009). Apple currently claims to have 25,000+ apps available, and counting.

The focus on the variation of apps offered opens up the target audience greatly. There is essentially an app for everyone. as a few of the iPhone commercials advertise, you can find the snow conditions on the mountain, track calories in your lunch, find exactly where you parked your car. You can find a cab in a strange city, find your share of the bill for a table of 5, or learn to fix a wobbly bookshelf. You can read a restaurant review, read an MRI, or just read a regular old book. These are just a few of the features that Apple has promoted through television commercials. iPhone apps provide every functionality that one can imagine.

When the iPhone was initially released, it was priced at a hefty $599. still, hundreds of thousands of people rushed out to get the new phone, forking over a third as much as they would have had they waited an extra 3 months. 3 months after the initial release, Apple reduced the price of the iPhone to $399. this enraged Apple’s loyal customers and consumers who purchased the new phone just months earlier. One year later, Apple again reduced the price of the iPhone to $199, 66% less than the original price.

In July, 2007, the Apple iPhone was all the hype. I believe that Apple’s decision to release the phone at $599 was slightly based on greed. however, their product was the most innovative out in the market place, giving Apple the freedom to price the iPhone at whatever they wanted. many believed that Apple had cut the price after discovering lower than expected iPhone sales. Apple, however, states that the price cut was made to spur holiday sales and predicted that Apple would meet its stated goal of selling its 1 millionth iPhone by the end of September. (Dalrymple, 2007)

As with the product life cycle of any cell phone or Apple product, including Apple’s iPod, prices are often reduced drastically months after the initially release. Tech products are always competing against the latest and greatest while maintaining a relevant price in the market place. Had Apple not reduced the price of the iPhone, the customer base would have dwindled quickly as many consumers are unwilling to spend $599 on a cell phone, no matter how many useful features the phone may carry.

As the iPhone remains to be the number one smart phone around, the product continues to grow, increasing size capabilities, increasing the number of applications available, and providing new features that are released through new iterations of the phone, continue to provide a greater value to the iPhone while the pricing remains relevant.

At this time in the product life cycle, Apple continues to release enhanced iterations of the iPhone. With most iPhone users un-willing to purchase a newer version of the iPhone because of price, the target audience for the newer generation phones is new iPhone customers. With Apple’s installed base continuing to grow, they have found a way bring in reoccurring revenue from their existing customers through the sales of their application downloads. as more and more people purchase the iPhone, Apple’s audience for new customers continues to dwindle. Fortunately for Apple, they have built in another source for revenue that continues throughout the life of the product.

(2009). Apple: iPhone. Retrieved April 26, 2009, from Apple

Dalrymple, J (2007, Sep, 11). Lessons learned from the iPhone price cuts. PCWorld, Retrieved Apr 26, 2009, from http://www.pcworld.com/article/137046/lessons_learned_from_the_iphone_price_cuts.html

Silverman, D (2007, Jul, 10). Apple’s silence helped the iPhone hype. Chron.com:Computing, Retrieved Apr 26, 2009, from http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4954824.html

Malley, A (2007, Jun, 6). Apple, AT&T neophytes to define iPhone audience – report. AppleInsider, Retrieved Apr 26, 2009, from AppleInsider Website

Mukherjee, A (2007, Feb, 28). iPhone under attack. Business Today, Retrieved Apr 26, 2009, from the business today website

iPhone Marketing Strategy

Do not get fooled by silly promises now that the world is awaiting Apple’s much touted announcement of the next generation iPhone, you must know that a lot of online scammers are geared to giving you a miserable time trading in those desirable electronics.

Ever since the rumor mills about the 6th installment of the iPhone started turning, invitations for tech consumers to sell their old phones have risen to a clamor among electronics refurbishment companies that promise to trade cash for these handsets.

Although we are not yet sure if there really is going to be an iPhone 5, this value proposition has attracted a lot of attention among cell phone users. Last year, the iPhone 4S incurred massive sales which was a record-breaking feat for Apple.

Judging how an iPhone is looked upon by the consumers, it is considered a luxury device. That is why even if you own a dinky iPhone 3GS, I bet a lot of people would still want to buy it from you. The iPhone carries a lot of substance, and many tech users do not mind shelling out a few hundred dollars for it.

But now that the anticipation over the next iPhone has come to great heights, let it be known that selling your iPhone 4S has some upsides and downsides too. let me get things straight: Selling an iPhone 4S can be beneficial to you, if and only if you know where to convert your old phone into cash

The truth is, no one really knows what the iPhone 5 will look like, or what new functions it can have. All I know is that however it will turn out, we should be prepared for it without breaking a sweat.

What I mean here is that you can sell your iPhone 4S and get a great amount of cash for the newest Apple smartphone purchase

Fortunately, you don’t have to look further: Sell your iPhone at Cash for Smartphones and you are off to a better life with your new phone.

At Cash for Smartphones, ‘scam’ is the last thing you think of. Why? because the company is legit and has been servicing a lot of customers and clients for the past decade their service is acclaimed for being very satisfactory and great I have used its services a lot of times in the past and I can say that they have pretty dynamic people there. The turnaround time was short, and I got the payment via PayPal when I was expecting it to come.

The online transaction is also very simple. In three steps, you can already finish the transaction. most of the time, if you are already sure about the model and condition of the device, you can finish everything in 60 seconds

I once thought that CFS was just a fly-by-night business. I have now proven to myself that they aren’t

Get the iPhone 5 Without Getting Conned

Consumers are in a tizzy over Apple’s next-generation iPhone, which is expected in October. The iPhone 5 is expected to pack a larger screen, faster-performing chip and zippier 4G performance. Apple has not yet confirmed plans, but industry analysts have forecast lower current-generation iPhone sales as buyers hold out for the new one. Apple reported third-quarter earnings on Tuesday that underscore that a wave of consumers may be waiting for the iPhone 5. The company reported a profit of $8.8 billion, or $9.32 per share, on revenue of $35 billion in the quarter, compared with $7.3 billion on revenue of $28.6 billion a year ago. The earnings fell short of Wall Street expectations, as the company also reported that iPhone sales in the quarter fell to 26 million compared with more than 35 million sold in the previous quarter. Analysts had expected $9.8 billion in earnings, or $10.37 per share, on revenue of $37.2 billion, according to a survey of estimates by Thomson Reuters. Apple shares slipped 5% to $571.15 in after-hours trading after the report. Said Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer: “IPhone sales continue to be impacted by rumors and speculation of future products.” Apple reported it also sold 17 million iPads in the quarter compared with almost 12 million in the previous quarter. and Apple sold 4 million Macs in the period. But iPhones are the company’s cash cow. Apple’s iPhone generates more revenue, for example, than all of Microsoft’s products combined. Some analysts saw deceleration in iPhone sales as suggesting pent-up demand for the new one that could mean blockbuster holiday sales. “Our July survey found 94% of iPhone owners plan on buying another iPhone, suggesting the uptake of iPhone 5 will meet or exceed the high expectations,” says Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. Apple also is expected to launch in October a smaller version of its market dominating iPad with a 7.85-inch screen. The company is moving toward mass production of smaller iPads, according to industry tracker DisplaySearch. IDC forecasts that by 2016 there will be 222 million tablets shipped worldwide, and 61% of those will be sold by Apple.

IPhone 5 Mania Hurts Apple Results – HispanicBusiness.com

Many of public radio’s best-known shows – especially popular weekend series such as the two above – are more than 30 years old; even This American Life and Wait, Wait … Don’t Tell me are well into their second decades (and were created by Baby Boomers). NPR, PRI and the Public Radio Exchange are all experimenting with a new generation of programs, many of which started as podcasts, aimed at listeners under 45….

Public Radio Searches For The Next Generation’s Car Talk And Prairie Home Companion

The next generation iPhone will feature a 4″ display, according to two separate reports from Reuters and Wall Street Journal.

The dual reports appear to confirm long existing speculation that Apple would increase the size of the new iPhone screens from the current 3.5″ display to a larger 4″ display. Larger displays are increasingly common in the smartphone world, and both Reuters and WSJ cite competition from Android phones as part of the motivation to increase the screen size.

Other details are scant and the source of the information is the routinely vague “people familiar with the situation”, but WSJ and Reuters have a history of providing accurate Apple rumors and leaks in the past.

Assuming existing iPhone 5 rumors pan out, the next-gen phone could potentially include the following features:

• 4″ Display at similar screen resolution to existing iPhone models
• 4G LTE connectivity
• A5X CPU borrowed from the iPad 3
• 10 megapixel or higher camera
• All new redesigned enclosure
• Ships with iOS 6

The next iPhone is expected to launch later this year, likely around September or October.

Next iPhone Will Have Larger 4″ Screen

As rumors about Apple switching to the all-new metallic glass material for a next-generation iPhone continue to persist, one designer has weighed in with own rendition of what the device might look like, both from the inside and the outside – and it’s quite noteworthy.

As you know, Apple obtained a worldwide exclusive license to use Liquidmetal alloy in consumer electronics products. with previous rumors alleging a complete redesign, a Liquidmetal-based iPhone is certainly a plausible proposition…

French designer Antoine Brieux has gone all out creating these gorgeous sixth-generation Liquidmetal iPhone shots, available on his blog.

The use of the new metallic glass alloy would let Apple create a stronger, lighter and thinner iPhone, with a body just 7.9mm thin (versus the 9.3mm profile of the current iPhone 4S).

Gone is the physical home button (though a recent leak hinted otherwise) as Brieux envisions a virtual home button sitting at the screen bottom.

The concept calls for a large 4.5-inch widescreen display that could, however, create issues with third-party apps.

Here’s a shot depicting the Angry Birds on a widescreen Liquidmetal iPhone.

And another one showing a tweaked bezel running around the sides of the device.

Here’s another angle. Notice the virtual home button occupying the extra space gained by blowing up the iPhone’s 3:2 display to a larger 16:9 widescreen appearance.

And yet another angle. Check out the 3.5mm audio jack in the middle.

As for the innards, Brieux thinks the device will be powered by a quad-core A6 chip.

Do check out the source link for more gorgeous shots. also useful: our coverage so far on Apple’s use of Liquidmetal alloy.

Is this what a Liquidmetal iPhone could look like?

I think it looks business and certainly shows some hallmarks of Apple’s trademark industrial design.

The question is, would Apple really buck its own trend and blow up the iPhone’s display to a whopping 4.5 inches?

[via Nowhere Else]

This Liquidmetal iPhone 5 concept looks quite believable

In the weeks preceding Apples iPad event this week, there was a lot of speculation and back and forth over what Apple was going to call its next-generation tablet. While many had long assumed that it’d be called the iPad 3, rumors sprung up over the past few weeks hinting at it being called the iPad HD, on account of its Retina display.

But a funny thing happened during Apple’s special media event this past Wednesday. throughout the entire presentation, Apple executives Tim Cook and Phil Schiller continuously kept referring to the iPad simply as “the new iPad.”

And lo and behold, Apple’s website also refers to it as the new iPad. No iPad 3. No iPad HD. Just iPad.

Apple here is effectively giving the iPad the same naming treatment it gives to most of its product line. After all, it’s not as if Apple has ever named successive Mac Mini releases the ‘Mac Mini 2′ and ‘Mac Mini 3′.

So what gives? just what exactly is Apple trying to accomplish with its new naming scheme?

My first thought was that perhaps Apple was taking the iPad off its annual and somewhat predictable refresh cycle. if there’s an iPad 3, speculation, almost reflexively, begins hovering over the iPad 4, and so on and so forth. without a designated version number, Apple can now release a new iPad version whenever one happens to be ready, and not necessarily in 365 day increments.

But upon further reflection, that theory seemed a bit off. a more cogent theory is that Apple’s new naming scheme sets the stage for other iPad models, namely the rumored 7.85-inch iPad Apple is supposedly working on. much how Apple, back in the day, had its flagship iPod flanked by devices like the iPod mini and later the Nano, perhaps this “new iPad” will soon be flanked by an “iPad Mini.” Doing so certainly makes things easier for consumers who will no longer need to get bogged down and confused with version numbers and the like.

Besides, Apple has never been big on version numbers. for over a decade, Apple has called the iMac nothing more than the iMac. Same with the MacBook Pro, the iPod Touch, the Mac Mini, the Mac Pro etc. Apple doesn’t want consumers to dwell on version numbers. they want consumers to think of the iPad as an amazing tablet device, version numbers be damned.

Interestingly enough, there are now reports that Apple may name its next-gen iPhone the “new iPhone.”

Apple’s new iPad isn’t an iPad 3 or an iPad HD. It’s just an iPad.

While T-Mobile does not officially carry the iPhone, according to a recent report from the pink carrier there are approximately 1 million iPhone customers on its network. so it comes as no surprise that the iPhone is big business for T-Mobile and they should do whatever they can to keep the subscribers happy given the dismal data speeds.

T-Mobile iPhone 5 a possibility? T-Mobile now further supports iPhone

That is apparently exactly what T-Mobile plans to do around a week from now. TMoNews reports that they have uncovered a T-Mobile document stating that from January 30 the carrier will be able to give customer support to iPhone users. This support will include common procedures, information about feature and specifications, and other basic device questions. in addition to actual support, it will show its support by having the iPhone space in the Community to mirror the look and feel of T-Mobile supported device pages.

This all comes after a recent statement by T-Mobile Chief Technology Officer, Neville Ray, to CNET suggesting that the next-generation iPhone will be fully compatible with T-Mobile (iPhone 5?).  Ray suggests that the “iPhone 5″ will use a different chipset, one that supports AWS:

“The next chipset will support AWS,” he said in an interview with CNET. “The challenge that existed in the past will go away.”

Of course this is still just unconfirmed and the company even went on to later clarify that Ray hasn’t seen Apple’s specific roadmap in particular to know this. so we’ll just have to wait and see if this is a plot to keep T-Mobile customers from defecting for an iPhone or the real deal.

T-Mobile Now Officially Supports Current iPhones, T-Mobile iPhone 5 Next?

Looking ahead to the next year, technology enthusiasts cannot help but wonder what the major players in the industry are going to come up with next. as far as Apple is concerned, we know we can expect a pretty impressive iPad 3, but on the other hand, the next generation iPhone should take some serious steps if it is to stay ahead of, or some would say keep up with, the competition.

Apple’s rivals have already introduced smartphones on the market with support for the latest in mobile technology, such as 4G LTE data speeds and Near Field Communication, which among other things enables easy and secure payments with a smartphone.

Analysts believe that the current flagship Apple smartphone didn’t integrate NFC technology due to the fact that the market wasn’t ready. few merchants have been willing to invest in terminals allowing NFC powered payments up till now, and the major retail chains are only just experimenting with this new option. However, in the near future the situation is going to be different.

DigiTimes, published a report recently revealing its well informed predictions. according to the Taiwanese technology website, in the next two or three years, the market penetration of NFC enabled smartphones is going to be more than 50% compared to the current 10%.

The Cupertino based company is not often the originator of new technology, but is not one to miss out on major market trends; indeed, Apple is itself a driving force behind the widespread adoption of new features, as will likely be the case with its Siri voice control Assistant.

‘The Infograhics’ website has done some analysis based on various developments, reports and rumours in which it ‘calculates’ the probability of seeing NFC in the forthcoming iPad 3 or iPhone 5 at 66%, which it illustrates in a rather neat looking infographic.

Will We See An NFC Enabled iPhone 5?

Sprint Nextel is looking to get its 4G LTE rolled out sooner, rather than later.

Sprint plans to launch its 4G LTE service, part of its Network Vision upgrade plan, in 10 markets by the first half of this year. that includes major cities including Dallas (AT&T’s headquarters), San Antonio, Houston, Atlanta, CEO Dan Hesse said during an investor conference. The event was webcast.

The timing adds a little specificity to its 4G LTE plans. The company previously said it expects to launch the service by midsummer. Sprint, which has for years relied on Clearwire’s older 4G WiMax network as its next-generation service, is now playing catch-up with Verizon Wireless and AT&T, which are well underway with their own LTE deployments.

Customers, however, may not be able to take advantage of that network. Sprint previously said that 4G LTE devices wouldn’t come until the second half of the year.

The news comes as AT&T also announced that it has expanded its own LTE network to 11 additional markets, including major cities such as Los Angeles, new York, and San Francisco. Verizon Wireless, however, still holds a considerable lead on LTE coverage.

Beyond 4G LTE, Sprint’s Network Vision plan, which uses new technology that allow the company to juggle multiple technologies at once, is supposed to reduce the operating costs, improve the signal strength, and reduce the number of dropped calls.

On spectrum, Hesse said the company has enough spectrum by itself to last through 2014. But with Clearwire’s spectrum, the company can last until 2016, or longer if Clearwire gets additional funding to expand beyond its existing territory.

“We would like to work very closely with them to build a larger footprint,” Hesse said, but added that a lot of it depends on issues such as funding.

Sprint and Clearwire have warmed up to each other considerably after Sprint bailed out Clearwire with a funding and resale agreement worth up to $1.6 billion. The deal includes an advanced payment for unlimited 4G data using Clearwire’s WiMax network, which Hesse said does a lot for the stability in its own pricing.

Hesse said he considers Clearwire down the line to serve as the overflow destination for data traffic. Because Clearwire operates in a lot of larger, more heavily populated cities, it is ideal for helping out when data demands get too tough for Sprint to handle alone.

Sprint plans to finish building its own 4G LTE network by 2013. in the meantime, the company said it would continue to support WiMax devices through this year. Clearwire is working to switch over to its own version of LTE as well.

Hesse said that by 2014, he hopes to get Federal Communications Commission approval to use some of its current stock of spectrum for the LTE network, and is looking increase capacity in the next two years.

Hesse also commented on its partnership with LightSquared, which has recently had problems getting FCC approval to use its own spectrum because of concerns that its network would cripple GPS devices, noting that Sprint has put the investment and work into its partnership with LightSquared on hold. Sprint and LightSquared have a network-sharing deal in which Sprint would host LightSquared’s spectrum on its infrastructure in exchange for money and spectrum.

Sprint recently gave LightSquared a 30-day extension to get FCC approval before scrapping the deal.

“We hope they’re successful with their interference issue,” Hesse said, adding he feels protected because of an advanced payment already made to Sprint by LightSquared.

Hesse warned that with the cost of carrying the iPhone and the network upgrade plans, the company will see a lot of margin pressure over the next few years. But he believes it will pay off in better customer loyalty, subscriber growth, and lower network costs down the line.

Lastly, Hesse couldn’t hide his enthusiasm when asked about the failure by AT&T to complete its acquisition of T-Mobile USA (he loudly said “Yes!”), but said that though consolidation was still in the cards for the wireless industry. he added it would be difficult for AT&T or Verizon Wireless to make any deals, and reiterated his belief that the combination of AT&T and T-Mobile would have been bad for the industry and consumers.

“The big two have gotten too big,” he said, referring to larger competitors AT&T and Verizon.

About Roger ChengRoger Cheng is a senior writer for CNET covering mobile technology. Prior to CNET, he was on the telecommunications beat and wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal for nearly a decade. He’s a hard-core Trojan alum and Los Angeles Lakers fan.

Sprint plans 4G LTE to launch by first half