Buzz Watch: Apple iPhone – Wow!

Authored by Jay Baage on January 9, 2007 - 11:30am.

UPDATED. I’m sitting in a lounge at CES in Las Vegas in between meetings and keynotes and what is everyone talking about? Yes, the arrival of Apple’s long-anticipated music-playing mobile phone, dubbed the iPhone. It was introduced by CEO Steve Jobs at MacWorld in San Francisco on Tuesday. Apple thereby managed to steal the thunder away from the rest of the consumer electronics pack which is attending CES, at least for one day – a true testament of its role as a design and innovation powerhouse.

My first look at the pictures and the spec of the new sleek Apple iPhone – it looks even more amazing than I would have expected. A quick search around the Internet and it seems like the market agrees. Apple shares jumped more than 6% to $91.18 from $85.47 on the news. Meanwhile shares of Research In Motion, makers of the Blackberry, fell more than 5% to $134.01. Shares of Motorola, Nokia, and Palm all fell as well.

Jobs said he aims to sell 10 million units in 2008, capturing 1% of the cell-phone market. The iPhone will be available in the U.S. in June and cost $499 for a 4-gigabyte version and $599 for 8 gigabytes. It will go on sale in Europe in the fourth quarter and Asia in 2008.

My only question was on the name iPhone, as Cisco held the rights to the name. Well, according to TheStreet.com, Apple made a last minute agreement with Cisco for use of the iPhone name, so look out for another Apple juggernaut...

UPDATE: The Street's information was incorrect, there was no last minute agreement, Cisco Systems sued Apple Inc. in federal court Wednesday, saying the computer maker's new iPhone violates its trademark.

Joakim Baage

Related Links:
Apple Unveils $499 iPhone, Apple TV Wireless Media Hub
http://www.apple.com/iphone/
Slideshow Photos from MacWorld 2007
Engadget Coverage
Apple Introduces IPod Phone to Expand Beyond Music (Bloomberg)
Video of Steve Jobs' Keynote
Cisco sues Apple over use of iPhone name (AP)
Poll: Which Area of Digital Media Will Get the Most Attention in 2007?

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Comments

iPhone interface

Submitted by rkrueger (not verified) on January 9, 2007 - 11:11pm.

Apple is great at designing eye candy, but like the iPod and Macintosh computer, it's the interface that really stands out. They've revolutionized it again. We'll see if it translates into greater adoption of mobile services for its users. My feeling is yes, Apple will be able to squeeze a higher ARPU than that of traditional carriers.