Tom Giles from BusinessWeek explores the top tech trends for 2007. The article briefly discusses IPTV and the need to “keep it simple”. This is certainly easier said than done. With IPTV service providers anxious to differentiate their offerings from cable or satellite, the last thing they want is to keep it simple. In fact, our customer push us to deliver more and more functionality on more and more devices (STBs). Until a service provider has breakout success, and can define a winning service offering, the pressure to push the boundaries of hardware and software in IPTV will not subside.
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Dear Mr. Jobs,
Recently at MacWorld 2007 you introduced the iPhone to raving audience and analyst reviews. I don’t remember any product that has been so eagerly anticipated and then exceeded our collective wildest expectations. I must admit, I want one, I want one bad. My wife wants one, even the Microsoft employees on my flight home from CES (I clearly attended the wrong show) want one! What’s not to like? Revolutionary mobile phone, iPod and Internet communicator all in one sleek device, we all marvel at how you folks at Apple do it. Congratulations to everyone at Apple on what will surely be more than just a successful new product, but a category redefining innovation!
However, during your keynote presentation you indicated that Apple has entered into an exclusive agreement with AT&T, in the US, as the mobile service provider for the iPhone. It is our understanding that the iPhone will work exclusively with AT&T and that consumers with other mobile service providers will not be able to use the iPhone unless they switch to AT&T. The question on many of our minds is why? Why tie this revolutionary product exclusively to AT&T?
We were all astounded as you demonstrated the many revolutionary capabilities of the iPhone. What stood out was the category defining user experience of the iPhone. You have left the traditional handset companies in the dust! What you must realize, is you have left an important part of the overall iPhone user experience in the hands of AT&T. While AT&T believes they have the most reliable network in the US, they certainly have the most reliably poor customer service. The iPhone, the network and the customer service all combine to create the “iPhone experience”. Apple has clearly done its part to create a wonderful user experience, are you sure you want to leave the rest in the hands of AT&T’s infamous customer service?
As you are probably aware, AT&T rated at the bottom of a recent Consumer Reports survey of 42,921 readers. My personal experience echoes that of the Consumer Reports readers. I work for a large multi-national company, part of the Fortune 500. We use AT&T, almost exclusively and have close to 50,000 (my guess based on our 70,000+ US employees) business accounts with them. Even with such a large account, I am rarely treated with the respect that is warranted such a large account. How will AT&T treat your (Apple) customers?
I was amazed at the press reports describing the statements from AT&T about their “agreement” with Apple. They certainly sounded arrogant and were gloating over “bending” Apple to conform to their terms. Is this true? For what possible reason would Apple need to “bend” to sign an exclusive deal with AT&T? Surely you have read the reports of AT&T’s gloating over at PCMag (you do read PCMag occasionally, right?). Cingular makes Apple Bend.
It certainly makes sense that there is a lot of work in putting together a feature like Visual Voicemail, and doing the work over and over with other service providers is costly. However, this cannot be the reason for linking iPhone exclusively to AT&T. Why then?
In stark contrast to the exclusivity with AT&T, your selection of GSM as the network technology was an excellent choice. GSM is a standard that allows the iPhone to be used almost anywhere on the planet and with leading service providers. GSM also allows for interchangeable SIM cards to link a GSM handset with a particular service provider. The iPhone has a SIM card slot and could therefore easily be linked to any GSM compatible service provider–a service provider chosen by Apple customers not by Apple corporate.
Mr. Jobs, please let us select our own service provider. Open the iPhone to other service providers or create an “unlocked” version of the iPhone. Let your customers decide which service provider to choose to complete the iPhone experience.
Best regards,
Ryan Petty
Sphere: Related ContentOver on YouTube, the Steve Jobs Keynote from MacWorld 2007 has been posted. It is divided into 9 parts. I am including all 9 links here for your viewing pleasure. The official keynote is on the Apple website. Apple has also posted the iPhone portion of the keynote here:
Part 1 (Intro)
Part 2 (New UI - leapfrog product)
Part 3 (iPhone design)
Part 4 (Widescreen iPod)
Part 5 (Reinvent the phone)
Part 6 (SMS & Pictures)
Part 7 (Internet communications device)
Part 8 (Safari)
Part 9 (Google Maps)
One word, AWESOME!
Everyone I have talked to that has seen the Jobs keynote, or seen a demo, or read about the iPhone has been wowed! When you think about what the iPhone does, it now seems like, duh? Why hasn’t anyone else ever done this. I bet the product teams at Nokia, Moto, Palm and Sony-Ericsson were all hiding in their cubicles the morning after the announcement–just as the management of these firms are hiding in their offices. I really think Apple has hit a grand slam with this product. My evidence, well, this is the first gadget that my wife is upset she has to wait until June to get her hands on. She cannot wait to dump her Sony-Ericsson phone and get an iPhone. Upon watching the keynote, she immediately “pre-authorized” the purchase of two iPhones–one for her and one for me :).
Interestingly, as I flew back to Seattle from Vegas where I attended CES (clearly I went to the wrong show), sitting next to the legions of Microsoft employees who attended the show, the topic of conversation wasn’t anything Microsoft introduced at CES (nor the Gates keynote, yawn), it was the iPhone. They all were amazed at the innovation from Apple and secretly want one. I wonder who will be brave enough to carry one around the Redmond campus?
As the hype builds for CES, the New York Times divides the competitors for your living room into three categories. The Incumbents like HBO already have a stake in America’s TV market. Latching on to them are the Extenders, who provide the actual devices to link up with your PC. Finally, the Straight Shooters bridge the gap with software.
Sphere: Related ContentThis tiny Italian city in the Alps gets no sun all winter due to the surrounding mountains. So they decided to solve the problem! Human ingenuity at its best!
Sphere: Related ContentAn article by Michael Arrington over at TechCrunch.com explores the death of broadcast (linear) TV. Some research indicates that online video watchers watch less TV, well duh.
The key tipping point will be when a startup is able to distribute proper television content over the Internet legally. People will begin to abandon their cable tv subscriptions in favor of Internet distribution. MobiTV is in the best current position to do this - they have a ton of cash and are only a few deals away from being able to offer the equivalent of a cable television subscription over the Internet. And The Venice Project may also win. iTunes will continue to pursue their pay per show model, and that will also take market share.
I realized something was different the first time my wife and I watched Youtube for 2 hours one evening, forgetting to turn the TV on.
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It’s a big day for Moore’s Law. I’m not sure anyone else has noticed this, but by my calculations we have in the past few months reached the penny-per-MIPS* milestone. Intel’s Core Duo running at 2.13 GHz now costs around $200 at retail (it’s around $180 at volume), but can do about 20,000 MIPS. I remember my first 6 MHz 286 PC in 1982 that did 0.9 MIPS. I have no idea what the CPU cost then, but the PC it came in cost nearly $3,000 so it couldn’t have been cheap. Say it was around $1,000/MIPS back then. Now it’s $0.01/MIPS. I know I shouldn’t be astounded by Moore’s Law anymore, but that really is something.
Continue reading ‘The Rise of “Freeconomics”’
Sphere: Related ContentAccording to ABI Reasearch, the market for home networking and connected entertainment devices will grow from $14 billion in 2005 to more than $85 billion in 2011, ABI forecasts. This “astonishing” growth rate will be driven by a desire for “pervasive connectivity” in applications such as multi-room PVRs, place-shifting, and networked gaming, according to the market research firm.Another factor driving the market will be the use of home networks for video distribution by IPTV providers such as Verizon, France Telecom, and AT&T, ABI says. These and other service providers see home networks as a way to extend data services without the need for any rewiring, ABI says.In terms of unit volumes, ABI expects the total number of network connections shipped into the home market to grow from 247 million in 2005 to over 861 million units by 2011.
ABI Principal Analyst Michael Wolf stated, “This market has reached a major turning point. Home networking has moved beyond a basic broadband sharing model to one of networked entertainment and convergence across the PC, consumer electronics and communication devices. The emergence of enabling technologies such as 802.11n for wireless video distribution, HomePlug AV and MoCA as alternative multimedia network backbones, and DLNA media server and device interoperability software, are all solidifying the foundation for an explosion of new devices and applications based on a fully connected home.”
More information on ABI’s study, “Home Networking and Connected Home Market Analysis,” is available here.
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This blog post by Derrick of Stamford CT, talks about his recent purchase of a Belshaw Donut Robot Model 42 from Ebay for $900. This thing makes 384 donuts per hour! Derrick connected it to the 240V AC power in his laundry room and let her rip…Great pictures included.
