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by Aryeh on Mac, Marketing, Random, Tech

Steve Jobs Vs. Tech N’ Marketing

Hi All,

A few days ago Hillel posted about the new Apple headphones, and we got many people responding to his blog post. One of the responses was a post by a gentleman named Brian. Here is his comment:

Author : Brian (IP: **********)
E-mail : ************@mac.com
URL    :
Whois  : ********
Comment:
Sorry, this is complete FUD.  Just as Roger noted above, check out the various other in-ear buds out there and you’ll find they are all above $79. Anything less than that is in another class of quality.

Why are you blaming Apple for this?  I guess the secret is out. Apple is working with vendors to price fix all ear bud systems, oh wait, they weren’t the first out with these….

Please, remove the bullseye from Apple and let’s get some real facts in here before you spread more FUD.

1

I am going to leave all comments regarding the content of the post aside and focus on who is posting. I believe the person who posted this comment is a representative of the Apple corporation. If you look at the IP address, it tracks back to Apple Inc.  If this is so, I am very disappointed with Brian’s unwillingness to tell us who he represents. It is truly unacceptable for Apple to be doing this.

Using tactics of Guerrilla marketing are often times necessary, but it needs to be done correctly:

Brian had some very big beginner’s mistakes:

1. Mask your freakin IP address! Come on everyone know that WordPress tracks your IP.

2. Don’t use terminology that only people from the industry use, like FUD .  The Average Joe has no idea what FUD means.

3. Only use Guerrilla marketing when necessary – we are just some guys writing a blog about interesting stuff we come across and we write how we feel about it. DUDE, we are not your make it or break it point. Thanks for taking interest in us but look elsewhere.

I hope you own up to your comment and provide an explanation. Again, this is not about the content of the blog post or the comment (which is quite nasty) but rather about Brian and who he represents.

-Aryeh

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by hilzfuld on iPhone, Marketing, Mobile

Nokia: This is How it Starts

There  is a picture of an unknown Nokia touch screen device floating around the Web.  The picture is actually taken from a Nokia presentation given in Nokia’s Capital Markets Day 2008, so you know it’s not fake. The phone looks pretty awesome, and I am hoping Nokia is really taking its gloves off and getting in the ring with Apple. The N97 is nice, there is no doubt, and the addition of a full QWERTY is a blessed one, but in terms of hardware, it does not compare with the iPhone. Very few phones do.

However, this new phone, pictured below, does compete, and in my opinion, blows the iPhone out of the water. It also looks like it offers some pretty cool features. Sorry there is no more information available yet, but knowing Nokia and the way they work, there will be an announcement soon. I hope.

-Hillel

nokia-new-interface-1

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by hilzfuld on iPhone, Marketing, Mobile

Walmart and G1 News Have Me Asking; “So What”?

walmart

Just two quick updates that are apparently very big news in the cellular world. Walmart is officially going to be selling iPhones for Christmas and the unlocked G1 is now available for $399. I say apparently because I personally am not overly excited about either one of these developments.

Let’s start with the first one. Walmart is selling iPhones. Why is this big news? Walmart is the most popular retailer in the U.S and the iPhone is the most popular cellular device. So my only question is why did it take so long? Why is this a big piece of news? If the rumors were true and Walmart was going to offer a $99 iPhone, now that would be exciting.

walmart99iphone

On to the G1. Well, I was not overly excited about the HTC Dream from day one and this doesn’t change anything for me. I honestly would never consider buying the G1 in its current form factor. Maybe HTC and Google should put their thinking caps on and get things moving for the G2 and release it unlocked. Now that would be exciting.

keyboard23sep2008

Just to summarize, the only thing that would possibly make today’s news any more boring is if someone would release the news that Target is going to be selling RAZRs and that Motorola announced  a new phone.

-Hillel

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by Aryeh on Marketing

Are The “Hippies” Taking it Too Far?

poo1

Alright, before I start I just want to make it very clear that I care much about the environment and I try to recycle as much as I can. We just got a recycling bin near our house so I will start sending my bottles in, but I will NOT start recycling my elephant poo. Yes, that is correct a company called The Great Elephant Poo Paper has begun making products from elephant stool. I really couldn’t believe it when I saw the site, but its for real. You can buy a whole bunch of products from the site that is made out of recycled elephant crap. I just want to leave off my saying, “to each his own”

poo

-Aryeh

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by hilzfuld on iPhone, Marketing, Mobile

Steve Jobs vs. The Simpsons

simpsons-mappleBy now, I am sure most of you have seen The Simpsons’ take on Apple and their products. If you haven’t, you can watch it here.

When I initially watched that episode of the Simpsons, I thought to myself, are Apple products really that exclusive and expensive? After all, the amazing iPhone is only $199, so what are they talking about? Well, I found myself an answer to that question when searching for a better pair of earphones for my iPod Touch. The ones they come with are just not what they should be for so many reasons, so I turned to Apple.com to see what else they offer.

33255274-2-440-ft-2

Here is where I almost fell off my chair. A pair of in-ear headphones that have a simple mic and remote on the wire (the 2nd gen iPod Touch needs a mic to use apps like audio recorders and VOIP calling), will set me back, $80??!! OK that’s a little ridiculous if you ask me. I guess Lisa was right.

33255274-2-440-ovr-1
OK so Apple is a little exorbitant, but here is the catch, here is where Apple’s genius comes into the picture. These $80 earphones received amazing reviews from anyone and everyone who had a chance to review them. CNET, for example, concluded ” If you own a new iPod, the Apple In-Ear headphones are a great value. Owners of iPhones and older iPods will have to decide whether the mic and remote compatibility issues are worth overlooking for the substantial boost in sound quality”. So they charge a lot, but at least they back their prices up with great products.

project_khan_bentley_continental_gt-s-04

The even bigger catch than these earphones being worthy of everyone’s praise, is the fact that even though the price is outrageous, I want them! Not only do I want them (I want that Bentley too), I am seriously considering purchasing them in the near future (let’s hope my wife doesn’t read this).
-Hillel

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by hilzfuld on iPhone, Marketing, Mobile, Software, Tech

Apple Does it Again

overview-gallery1-20081021

Apple released a few new videos recently that, as usual, captured my attention. The first one is an explanation or demonstration of the new Macbook’s multi-touch trackpad, while the other is just another genius iPhone commercial.

When it comes to the new trackpad, I would have to play around with it to determine whether it is absolutely genius or just some more shtick, that when it comes down to using, is too difficult for the average user. Maybe I will go down to the new Israeli Apple store and get the answer to that question. Either way, the video is well done and fun to watch.

iphone-3g-white-top

As for the commercial, I don’t know how they do it, but I have yet to see an Apple commercial that I was not extremely impressed with (as opposed to some other company’s ad campaigns that I have now watched 30-40 times and still do not understand). There is nothing unbelievable about it, they did not spend 30 million on it, and there are no famous actors in it. It is simple, straight forward, and just a very good ad.

-Hillel

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by Aryeh on Mac, Marketing, Tech

The New MacBooks

To shake things up a bit, Hillel posted about Apple’s marketing, and I am posting about their technology.

Yesterday Apple announced their new line of laptop computers. I’m going to make this short.

The major aspects of the new computers are:

  1. The new LED display: A very nice and bright display with no start-up time.
  2. The design: I don’t see an added benefit of having a body made of one piece of aluminum. OK it’s a little thinner and it looks hot. The computer is also lighter. OK, maybe there are some advantages.
  3. The hardware: Not much has changed, which is a big disappointment, except of course the graphics card, which will make some people happy.
  4. The enhanced mouse pad: Deletion of the mouse button and the glass touch pad with added gestures is a  nice, interesting addition. Let’s see how the market takes it.

2 things that interested me in the Keynote:

1. Their time spent on describing the environmental features and how the new notebooks contain none of that bad stuff. I guess Apple really does care!

2. It is the first time ever that they have kept an old item in inventory once releasing a new one. You can still buy the plastic MacBook for $999. Very interesting change in the Apple Marketing Machine.

Aryeh

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by hilzfuld on iPhone, Marketing, Random, Software, Tech

I am Now a Mac

Once again, Apple’s marketing team has managed to amaze me. The only question I have is, why don’t other companies, like say Microsoft, learn from Apple’s marketing strategies? They really are nothing short of brilliant.

Now I know this is Aryeh’s area of expertise, and I know nothing about marketing, except of course as an average consumer I know when marketing achieves its goals, i.e when I want to buy the product that is being marketed, but besides that, not much. However, after watching Apple’s video presentations, that they always post on their site right after a product is announced, I somehow always want to buy their product.

For example, 5 minutes ago, I was not interested in buying a new Macbook, nor did I know what the new Macbook offered that the old ones did not. I innocently surfed to Apple.com, maybe to check out some trailers, maybe to look at one of their innovative products. But before I could get to my destination, I clicked on a video presentation of the new Macbook, and guess what? I want one! I have officially been transformed from a PC to a MAC, in 5 minutes!

Isn’t that what marketing is all about?

This is not to mention Jobs’ brilliant keynotes, or any of their other marketing strategies, I already talked about those here. This is just a simple combination of caring enough to post a video presentation on the site, and making it just great enough, that after watching it, I know what I want for my birthday.

-Hillel

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