Look at how many iterations of iTunes there have been and how many incremental upgrades in between. Each one added something. The phone has ONE BUTTON. That is the extent of it hardware “limitation”.

Now we all know that the SDK is out and iPhone 2.0 will be out in June. But the reason I got the iPhone and not another computer is that the iPhone is the cheapest computer on the market right now, and it is totally virtual.

While Apple is no doubt quite skilled at handling information and PR, their way of communicating reality can cause a bit of confusion. Of course we thought the iPhone was done. Of course we assumed that their “no” to third-party apps was somewhat permanent and had some hard-to-fathom reason. In reality, I think they were just applying a bit of misdirection at the appropriate moment. We all thought “oh well, this is how it’s going to be” instead of “it’ll come when they finish the product.

Cognitive dissonance, I suppose.

They could. But it’s very difficult to then negotiate a contract with the IP owners. Do you think for a moment that Apple could have had the iPod success if it hadn’t negotiated an easy-DRM, $0.99/song, comprehensive catalog deal with the labels?

Yes, Apple did get into bed with AT&T (allegedly, the company that cooperated with the government to spy on us). Do we castigate Apple for that and call it a day? Or congratulate it for taking the first ballsy step to fundamentally alter the power phone carriers with its groundbreaking revenue sharing model or Wi-Fi implementation? Even executives of Nokia and Motorola are grateful for Apple realigning the market.

Design is a balance. It can’t happen without compromise. Who else is giving us, on a consistent basis, products with better balances?

Consider “Rip, Mix, Burn.” The music industry was aghast that customers could take music they owned (and didn’t) and make their own mix CDs. Heck, I remember music honchos complaining to Congress about how computer companies were encouraging people to steal music (using “Rip, Mix, Burn” as an example).

Today? “Ooh, we can’t let you make ringtones, Mr. Customer. We might get in trouble!” (Use your best Bluto imitation for that one)

Once Apple stops creating those products, the customers will find someone else who will.

In the second coming of Jobs, that no longer is the approach Apple’s taking. Whether it’s Aperture, iMovie 08, Spotlight or iPhone, Apple’s willing to release products before they reach maturity. Why? It may have to do with additional revenue :-) However, without AAPL’s stellar financial performance (and margins) over the last few years Apple would be nowhere today. That record allows the company to do a lot of things and take risks (like aTV) it otherwise couldn’t.

Whatever happened to the Apple that didn’t release something until it was right? What happened to the Apple that “sweated the details”? Are you telling me that nobody at Apple thought, “Nah. Who needs copy and paste?”

All the excuses and rationalizations mostly pertain to Apple’s business. What about iChat? “We can’t have iChat because AT&T would get upset because people wouldn’t be paying money to send SMS messages.” Customers want to make ringtones out of music that they already own. “Well, we can’t let you do that because it might offend the music industry.”

In other words, screw what the customer wants.

As an aside, I’ve been laughing lately at the “Apple is as bad as Microsoft” angle. One interesting comparison is that Microsoft promises the world and then fails to deliver. In the case of the iPhone, Apple, conversely, doesn’t exactly promise the world but implies that if you just stick around long enough, they’ll eventually deliver. Bring up things that the iPhone doesn’t do and Apple and their cheerleaders will immediately come back with, “Oh! But Apple will be releasing updates that might let you do that someday!”

In other words, “Stick with us and someday we’ll get it right.” Gee…sounds alot like Microsoft, doesn’t it?

Same for consumer products, same for web sites.

This article was right on the money, but I left this comment to say that your reply to Tom B. was right on the money as well. M$ has COMPLETELY admitted that an integrated HW/SW model is the way to go, a la Apple. Daniel Eran also pointed this out in one (or several) of his articles on Roughly Drafted Magazine (roughlydrafted.com). Check it out, if you’r e not already a fan, I’d be willing to bet you soon will be.

SiSo