The impending take over of the world by Steve Jobs!
Smoke on the water, fire in the sky! Sure I love Deep Purple. Love IPods too. And now here comes the IPhone. No buttons, just a touch sensitive screen. Runs on an embedded version of Mac OSx. Jobs' revelation of the phone at the MacWorld Expo sent Apple stock up 8% and RIM stock down 7% - plus sending tremors across the mobile manufacturer world. Cisco filed law suit against the IPhone name - though talks are going on to settle the issue. Sure, Cisco could settle for a low single digit royalty for the name that would just drop to its bottomline with no effort at all from Chambers. And probably corporate purchasing officers using an Iphone as their own mobile would have some bias toward the Iphone brand name when it comes to sourcing their IP phones. Will this be the next Ipod? 200 million in 5 yrs? More? $499 - $599 price seems a bit prohibitive. But if users start downloading from Itunes to their Iphone directly, think of the revenues Cingular and its brethren could book from data services. Hey, Sirius and XM would have felt a few shivers going down their spine too - with high speed broadband on mobile networks, there is very little that will distinguish Sirius or XM from Itunes! Infact, Itunes is better with video downloads also available which will be very attractive to bored folks walking around with Iphones. Don't be surprised if Sirius starts a satellite mobile telephony service as a dual play to even stay in the game - hope they price it better than Iridium did! Apple is really going to be the top honcho in media very very soon. Disney, XM etc, could get gobbled up by Jobs in the next 5 - 7 yrs. This is infact the ultimate convergence - the Iphone in your hand allowing you to catch up on the latest on YouTube, book your flight ticket, check your Ebay bid status, order your Starbucks coffee and IM Derek at office to check the status of the ppt for the 9AM meeting while you are walking down East 61st street! Of course, you can dial in to that weekly TC that drags on for an hour while being in pole position to make a last minute bid on that ticket for the Metallica concert on Stubhub. Remember, the Iphone has wifi connectivity too. The technology, the OS, the connectivity, the design excellence, the cult status and the coolness of the Iphone is going to be a game changer in the mobile industry - just mark my words and come back to this blog in about 2011/ 2012 by which time Apple would be much bigger than Google, Microsoft or GE. This small device will permeate life at a very deep level since it will help us communicate, enjoy music, watch TV & video, do commerce, book the PCP appointment and do almost anything to sustain life! If you have a 10 year investing horizon, push that buy button on Apple now, sit back and enjoy life on the Iphone. Mind you, if your mobile phone contract is expiring anytime before June 2007, DO NOT RENEW, please jump to Cingular.
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