A few weeks ago, I asked, "What do you really want from your mobile device?" (and then I posted the trends in the answers).
I know what I want, but it doesn't exist yet. Not even on the iPhone. Now don't get me wrong, I've been following the iPhone since it was first announced, and I really want one. But what if I buy one and then they release the next cooler version that has something that I really need? ... sigh.
I've even bought the ringtone that I want to use (yes. I spent the 99 cents, much to the chagrin of many colleagues -- it's a dollar, for Christ's sake, not a war of business ethics). I can't wait to use it ... it's the first eleven seconds of the title track to turn.
It was rumored that the next iPhone would be announced before Christmas, so I waited and watched ... Nothing. Maybe they were referring to this. Of course, we still did our share to buoy the Apple stock price over the holidays, but the MacWorld Conference and Expo is only a week away, so I wait ... hopeful.
I am also hopeful for an iPhone announcement at MacWorld--at least an announcement that a new one is coming. My Verizon plan doesn't expire for a few months, but I'm more than likely going to be switching. Jobs already announced a new iPhone for Europe is coming (with 3G) and AT&T has confirmed a new version... now, we are just waiting. I'm expecting Apple's keynote to contain (1) typical Apple stocks, market performance (2) iTunes Movie Rentals (3) Apple TV refresh (4) ultraportable Macbook and (5) one more thing... iPhone update announcement
Regarding the ringtone, the biggest complaint people had was that if you buy a song, then you have to pay another $1 to get a ringtone version. You're essentially buying the same song twice.
Posted by Andrew on January 10, 2008 at 03:26 PM EST #
Yeah, I know, but my point is that it's just a dollar. For anyone who has a cell phone that can accept a new ringtone, a dollar is just too little to be complaining about. Complain about the data plan that costs $40 a month in addition to the voice plan you already have, or that the phone costs hundreds of dollars, but a one-time expenditure of a dollar? Really.
Posted by Jen McGinn on January 11, 2008 at 09:32 AM EST #
It's more of the principle of paying for a song twice rather than the $1. The music industry wants people to think that $1 isn't much. GarageBand supports exporting ringtones for iPhone owners, so that's a solution for Mac/iLife '08 owners (probably the people who care most about this).
Anyway, looks like my predictions were spot-on except for the new iPhone announcement (and I didn't mention a few things). I'm going to be sad if there is no new iPhone by the end of Q1, and especially Q2.
Posted by Andrew Wirtanen on January 17, 2008 at 06:03 PM EST #