Keynote 08- The aftermath
I was really let down by the Macworld 2008 keynote yesterday. Steve Job's keynotes are a thing of lore, and yesterday, his legendary speeches lost a bit of their allure. There was a lack of 'BOOM's, no 'one more thing', and actually, an obvious empty spot, bereft of new, exciting products.For the last year, Apple could do no wrong. They have released a stream of complete, advanced products, which has directly translated into a build up of momentum, and their shares ballooning to $200. Given these circumstances, the keynote was never going to live up to the collective Apple communities' expectations.
The online community tends to glorify these speeches, but I have already noticed websites such as Gizmodo and Engadget turning a accusing eye to Apple's court. The only way to sum this up is to take an objective look at what Apple 'really' released yesterday. Firstly, we have the success of Leopard, a solid release that really helped Apple to increase their market share following Vista, or 'OS Version Hell', as I like to call it. So far, so good. But from here on, things turned a bit sour.
Next came the release of Time Capsule, essentially a promised feature of the original beta version of Leopard which was removed from the Gold Master at the last minute. After a long wait, we are offered a 'new product', essentially an Airport base station and a hard drive in one. What was wrong with my original Airport Extreme and Hard drive that I had set up for Leopard? Instead, now I have to fork out for a stand alone product, when third party peripherals are cheaper, probably more reliable, and generally preferable.
There was much controversy surrounding the failed first incarnation of Apple TV, the most recent occasion where risky innovation hasn't worked for Apple. Apple TV 2, however, looks set ot work, and the Movie Rentals idea is a solid one. The price is right, with the $4.99 fee sitting somewhere lower than your average Blockbuster.
Next exhibit- the iPod/iPhone debacle. The reality of an SDK is getting ever closer, but Apple thought it would keep us sated to release some new applications for the iPod, ported over from the iPhone. How cool! We get stocks, weather, notes, mail and maps, all for 'free'. That is, if you don't already have an iPod. Early adopters get stung by Apple, just as usual, by having to fork over $20 for five free applications.
And finally, the Macbook Air. I was initially wowed by this thing, and its hard to deny Apple's marketing plan- it fits inside an envelope? 'The thinnest laptop ever' is an excellent piece of computing design and minituarisation, but could have been oh so much more. There are a few areas where the target market (road warriors), will find issues, such as the non-replaceable battery.
I respect and adore Apple, but yesterday they came dangerously close to losing my interest altogether. Its isn't a coincidence that the shares have fallen to $160, and the 'Keynote Index' theory is broken. All in all, Macworld 2008 wasn't successful, and Apple will have to reel out some special products over the next few months in order to regain their impetus. Where were the new Apple Cinema Displays? Where was my iPhone 3G announcement? Where was my Macbook Pro refresh? These, and many more glorious products, were noticeably absent...
Written by Will on January 16th, 2008 with no comments.
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