iPhone countdown - what others have in the pipeline
Ralf Haller
April 10th, 2007
With about 2 months to go until Apple’s iPhone is supposed to be launched in the US (Europe has to wait until the end of the year), among the established mobile phone manufacturers there is a combination of playing things down but at the same time launching some similar phones ahead of Apple. Interesting also to see that the S. Koreans are suddenly giving their phones a real name and not just an acronym like LG … or SGH… Three of the supposed competitors are: Samsung’s UPSTAGE, LG’s enV and Nokia’s 5300 Xpress Music. All are much lower priced than the upcoming iPhone and that seems to be their only differentiator. Also the service providers are busy working on their music download portals and price models such as e.g. Sprint Nextel, who are now offering a music download for the famous 99 cents, lowering it substantially from $2.50. And Verizon Wireless has a music website showing the LG enV. Both website designs have black backgrounds, another me-too borrowed from Apple, and that despite some older school marketers (e.g. Ogilvy) recommending avoidance of white on black by all means since it is difficult to read. New times, new marketing ideas…
