By: Richard Stoyeck

It is extremely rare in the business world to find a corporation that starts a revolution, and then the very same company leads another revolution. Steve Jobs who runs Apple Computer successfully stood the computer world on its high legs, and then shook its foundation when he created with his associates the very first personal computer. Yes, there were others before him, but they were nothing in comparison to the Apple. The operating system that Apple uses is still acknowledged to be vastly superior to anything that giant Microsoft has ever come out with.

Jobs did make one mistake however, and this mistake cost him his only opportunity to become the richest man in the world. Several decades ago, Apple had the opportunity to license the operating system to other personal computer manufacturers. Jobs made the mistake of believing that it was ABOUT THE HARDWARE. In reality, it was about the software.

Apple never licensed the software, and Microsoft did, which allowed the inferior Microsoft system to become the industry standard, which it still remains today. Gates became the richest man in the world, while Jobs had to settle for selling Apple personal computers with the software embedded into the hardware.

As an aside, the best investment Jobs ever made was probably the 10 million he put up to buy half of Pixar films. Disney passed on that $10 million deal, instead choosing to pay $4 billion plus for the same $10 million dollar investment that Jobs made, only it was several years later.

Jobs’ creation of the iPod revolutionized the music industry, which has experienced no growth for years until Apple came along and sold a 100,000,000 iPods that required music and its associated royalty fees. The music industry should give an award ceremony just for Apple.

Now Steve Jobs and Apple Computer, soon to become Apple Inc. are at it again. This time Jobs and company have created a cell phone device that threatens to create hegemony over the entire cell phone industry. The problem today with sophisticated cell phones is that they are too difficult to operate. The buttons on the blackberry require that you use a stylus to trigger them. Another cell phone, the Treo is not that much better in terms of operational design features.

What Jobs has done for this industry is take it to the next level, and what a level it is. It really shouldn’t be called an iPhone. The phone features of this device are probably the least interesting. I have spoken to two technology mavens that have access to this new device, and their features startled both. This is the equivalent of going from silent films to the talking movie era.

Imagine yourself struggling with the Blackberry small buttons or the Sony Treo? Now along comes the iPhone. There are practically no buttons on the device. It’s got a very large screen, which dominates the front of the device, and it is a touch screen. You operate it by finger alone. It scrolls the various listing almost like a roulette wheel. It slows down, and zeros in on the item you want. As it is slowing down, you have the opportunity to re-engage the scroller. It’s almost as if it has artificial intelligence built into it – that’s how good the user interface is.

This flicking or scrolling feature also applies to iTunes software and your photo collection, address book, videos, and podcasts. With a 3.5 inch screen, movies are far superior to previous Apple products, and there’s real time e-mail delivery similar to a corporate Blackberry but without the extra fees involved.

Now without the small keys that I have on my Blackberry, you have to touch the screen of the Apple to send messages. It is clearly not as precise as the tactile response of a Blackberry, but the software wildly overcomes that deficit. The Apple software has spelling correction software built into it, so if you hit the wrong key the device corrects it.

Browsing the web with this device is a mindblower due to what is called the “Pinch feature”. You can take a Web page that you are looking at, and with your thumb and forefinger pinch the picture wider or narrower, higher or lower. The real beauty here is the simplicity of the entire device.

Most products that are designed by engineers are created with an added level of complexity built into it. It’s like a writer that wants to use words that very few people understand. Why do people design like this? It’s because they want to impress themselves, and others with their brainpower. What is more interesting is how such designs survive to become marketed products.

The American car market self-destructed when for 20 years, the companies were run by financial / accounting types, not people who LOVED CARS. Apple has clearly developed a corporate culture that puts functional design first, and engineers, and software geeks second. From the PC to the iPod, and now the iPhone, we have a history of fabulous, sterling products coming out of this American design factory.

These guys even put the speaker on the bottom front edge of the product . I have a Motorola Razor that when I put down in the car, I can’t hear it when it rings, the speaker is on the back. You will notice that Motorola stock took a hit to the downside this week with the unveiling of the iPhone. Apple’s new product is not cheap. It will sell between $500 and $600 per phone depending upon storage capability. Cingular will be the only carrier at the moment.

So the real question is at this price point how much of the market can the iPhone capture. My firm’s answer is plenty. Apple is looking to ship 10 million phones by the end of 2008. This equals about 1 percent of annual worldwide cell phone sales. We think that the sales goal is easily achievable.

You can buy a Blackberry, Treo, or Razor cell phone for $200 to $300. You still need an iPod if you are into music. The iPod sells for a couple of hundred dollars by itself. At some point Cingular, or other cell phone companies will be kicking in part of the cost in order to get subscribers. That amount is usually up to $100 per phone. We see people standing on line to get this product. Will you be one of them, I will?

People pay big bucks for snob appeal and status, and this product qualifies for the ultimate status definition. Status is buying things you don’t need, with money you don’t have, to impress people you don’t know. Stay tune for more.

Goodbye and Good Luck

Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com

Richard Stoyeck’s background includes being a limited partner at Bear Stearns, Senior VP at Lehman Brothers, Kuhn Loeb, Arthur Andersen, and KPMG. Educated at Pace University, NYU, and Harvard University, today he runs Rockefeller Capital Partners and StocksAtBottom.com. www.stocksatbottom.com

By Christopher Meinck

Apple’s newest creation the iPhone promises to take small hand held digital devices to the next level. It is more than a phone, but rather a high tech multi-functional device that allows you to make phone calls, text message, surf the Internet, take pictures, check Email, watch video, and best of all includes a video iPod. Not only that it takes user-friendly a step further with a few smarter features such as the touch pad screen that works with the touch of your finger, and nothing else! It has special sensors that know when a larger flat object such as your face is pressing against the phone, or if it is a smaller object such as a human finger.

The iPhone is not even on sale yet, as it is set to be released with two year contracts for service with carriers such as Cingular, the new AT&T. Apple has decided to go with GSM technology for the iPhone. Phones sold by AT&T as well as T-Mobile come with the SIM card disabled, effectively locking them to the network. It is possible to unlock these phones and is also legal to do so in America.

No one really knew exactly how many features the new iPhone would have, and many are satisfied with what they are hearing. The iPhone is has a liquid filled touch screen, along with Wi-fi capabilities. It is about time that Apple extended their technology to the popular and ever growing mobile phone industry. Similar to the iPod, the iPhone won’t have a replaceable battery, and is also designed to have a closed system.

Over the past few years Apple has basically dominated the MP3 scene with their iPod, so it only makes sense to include this popular device in their iPhone attracting even more users. Since the time the iPod was released it has evolved into a small digital device capable of playing and storing many full length movies and music. The iPod also has thousands of useful accessories that are available online and in retail stores, as well as iTunes for music. It will only be a matter of time before there are this many accessories for the iPhone, but I’m sure you can get basic protective accessories when you purchase your phone.

The Apple iPhone will also have the capability of running Google maps, conference calling, text, as well as other multimedia messaging. The iPhone also has Bluetooth as well as WiFi connectivity, Email software, and web browser. The coolest and most unique feature about the iPhone is that there no key pad or stylus needed. Instead there is a 3.5 inch square touch pad that is sensitive to the touch of your finger. When you want to type out an Email, text message, or document you can select the virtual keypad for easier typing.

You can purchase your own iPhone after it is released in June of this year. The price for a 4GB is $499 and for double the memory at 8GB it will run you $599, the much better deal. Over time the price will decrease and the amount of space will increase. It is also likely that other companies are scrambling to come up with their own versions of this awesome new mobile device.

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