The Fine Art of Hype Marketing

Lots of companies engage some sort of marketing strategy to unveil or push their goods and services but few, unlike Apple, excel in the art of creating infinite buzz and hype about their products. The latest example of this power was the release this week of the new iPhone aimed at the booming smartphone market. The event unveiling the product was preceded by weeks of speculation and high press alerts about what features this new Apple toy would include. Less surprising was the fact that the hype was completely unjustified given that the new iPhone would only include features (mainly 3g, and GPS) that have been offered by competitors for some time. Clearly the iPhone is still a superior product in terms of design and ease of use (especially when navigating the web) but more will be needed to catch up with Nokia the market leader with a substantial market share. Apple is betting that the ability of external developers to build applications for the iPhone will enable it to boost growth however Apple’s proprietary technology will likely be inferior in the long term to Android, the open source mobile platform launched by Google. It will be interesting whether Apple’s preference for proprietary closed technologies used by the iPhone will prevail in the end. It is truly entertaining however to see so many open source technology enthusiasts who criticize Microsoft’s proprietary instincts turn a blind eye almost in adulation for Apple’s flair to sell plenty of hot air.

Apple’s Hot Air

Apple does it again. Today the company unveiled the thinnest most beautifully designed laptop the world has seen so far, the Macbook Air. The 13 inch wonder that fits in a large envelope answers the prayers for those like me who are not fans of the laptop as a desktop philosophy. Mobility in my opinion is the key but the real question remains: When it comes to technology innovation why are only people in Cupertino (and a few other places) able to think so different?