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iPhreaks
Electronics | Sep 11, 07
The announcement of the "iPod touch" highlights iPhone issues that seem ironic given Apple's founders' reported early careers.
Readers of this blog could have learned much of the feature set of the “touch” back on Jouly 27th ("iGroans and Vist-ful Thinking"). Noting difficulties with slow web access via AT&T's Edge network versus rivals using 3G technology, I wrote: "Rolling out an iPod with iPhone screen and Wi-Fi technology would allow users to sidestep a contractual obligation to a lesser technology, one Apple may now be finding a barrier to sales." That's pretty much what Cupertino has done, with an accompanying price cut on the iPhone and a rebate to that product's early adopters (there's also a new iPod nano, and like the iPod touch this release was foreshadowed by vendors dropping older models ahead of the news – see "Retailers Drop iPods Ahead of Apple's "Surprise" Announcement").
While a cheaper iPhone without the "phone" is one answer to an undesirable carrier, the other logical alternative is an iPhone with a 3G carrier. While Apple is for the time being contractually unable to offer this option, some programmers and/or hackers seem to be taking it upon themselves to do so. Depending on one's interpretation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) it may or may not be legal to sell solutions allowing the unlocking of an iPhone so that it may be used on other networks, but an exception to the act is said to allow individuals to do on their own. Several firms are currently vowing to provide unlocking products to the public.
With Cupertino allied with AT&T in an effort to squelch these renegade efforts, one can't help but marvel that Apples co-founders and its current leader reportedly got their start in business together as members of the legendary "Phone Phreaks". This early '70s band of paleohackers notoriously hijacked Ma Bell's long distance network for fun (Steve Wozniak is said to have phoned the Vatican pretending to be Henry Kissinger; he was told the Pope was sleeping at the time) and, occasionally, profit .(Jobs and Wozniak reportedly had a short-lived business manufacturing "blue boxes" that permitted users to avoid toll charges on calls).
That AT&T, in defending its exclusive rights, should find itself depending on a firm created and lead by those who were once the scourge of its existence might seem ironic enough. Yet perhaps there is one more twist to this scenario. Suppose the Edge network is in fact proving a drag on iPhone sales. If users and/or unlocking solution providers cannot legally or practically be stopped from liberating the iPhone from AT&T, then it's not beyond imagination that this new form of "phreaking" might actually be a boon to iPhone acceptance. And, albeit through no action of his own, Steve Jobs might find himself in common cause with those who, it might be argued, are the spiritual heirs of his youth.
Posted by jeffrey.trester at 11:05 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Retailers Drop iPods Ahead of Apple's "Surprise" Announcement
Electronics | Sep 5, 07
Here at PriceSCAN.com we've noted that several major retailers have stopped selling key iPod models during the two weeks before Apple's "mystery" announcement, which is to be made later today.
Jobs & Co. have been tight-lipped about exactly what the new hotness is, but a huge clue is to be found in PriceSCAN's data on the decline in the number of merchants selling some of the most popular iPods. This withdrawal has been particularly acute in the case of the 80 GB Video iPod and the 30 GB iPod, but we're also seeing a significant drop-off in the number of sellers offering Nanos, particularly the 2 GB and 4 GB models. This may reflect some awareness in the retail community of the imminent release of new iPods, especially in the video-enabled, large hard drive category. If more advanced models are coming, retailers may prefer not to be caught with a lot of older inventory they might have to mark down after the new releases, and thus may not have replenished their supply of current models in the wake of summer and back-to-school sales. And of course Apple itself could have chosen to throttle down production of the outgoing models to make way for the next generation, thus preventing retailers from restocking and possibly sending them a signal that new models are forthcoming.
In any case, it appears the lack of current model availability has resulted in something of a price squeeze in some cases. For example, as the PriceTrend graph below demonstrates, the lowest price offered by vendors on this site for an 80 GB black Video iPod has risen from around $325 to just shy of $350 in recent weeks.
Time Period: 9/18/2006 through 8/27/2007
Each tick mark represents one week
Red = High Price, Blue = Average Price, Green = Low Price
Perhaps we'll see a new Video iPod incorporating the iPhone's touchscreen technology; something like what I dubbed the "iPhod" back in July (see "iGroans and Vist-ful Thinking"). And in light of the exit of some large sellers from the Nano market, there may well be a new version of this model as well.
In the minutes before a tsunami hits the shore, the tide tends to recede in an ominous retreat. I suspect Cupertino is treating us to a similar phenomenon, and around 10:00 am west coast time that big wave of Jobs-driven hype should crash down on us all and may well confirm at least some of this hypothesis.
Posted by jeffrey.trester at 4:51 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
