This week Apple will share their latest innovations at WWDC. However, I think its time we reflect back on what Steve Job’s announced 5 1/2 years ago at Macworld 2007: the 1st iPhone (worth another watch).
Steve Jobs pitched it under the backdrop other historic Apple products:
- Macintosh (1984) – which changed the computer industry
- iPod (2001) – which changed the music industry
of which it definitely became the third industry changing product for the company.
But remember what was missing?
- It didn’t have the App Store – Native third-party apps weren’t available until 18 months after the announcement in mid-2008.
- It wasn’t affordable – It cost a steep $599 and was cut in price by $200 two months after launch.
- It wasn’t mass adopted – Despite the lines, only 1.2M were sold in the first full qtr of availability (vs. the 35M last qtr ending Mar 2012)
- It didn’t have push email or MS Exchange support – the most important feature on other “smartphones”… missing.
- It didn’t have GPS – It triangulated “good enough” location using wi-fi and cell towers, but no chip til the 3G.
Yet, we already look upon the Apple iPhone as one of the most successful consumer products ever. It shows how in Lean Startup language, Apple’s MVP did everything they needed to learn about the market and the space.
Apple focused on what it could do better and in a unique way. That’s good advice we each should take when building our new products.
(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)