iphone, youphone, we all scream for iphoneee

iPhone got released a week or two ago after a long long hype that started a year before its release. I do not know of another product that had this much positive buzz around it without spending buckets of money on advertising.
How does Apple do this? I really do not understand.
As far as I know, there are only two brands out there (Google and Apple) where customers have such sympathy for the brand that if there was a defect in the product, the user would think of blaming the factory instead of Apple.

So I have to say at 500 (or 600, depending on the memory size) a pop, I was skeptical about how much of the product was hype and how much was actual value.
Well, let me say this: Ever since I went to that apple store to just mess around with it, I do not like my Blackberry any more. So yes, it is all that. It combines phone, ipod, camera and all other fringe Blackberry benefits in a beautiful and compact package. It is easy to use and it is just pretty (which appeals to a lot of girls who want email but not a blackberry)

So delivering on the point and exceeding expectations is obviously key in becoming america's darling brand. But there is something about Apple that is just delicious. Just a few years ago, it was a brand in the gutter. And we all know that once you are in the gutter, you go down further.

So Steve jobs obviously did the unexpected. He took a brand that had positive elements that people appeciated and carried it to mainsteam. He made a non black computer that was intuitive to use, a music player that could carry all your music that was small, one clean bug free version of a product that you did not regret buying (ever)... And did it in a humble way, not falling into the traps of corporate culture.

And I think America picks up on either the coolness or the reliability or both. And once you have established your brand as cool and reliable, the buzz just follows. You need to keep delivering to the point but the word of mouth effect will suffice to make your brand the hottest item in the market.

It is hard to not be tempted to bombard people with your brand but a little bit of mystery goes a long way.


Update Oh oh, and I was just at the cingular store, doing my regular iphone stalking and one of the salespeople said that the new 3G iphone is rumored to have a November release date. I am holding off until then... Just a hint :)

Pop Culture and the Art of Blogging

So I am secretly addicted to Perezhilton.com
He is my guilty pleasure. He is one of those people you read while pretending to read NY Times. The funniest blogger ever.
Everyone (ok huge generalization, I should say a whole lotta people) like reading celeb gossip for one reason or another. It passes time while waiting in grocery line, you like looking at celebrity styles before shopping, find it extremely entertaining or eat that gossip up. Whatever the reason is we just LIKE it (apparently TOO much).

And I think Perez was like that initially. He wanted to keep a blog about celebrities because he had stuff to say about them. But then he became one of the most popular bloggers of all times. If you have not checked out his website, you really should. I am telling you. He draws coke traces and buggers on celebrity faces he publishes and cracks you up.

Well I wanted to write about him because I just realized how addicted we are to celebrity gossip. Perez, the other day had to post an apology letter for having pneumonia and not being able to keep up with his posts. Wow, the dude must say he is sorry for being seriously sick. Even in the most intense job, you can take a sick leave but someone writing about celebrities can't. Because celebrity news is addictive. We have to get them no matter what. We need them now It makes the world a better place.
I almost think that people would be less frustrated if CNN.com was under maintenance for a day.

Get well soon Perez!