EightBlack.

Steve Ballmer doesn’t think so.

Seth Godin posted the question “Will the iPhone sell?” to his readers. The quick straw poll amongst the early respondents indicated about 75% of people thought the product would be a hit.

Apple have a product juggernaut with the iPod. It’s a mega brand. The same will be true for the iPhone. Consumers will buy them because they want to, not because they have to. Which is the fundamental difference.

Buying Vista for our business machines earlier this year was a grudge purchase. Sort of like buying gas for our car. We have to have it to commute.

Buying 2 iPods this year as gifts was a joy. A sense of belonging to something bigger. A connection with a brand thats cool. Way cool.

And that’s why Microsoft will continue to follow, not lead. Sure enough, it might have a fortress like hold over the business community at present, but that grip wont last forever. There’s a little search company that might just change this very landscape.

I’m convinced of the iPhones’ success. Steve Jobs will reach his 1% of the mobile market in year 1. And in year 2, he’ll obliterate it. Just hope that his plants in China can keep up.

For more, check out the Macworld opening address. You’ll order one as soon as the presentation is finished.

But not everyone agrees. This from Macworld offers something different.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 1st, 2007 at 10:09 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.