After dialed-up hype, Apple phones it in

Every few years, the impending release of a new product creates such hype that eager customers line up for hours or even days outside store fronts, hoping to be the first to shell out big bucks to get their hands on the next big thing. Tickle Me Elmo . . . PlayStation3 . . . the latest edition of World of Warcraft . . . products that either fly or flop.

June 29 this year marked the latest addition to the played-up and pricey world of gadgets: Apple’s release of what it gushes in a Sept. 10 press release is a mobile phone, a widescreen iPod you control with a tap or other hand motion and “the best mobile Internet device ever” captivated tech nerds and trendwatchers ready for something to replace their Razrs and Blackberrys alike.

On iDay, as it has been called, Apple sold what is estimated by bloggers and business publications at+ — and though the company has declined to release exact numbers — in the hundreds of thousands of iPhones.

But in only two-and-a-half months, much has changed for what began as a nearly $600 piece of equipment in the court of public opinion. Customers have reconfigured the phone to use it on wireless carriers other than the arranged AT ‘ T; its features are ever-changing; oh, and its price has dropped more than 30 percent.

Whether or not this is all simply part of or glitches in CEO Steve Jobs’s master plan for world domination, the iPhone has created some real problems in the air and on a few campuses around the country.

THE SUCCESS OF SECRECY

Customers, rival cellphone makers and amused bystanders have not been quiet about their love or hate for the iPhone — but Apple is keeping quiet, in its nearly trademarked organized secrecy.

A controlled, well-organized and even secretive company, from codes of conduct for itsr employees to rumors about new products, Apple has always made sure to have all of its bases covered. So much so, that when contacted for an interview, College of Communication sophomore DJ Capobianco, owner of the iPhone and Apple store employee, could not comment. Capobianco had to deny comment as he is under a non-disclosure contract with the company. Apple Public Relations did not respond to attempts by The Daily Free Press to contact them.

HOW LOW CAN YOU GO

On Sept. 5, Apple took $200 off its list price for 8 gigabyte iPhone, angering those who got too excited. And it unveiled plans for a new generation of iPods, including the iTouch MP3 player that plays off the idea of the iPhone but lacks its calling abilities.

Days later, the company announced it had sold its one millionth iPod. Verizon Wireless has sold $3.4 million LG Chocolates — the network’s most popular music-centric phone — since its summer 2006 release, said New England Verizon Wireless spokesman Michael Murphy.

But those who were at first most excited about the product and waited in line with hundreds of other enthusiasts and dollars were not applauding.

Xavier Joseph, one who first bought an iPhone, felt betrayed enough to create an anti-iPhone group on Facebook.com, “Angry iPhone Buyers Unite,” which had 15 members this week. The high school junior from New Orleans said he was infuriated when he heard others at his school would be able (and more likely) to have his most prized new possession, too.

“I was just a bit upset about the incredibly quick and large price drop,” said Joseph, “but now that Apple is giving some money [the company is offering early adopters who shelled out the extra pile of cash a $100 in-store credit]…my anger has subsided.”

Apple CEO Steve Jobs offered a $100 in-store credit to the early iPhone buyers on the company’s web site just after announcing the invention of the iTouch iPod.

Jobs announced in a letter to his customers on the site in early September that the difference in price was not due to a performance and sales, but rather normal price decreases on technology over time. Many have bought this explanation, as it is relatively common to drop prices of high-end products just before the holiday season to encourage purchases by the masses.

BUT IT’S COOL

While Joseph wasn’t happy with the drop in price, soon after he purchased the phone he still feels it was completely worth the original $600-plus investment, and “even more worth the $400 people will now spend on it.”

“It has met my expectations and more,” he said.

COM junior Garrett Tillman, who got a phone just a week after its release, had been lusting after it since the hype began in January. “I think I had vivid dreams of having it,” he said.

Tillman said the extra two months of using the phone were worth the extra $200 investment. He said with almost daily iPhone software updates, he never misses out on debugging and revamping of the phone.

“You get a new version of the phone basically every day because they add updates,” he said. “They could redesign the entire phone tomorrow, and I’d have a new one.”

Tillman said the phone’s capabilities really are worth the hype: Tillman claims its battery life is better than average; he loves not missing a phone call as he listens to music on his iPod; he writes emails to professors and classmates on the go; he adds convenience points to his BU student account while he waits in line to pay for his lunch at the GSU. The phone in general, he said, is a big improvement from popular phones such as the Motorola RazR, which he previously had.

“I wanted to shoot myself in the head every time I opened it,” he said of his last phone, adding the iPhone is more reliable than other marketing-based “cellphone marvels.”

But not everyone was possessed with a desire to get the iPhone. Creator of another anti-iPhone Facebook group, “Abolish iPhone!! – it sucks!,” Cloe Stackhouse, a sophomore at the University of California-Los Angeles doesn’t have one simply because she doesn’t like the Apple company.

“They are charging way too much for everything,” she said. “I really don’t want to pay $600 for a phone. A phone is a phone is a phone.”

However, according Sept. 5 press release from Apple CEO Steve Jobs, the company’s customer satisfaction surveys reveal the iPhone has higher scores than any other Apple product ever. “We’ve clearly got a breakthrough product,” Jobs said in the release.

CALLING ALL COMPETITORS

Though Apple’s near-ubiquitous presence brought attention to the idea of a true multifacted phone, other wireless carriers say media convergence has been around for a while.

“I think Apple brought a lot of advertising and marketing money to the table,” said Verizon’s Michael Murphy. “They worked to raise awareness for what was possible.”

Sprint PCS wireless was the first company to offer over-the-air music downloads to cell phones in 2005, said New England spokesperson Mark Elliott. Verizon followed suit in January 2006 with the release of V-Cast music technology.

Elliott said Sprint was not concerned with losing customers to AT’T with the iPhone release.

“We’re confident the wide variety of devices combined with nationwide network presence and unique capabilities separated Sprint from the competition,” he said.

Verizon has spent $40 billion since 2000 in improving network technology and now offers 18 media capable handsets. Murphy said that 40 million of Verizon’s 62 million wireless customers use some kind of data technology on their phone.

Along with providing a variety of media-capable cell phones under $100, Sprint boasts the highest revenue per user in the industry, proving that more consumers are taking advantage of the network’s pricier data-centric phones, Elliott said.

Verizon and Sprint both offer phones with GPS navigation systems that can pinpoint users’ exact locations and provide audible directions, an element Murphy said the iPhone does not have to his understanding.

AT’T did not respond to Free Press’s attempts to contact them.

SYSTEM OVERLOAD?

Some college campuses have actually had problems caused by students sporting the new iPhone: At Duke University, glitches in the wireless network came to light when a flood of iPhones overloaded the system.

Michael Krugman, BU’s Office of Information Technology Executive Director, said he has worked on getting the phone to connect to the university’s e-mail servers and prevent malfunctions, but acknowledged the difficulties that accompany new technology.

“Errors, conflicts and failures are increasingly difficult to predict and, in fact, impossible to eliminate absolutely. there will always be problems from time to time,” Krugman said in an email. “The iPhone may well present a range of challenges for us at BU and beyond, but challenges are, after all, what prompts progress.”

He also said the presence of iPhones and similar Apple products will most likely proliferate on BU’s campus.

“Although it’s behind the curve with respect to certain features such as enterprise support,” said Krugman, “the iPhone’s a breakthrough product and years ahead of its competition.”

“Apple has clearly reaffirmed its technological prowess,” he continued, “and the iPhone and current and prospective derivative products will likely set the standard for fidelity and ease of use for mobile devices.”

Staff writer Erin Kutz contributed reporting for this article.