iPhone Makes Ad Debut, Adrants Takes Note, Buzz TV Acknowledges, We Reflect

Diggy-diggy. Adrants' post about the iPhone Oscar ad made it on Buzz TV today. How awesome is that? Really rather. I feel like Miss America except without bulimia and 10-pound hair.

I initially thought it weird that Steve Jobs would unveil a yet-to-be-tested new product 6 flippin' months in advance. It struck me as bad climactic timing in terms of building the hype.

But now my feelings are different. Jobs just isn't a dumb guy. That 6 months is flying by, and post-unveiling, Apple wisely opts to bleed iPhone marketing slowly and tactfully instead of getting all colourful and extra-extra, the way they typically push the iPod.

I've been matter-of-factly told more that once that Jobs will most likely do away with the iPod altogether and make iPhone the music crack of the future.

I seriously doubt that, and for the following reasons:

• At costs ranging from $79 to $249, the iPod is much more attractive for starving collegiates than the iPhone's prospective $499-$599 price tag (and that's before the cost of sign-up and selecting a plan, even!).
• While Apple's doubtless garnered serious cultlike loyalty, suggesting people forego other loyalties is just ... well, risky. Let me explain. You probably own an iPod and maybe if you're unstoppably awesome you have a Macbook too. But does your love of Apple eclipse your feelings about your cell phone carrier? That's intimate, man, and that has nothing to do with Apple or how awesome you think the iPhone might be. A lot of Verizonites are out there going, "Hell no, beeyatch!" I'm with Cingular and I'm still wincing at the notion.
• As of July 2006, the iPod alone accounted for 45 percent of Apple's quarterly revenue. You don't swap your prize tea kettle for an espresso maker. The espresso maker might be zippier, shinier and more capable, but they're simply not the same product, and please believe loyal lovers of tea will punish you for it.
  
• An 8GB max capacity doesn't hold a candle to the standard iPod's 80GB. You can forget about movies. And forget about replacing an iPod with a value proposition that subtracts value, or exchanges one service for another (in this case, watching movies v. talking on the phone) on the miracle unit itself. It's just bad biznass.

It remains my strong suspicion that this iPhone ain't all we think it is, miracle tool jokes aside. It's being casually incorporated into the culture so we can get used to the idea of it, after which, come June, we'll be shocked and amazed by what other merit the iPhone happens to possess that we could never ourselves have imagined in our wildest dreams. Guess we'll find out in June.

All right, that's the good word about Apple. It is cookie time.