Apple's iPhone 'Hype' Overhyped

I find it interesting that since the release of Apple's (AAPL) iPhone (even before, actually), I have seen and read untold numbers of articles and press junkets spinning yarns challenging the purveyor of kitsch-cool tech devices to live up to all the hype surrounding the most talked about gadget release in recent history.

Granted, by historic Apple standards, marketing efforts for the iPhone were relatively substantial. But it paled in comparison to the media blitz set in motion by every news agency, network and media outlet known to mankind. I'm not sure if you can credibly label CNN's constant and continual coverage of iPhone line-campers at the Times Square Apple Store, hype... but the hype that was hyped wasn't so much from Apple. I like to call it a buzz... and it was cool. It's rare these days that the public at large can get so excited about, well... anything.

I can't say whether that's a good or a bad thing, but it was fun to watch. After a string of successes and staggering growth over the last several years, Apple-knockers were at the ready to see the company fall short. Much to their disappointment, it didn't happen. Nor is it likely to happen anytime soon. Apple will most certainly have its ebb and flow, but their position as developers of segment-defining doo-dads will have far-reaching effects on global tech markets for decades to come. Jobs and company must have reveled in the complimentary, minute-by-minute updates streaming in from every form of media there is. The fact that much of the ruckus was credited all the way back to Cupertino, had to be the icing on the cake.

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Comments

[freshsage:]

this blog, like most blogs, explains nothing

2008 Jan 31 06:14 AM

[Tom B:]

Well, it is a device that is totally revolution; many years beyond anything preceding it. Look at Windows Mobile-- that's bee around--what?-- about a decade-- and its garbage.

2008 Jan 31 06:57 AM

[J:]

This guy can't even get basic facts right. Apple has no Times Square store. There's no Apple Store anywhere near Times Square.

2008 Jan 31 06:57 AM

[ThinkFirst:]

Seeking Alpha has no quality control. What a shame!

2008 Jan 31 07:10 AM

[dynein:]

"This guy can't even get basic facts right. Apple has no Times Square store. There's no Apple Store anywhere near Times Square."

True, he was a whole 17 blocks off. That's less than a mile fyi.

2008 Jan 31 07:13 AM

[Thomas A, G...:]

Dale Renner, If you going blog about a company, check your facts straight before you print. This article is totally wrong. No real Facts, location of store is wrong. Seeking Alpha is becoming a Rag Blog with bloggers like you that can't even get their facts straight.

Thomas A. Gaughan

2008 Jan 31 07:20 AM

[peter02l:]

Chill guys,

Mr. Renner makes an interesting observation. That's all it is - an observation. He is saying most of the hype comes from the media, not Apple.
As for the store location, give him a break. What, did he make you lose your way? At least he is not making up numbers for iPhones lost in the channel!

2008 Jan 31 12:02 PM