Looks like it’s worth the wait.

This is Steve Jobs. He brought you Pixar, the Mac, the iPod, and now a new iPhone.
Stay tuned, he’s going to fix the whole poverty thing next year.


Refresh, refresh, refresh. I’ve hit the button at least 60 times in the last 20 minutes. Usually it’s up by noon and it’s 1:00pm. I hope nothing is wrong… refresh, refresh, refresh… sure enough the icon changes and its there. Steve Job’s keynote is a semi annual speech from the CEO of Apple. It is an unveiling of new products and new features. It is a mac geek’s Christmas morning. Sure I could log on to the sight I check daily (MacRumors.com) and get a rundown of all the details in bullet form, but I’d rather watch how it unfolds moment by moment.

It’s like watching a state of the union address for technophiles who know they’re choice of Mac makes them far superior to the rest of the world. These speeches run over an hour and often use language that I don’t fully understand. But they all address the needs of the consumer. Macs core value is creating intuitive products. I shouldn’t have to jump through hoops and learn another language, the machine should work for me. Now that Apple has moved into fields of music players and phones it is great to have this ingenuity in these aspects of every day life.

This speech seemed a little off. Steve Jobs looked skinny and ill. He also gave the floor to others more than usual. The announcements were not as shocking as they have been in the past, except for one thing. $199 for an iPhone. Even a less than best speech is still captivating, and had me reeling. They have dropped the price on the invention of the year dramatically, again. I love the way they’ve structured this price change to. Essentially it’s a basic rebate, similar to other companies. What is different is the experience for the consumer. This discount doesn’t require you to mail 20 forms; for the person walking in the store the price is basic and low. I think its hilarious that it is more expensive to purchase an iPod touch, which is identical to the iPhone, but without the phone.

The other big announcement was the new “MobileMe” service. Companies spend thousands of dollars to set up Microsoft Exchange, which pushes email, calendars and contacts to multiple computers. Apple is now offering this service and some great bells and whistles to the everyman. You log on to me.com and use web-based programs, or have them sync with your software. So, you can now take a picture on your iPhone and within seconds have it sync to your galleries within seconds, over which friends and family can view with your permission.

Do you see what this company has me doing? I’m selling their product, explaining it in detail, after watching a 2-hour commercial. Mac has forced me to do some soul searching in the past. I’ve asked myself if I’m just into these computers because it makes me feel a sense of belonging to an elitist sub-culture. (Think about how many products sell an identity or feeling more than a simple item on the shelf.) That soul searching left me slow to purchase new items at a rate matching my impulse but still committed to buying Mac. I’d rather spend more for a virus free reliable product. Now I don’t have to incessantly click refresh, I know that July 11th is the day.