Motorola glow rubbing off

WSJ says that iPhone is losing its glow:

Then Warrior, whose company is the largest U.S. cell phone maker, began to find fault with the iPhone, saying it lacks “revolutionary or disruptive” technologies. “As worshippers come out of the heady, enthralling, grandstand production called Macworld, the hype settles and reality sets in,” she wrote.

Would Motorola know what is disruptive or revolutionary if it hit them in the face? I think it would be better if Ms. Warrior and Mr. Zander addressed Motorola related issues before offering advise.

Other than Ms. Warrior’s opinion of what’s revolutionary or disruptive, what do a majority of the critics cite as a major objection with the iPhone? The choice of Cingular as the preferred network!

Much of the latest criticism is zooming in on Apple’s choice of technologies to use with the new phone and its decision to partner exclusively with AT&T Inc.’s Cingular Wireless, which is being rebranded as AT&T.

What is Motorola offering in return?

A Motorola spokeswoman said Motorola will continue to make handsets with built-in Apple iTunes application. In response to iPhone’s debut, she said, “We offer not just one phone, not just one partner — but an entire ecosystem of music offerings.”

An ecosystem that includes a thousand others with minimal product differentiation and the low margins.

Bloomberg: wasted space

The Microsoft shills can’t keep it bottled up:

The obligatory insulting opening:

To its many fans, Apple is more a religious cult than a company. An iToaster that downloads music while toasting bread probably would get the same kind of worldwide attention.

Not unlike the iLoo from Microsoft.

Apple is late to this party. The company didn’t invent the personal computer or MP3 player, but it was among the pioneers of both products. Yet there is no shortage of phones out there. There already are big companies that dominate the space, all of whom will defend their turf. That means Apple will have to fight hard for every sale.

Matthew, I hope you realize that the lone personal computer was littered with competitors when Apple introduced the Mac? A brief list includes the Amiga, Commodore, Atari, TRS, Kaypro, Osborne, and Altair. Apple was not a “pioneer” in the MP3 player market either. Remember the Rio or Creative Nomad? Philips, RCA, and Archos? Apple saw an opportunity for a better product that others didn’t.

The provider subsidizes the handset and hopes to recoup its money with ridiculously expensive charges for calls and data. Yet Apple has never been good at working with other companies. If it knew how to do that, it would be Microsoft Corp.

You mean how Microsoft worked with Apple, AOL, Netscape, Corel, Wordperfect, Novell, IBM, and, recently, all their “Plays For Sure” partners? I guess Apple never worked well with Motorola between 1983 and 2005 when all Macs used Motorola chips? Nope. Never.

iPhone is a defensive product. It is mainly designed to protect the iPod, which is coming under attack from mobile manufacturers adding music players to their handsets. Yet defensive products usually don’t work — consumers are interested in new things, not reheated versions of old things.

That would explain users migrating from Windows 95 to Windows ME to Windows 2000 to Windows XP, and cellphone users switching to new things, such as “reheated versions” of cellphones, now with cameras.

Genius

Headline from iTWire:

“OPTi lawsuit means Apple has another to deal with”