Michael
May 28th, 2007, 04:03 PM
Can't wait until WWDC to see Steve on stage talking about the iPhone again? Neither can we. Luckily, Steve has a special appearance in store for us before then. The fifth edition of <a href="http://d.wsj.com/register/index.html">The Wall Street Journal’s D: All Things Digital</a> (aka D5) will be held May 29 to May 31, 2007 at the Four Seasons Resort Aviara in Carlsbad, California, and among the list of speakers is the one and only Steve Jobs. If you think that's incredible, get this: Also appearing at the conference will be the infamous Bill Gates. Rumor has it that he will be on stage with Jobs during his appearance. What will come of this? I'm not sure. One can only hope for an all-in, one on one, no holds barred <em>Smackdown</em> between the two giants.
Unfortunately for those of us just finding out about the conference, registration for D5 is closed. The US$3.995 tickets are all sold out. (Hey, it's <em>Steve Jobs</em>. What did you expect?)
<p><img src="http://www.iphonealley.com/images/storyimages/may07/glenn_lurie.jpg" align="left" alt="Glenn Lurie" />Also appearing at D5 will be AT&T's point man on the iPhone project, the former professional soccer player, President of National Distribution Glenn Lurie. He sat down with Seattle Times staff columnist <a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003724582_brier28.html">Brier Dudley for an interview</a>. Some of the key points they touch on in the interview are the price, in which Glen Lurie gives the same answer as Jobs- $200 for a Nano, $200 for a BlackBerry, and maybe a $50 phone. However, when asked if Apple would have to subsidize the iPhone's price, he declined to answer.</p>
Being AT&T's iPhone point man has it's perks. One such perk is getting to work with Steve Jobs himself. When asked about this his responded:
<blockquote>
"He's a great guy. I've been dealing with Steve a lot. [...] He is all about the customer, the customer experience, making sure that what customers get meets expectations. That's what my mesh has been."
</blockquote>
Of course, the biggest perk is getting to work with the iPhone itself, an experience he described as more than positive:
<blockquote>
"I think when people get their hands on it and really experience it — the touch screen is phenomenal, this touch screen is like nothing you've ever used — to experience that, the skepticism, I think, around some of those things will go away.
There are other things — you have the widgets, some of the Google applications that are coming — there are just so many things here that the price will not be an issue."
</blockquote>
Also, when asked to give his favorite feature about the iPhone, he was unable to give a definite answer:
<blockquote>
""[…]It's a pretty incredible browsing environment. That's the first part that I think will blow people away. It's the first widescreen iPod they've ever done; it is very, very good, works extremely well.
I think the other thing people haven't really thought through is that Apple's so good at simplifying things. That's just what they're known for; they've really simplified the phone. The standard phone applications are really intuitive, whether it's receiving a phone call, putting that person on hold, adding another party and bringing a conference call together."
</blockquote>
<em>My opinion:</em>
I think that his review of the iPhone is encouraging to say the least. What intrigues me most is probably the Google applications he mentioned, but neglected to state any specifics. Could this have anything to do with the 3rd party applications he mentioned? Of all the software companies, Google certainly seems qualified to work on the iPhone. I'm expecting to see something amazing from them as well.
Unfortunately for those of us just finding out about the conference, registration for D5 is closed. The US$3.995 tickets are all sold out. (Hey, it's <em>Steve Jobs</em>. What did you expect?)
<p><img src="http://www.iphonealley.com/images/storyimages/may07/glenn_lurie.jpg" align="left" alt="Glenn Lurie" />Also appearing at D5 will be AT&T's point man on the iPhone project, the former professional soccer player, President of National Distribution Glenn Lurie. He sat down with Seattle Times staff columnist <a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003724582_brier28.html">Brier Dudley for an interview</a>. Some of the key points they touch on in the interview are the price, in which Glen Lurie gives the same answer as Jobs- $200 for a Nano, $200 for a BlackBerry, and maybe a $50 phone. However, when asked if Apple would have to subsidize the iPhone's price, he declined to answer.</p>
Being AT&T's iPhone point man has it's perks. One such perk is getting to work with Steve Jobs himself. When asked about this his responded:
<blockquote>
"He's a great guy. I've been dealing with Steve a lot. [...] He is all about the customer, the customer experience, making sure that what customers get meets expectations. That's what my mesh has been."
</blockquote>
Of course, the biggest perk is getting to work with the iPhone itself, an experience he described as more than positive:
<blockquote>
"I think when people get their hands on it and really experience it — the touch screen is phenomenal, this touch screen is like nothing you've ever used — to experience that, the skepticism, I think, around some of those things will go away.
There are other things — you have the widgets, some of the Google applications that are coming — there are just so many things here that the price will not be an issue."
</blockquote>
Also, when asked to give his favorite feature about the iPhone, he was unable to give a definite answer:
<blockquote>
""[…]It's a pretty incredible browsing environment. That's the first part that I think will blow people away. It's the first widescreen iPod they've ever done; it is very, very good, works extremely well.
I think the other thing people haven't really thought through is that Apple's so good at simplifying things. That's just what they're known for; they've really simplified the phone. The standard phone applications are really intuitive, whether it's receiving a phone call, putting that person on hold, adding another party and bringing a conference call together."
</blockquote>
<em>My opinion:</em>
I think that his review of the iPhone is encouraging to say the least. What intrigues me most is probably the Google applications he mentioned, but neglected to state any specifics. Could this have anything to do with the 3rd party applications he mentioned? Of all the software companies, Google certainly seems qualified to work on the iPhone. I'm expecting to see something amazing from them as well.