Time Magazine announces its "Gadget of the year".

Time Magazine has just published its annual list of "top 10 gadgets of the year". That's issue 1, volume 1 above.

The winner was the Iphone 5 of which Time said, "Apple still has no peer in the smartphone market". Indeed, correct.

At number 6 was Apple's Mac-Book pro. At number 9 was Nest, the thermostat created by a former Apple executive. Microsoft's new Surface Tablet made it too at number 7.

The list is:

1. Iphone 5, 

2 Nintendo WiiU, 

3 Sony Cyber-shot RX100 (hear, hear, magnificent piece of kit), 

4 Raspberry Pi, 

5 Lytro, 

6 Apple's MacBook Pro, 

7 Microsoft Surface Tablet, 

8 Galaxy Note, 

9 Nest, 

10 Simple TV.

Simple TV is a set-top box that allows streaming and gets my vote too. Have a look at it. The Samsung Galaxy doesn't deserve its place having been found guilty of copying the Iphone, which certainly does deserve to be top of the heap. The original Iphone topped the list in 2007. The Ipad2 did the same last year. In 2010, the Ipad1 topped the list. 

Spot a trend?
It's called Apple Genius.

Apple Iphone 5 Sells out. Two weeks waiting list. It's that old marketing trick again - create scarcity.

The use of "scarcity" as a marketing trick is one that has gone on for decades. In olden times, shop keepers would pay customers to form queues which in turn, got the attention of passing trade whom also wanted to join the queue.

A well known Irish travel agency did exactly that, each Christmas. Paid customers to queue over the Holiday, generating both PR and a sense of scarcity for their product - if it's going this quick, you'd better get one now!

Apple are the masters of this trick since they started.

The Iphone 5 launch has become the latest victim.

Seemingly, we're told, demand was just so huge, the phone sold out. You might know that the Iphone 4 sold out in 20 hours and the Iphone 4S in 22 hours. You'd think with that experience, Apple would have multiplied its stock levels for the iphone 5? But that wouldn't be the point. They have stock, they just want to create demand. 

Not a chance of getting one now we're told, it has sold out in 60 minutes, 20 times faster than the Iphone 4S so now, you've a two week wait minimum - scarcity.

I have no doubt the Iphone 5 launched well, but that was to be expected because of all the chatter. However, I don't expect anyone with a brain in their head to think the demand wasn't anticipated and this "sold out" nonsense, is something more than that. But yep, online hacks everywhere are buying into it! 

Fairly astute Techcrunch goes with the headline that this sell out shows "Apple's dominance". They should know better. It's a trick, nothing more, to show success and create what we call "pent up demand". I quote:

"I guess I shouldn’t be surprised anymore that Apple product launches somehow continue to exceed expectations, the machine reliably churning out another hit. But I am. Mostly because of how rampant the obsession is to buy the next generation of iPhone as soon as possible".

Oh dear Techcrunch.

I'll bet the next one sells out as fast too. 
Nobody, least of all me, disputes Apple's greatness and worthy of its high value. Equally there's no doubt, the Iphone 5 will be a huge success and compete properly with Samsung.

But I've no doubt too, you're seeing the oldest marketing trick in action.
Start a queue, you'll create a demand.
Job done.
And everyone falls for it - again.

Apple Iphone 5 about to launch. Their secret Iradio launched discovered. And this is much, much bigger.

 

Next week, Apple's CEO Tim Cook will unveil, what we now know, will be called The Apple Iphone 5. This is Apple's next generation phone to compete with Samsung's Galaxy S3 launched earlier in June and of course, facing possible bans in the US after Apple's victorious court case which I blogged about here: http://streamabout.blogspot.ie/2012/08/court-ruling-apple-persist-samsung.html . 

It will also be compared Nokia's Lumia 930, launched this week, although the mobile phone pioneer, Nokia, has had its shares cut to "junk status". So hardly a competitor.

What we didn't know, was that Apple was secretly working on the launch of iradio, as big a gamble as itunes - but more of that in a minute.

The Apple Iphone 5 we know very little about except strong rumours. 

It's going to be taller than the current iphone with therefore, a taller screen and about 30% thinner. The connector gadget is getting smaller, with the connectors getting better, giving much faster wireless and ultimately, quick 4G connections. It's likely to have more RAM and a faster processor - so generally just a better phone.

More importantly, reports strongly suggest that Apple is planning its own internet radio service allowing it to compete in the music streaming business against people like Pandora, We7 (UK owned by Tesco) and Spotify.

What would happen is that people select tracks from a 'catalogue' and play them continuously via an internet feed or, more likely, it will feed you music based on your interests (as distinct from actually picking the track).

Rather than owning them or downloading them as in the itunes model, you get continuous radio based on what you like. 

Depending on whether Apple choose to go for the model where customers pick their tracks or instead, feeding them music based on interests, they will be a direct head-to-head with Pandora/Spotify. 

Spotify (where you pick your own tracks) loses money quite heavily due to music licensing issues whereas by feeding out music based on listener interests (Pandora), it has been much more successful.

Most of us know the type of music we like but don't know what we want. So developing internet radio based on a indication of preferences, seems to make sense. 

Other similar business saw share prices fall dramatically Friday, on foot of the news. Apple is such a good company, nobody wants to see it enter into the same space and even talk of Apple entering into online radio saw Pandora shares drop 18%. I think the radio option makes more sense (streaming you music based on your preferences) and indeed it's not that long ago when I chatted to Irish radio businessman, Dermot Hanrahan, who outlined exactly the same vision. Yet again, ahead of his time.

Online radio, iradio by Apple, will be a world beater and by being deeply integrated into their products, such as the Iphone 5, will guarantee distribution. Furthermore, if they get a lot of listeners to their iradio, it will also generate sales on itunes, as when listeners hear a track they like, they might want to buy it.

Great business.

Unlike the giants of old, Microsoft as a clear example, Apple do not sit on their hands. Innovation and invention precedes their greatness.