Hello and welcome!
In the space of the last three months Apple has dominated the digital space even more strongly than before, thanks to the arrival of two new groundbreaking and much anticipated devices. The launch of the iPad in early April was nothing short of revolutionary and now the iPhone 4 is set to transform the way we interact with the world around us. As immedia Head Strategist @anicehassim points out in this month’s issue; “What’s vital to realise, is that the way Apple users behave, is also a harbinger of future patterns of consumer behaviour. The iPad is akin to a piece of alien technology teleported in 10 years from the future and the early adopters who use it, are going to change their behaviour in new and unforeseen ways”.
Apple users dictate future consumer behaviour patterns
On the eve of the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco, immedia head strategist @anicehassim wrote that South African marketers need to play catch up, if they’re going to be able to take full advantage of the branding potential that Apple offers our mass market…
Following our visit to the global launch of the Apple iPad in New York in early April, we decided to give key members of the media & marketing industries a ‘test drive’ of the device, to allow them to experience its full functionality etc. What this proved is that despite a healthy local uptake of its products, there is still untapped potential for local users to fully exploit the Apple phenomenon.
This stems from the fact that South African consumers have no idea of the compelling power of the eco-system, while media owners and planners are being advised by specialists that the brand is elitist, expensive and will never be mainstream in South Africa.
A large part of this local misunderstanding is as a result of the absolute mismanagement of it in South Africa. This is due to a complex mix of history, economics and relative priorities. What this equates to, is that South Africa is a major media market that is simply ignored by the Apple executives in Cupertino. more »
WWDC – Keynote thoughts from an African perspective
The mythical iPhone killer arrived today, but it was from Apple. A confident, proud and often passionate Steve Jobs strolled about the stage at Moscone West on Monday morning, 7 June 2010, unveiling the new iPhone, iOS 4.0 and ushering in the era of Facetime, person-to-person video calling.
The hardware looked like alien technology Will Smith found at Area 51, and for all intents and purposes, it pretty much is, both to the man in the street and competitors. A continuing referencing of an age of miracle and wonder we were promised in visions like The Jetsons and in science fiction seems to be a regular thing with Apple people now…
At the end, Steve made the first Facetime call to Jony Ive… and it may have been rehearsed but the two certainly sounded wistfully reflective on what they had achieved… in essence bringing the future to life.
And again and again, Apple is now driving home the point that it can do this because it is the only company in the world left now that can dictate the entire platform end to end.
Innovation requires disrupting the status quo and Steve Jobs has become a technological Kali, a destroyer of worlds, leaving competitors frustrated, bewildered and angry. And Steve made the point, again and again, that it didn’t invent ANY of the markets it has recently transformed, but that it has been totally transformed nonetheless because of Apple’s fresh-slate approach to technological challenges. more »
The world according to “i”
iPhone gets the papal seal of approval.
Rome – An Italian priest has developed an iPad application that will let priests
celebrate Mass with an iPad on the altar instead of the regular Roman missal.
The Reverend Paolo Padrini, a consultant with the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Social Communications, said on Friday that the free application will be launched in July in English, French, Spanish, Italian and Latin.
Two years ago, Padrini developed the iBreviary, an application that brought the book of daily prayers used by priests onto iPhones. He said the iPad application is similar but also contains the complete missal – containing all that is said and sung during Mass throughout the liturgical year. Pope Benedict XVI has sought to reach out to young people through new media. (Source – AP)
The futures so bright…. Apple says it sold more than 1.7 million units of its new iPhone model in the first three days, making it the most successful product launch in the company’s history… more »
iPad review
I was recently fortunate enough to trial the new iPad, WOW, I just love technology! The size and
functionality falls between that of an iPhone and a laptop, in fact the size of a standard open book!
The screen is of HD quality, it is awesome, the applications tried were amazing and getting around the iPad was extremely user friendly. Applications from reading books (some with incredible animations that respond to movement), playing games, viewing movies, exploring the galaxies, email, creative photo albums, music! So in essence the iPad offers an elegant interface with multimedia, video, web links, and social media. So if you are an avid reader, a gamer, a media and entertainment viewer, a business traveler or a net user – the iPad is for you! From a Media Directors perspective, this will be another platform to consider – roll on iAds!
Deborah Usher
Media Director – Durban
