Your comparison for brand erosion is right on. I think we’re seeing the beginning of it, but because its a long, slow process, it’ll probably take a while for us to see what really pans out.

BUT, and this is a huge but, this is, IMO where the “mistake” lies. Think about who those early adopters were. They’re the Apple fanatics. The people who line up every time a new product is released because they want the latest and greatest. They’re the people who convince every PC user they know that it’s wrong to use a PC. The early adopters are the life-blood of Apple’s brand, despite their small percentage of the market. And pissing them off is a BAD thing, no matter how you look at it.

Especially for something as stupid as money. For every $200 extra you made on them (or $100 as the case may be now), you’ll grab an extra $1000 when they buy a new computer once a year instead of once every 2 years. I think “mistake” is putting this lightly. Lucky for Apple, they have a strong enough, fanatical enough user base to survive it relatively unscathed…this time.

However, that’s been talked about a ton. I’m not really saying anything new or groundbreaking here. I AM, however, annoyed by the Starbucks partnership. Starbucks is past its prime. It’s days as a Purple Cow are long since over. They’re on every street corner and their once glorious commitment to the experience doesn’t hold water in the slightest anymore. And, on top of that, this partnership doesn’t do any good for anyone other than Apple and Starbucks. How often have you been sitting in Starbucks just itching to buy whatever song is playing?

By the way, thanks for the link!

I think that you are correctly reflecting some people’s view of the price cut. Name one successful product that has a 2/3 drop in price 2 months after the launch. I hope that people give the idea of “mistake” a second thought.

Right now, AT&T has worked out their activation problems, and the production pipeline is ready to put out some iPods.

I have friends in Europe that are on the edge of their seats right now. The discussion is who is going to provide the service for the iPhone.

I appreciate your response.

About the stock price, money is only one way to measure progress. The price jumped up 20% when Jobs announced the press release, you are right- people freak out and throw money in all directions.

Innovation is the key to the cult of Apple. -Genius,(as you said) – making a partnership with starbucks that Microsoft should have been able to land.

-Genius, a board member of Disney, (Owner of ABC) setting his ringtone to “give peace a chance” for when NBC calls!

I think that every one who believes in innovation loves it when the big bad companies of the twentieth century get smacked around by the power of permission, our power of choice.

Everyone who saw the keynote, watched it because they actively sought it out, they chose it.

The “finger tips” videos have been viewed 15 million times? -Genius

I was at a clients office today, they had the radio on. I had to go to their office because their database runs on an access database engine that uploads to their web server. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy seeing them face to face. I cannot honestly remember the last time I have been subjected to three hours commercial radio. I have not realized how bad it has become. I was “shocked and awed”.

There are a lot of companies freaking out. Any company that increases my power of choice and respects my permission gets my vote. I hope they freak out enough.

Perhaps “mistake” was a poor choice of words (I wrote today’s podcast), since I was really referring to how it’s been covered in the press thus far. It wasn’t my intent to reiterate that point. The only mistake people seem to be making is to over-analyze what Apple’s done. To me, this is genius on all accounts.

It seems silly to me that the stock closed down today, even. People freak out over ripples like this and fail to see the big picture. Apple once again dominates the conversation with the best word-of-mouth-driven PR machine out there: its products.

The pricing of the iPhone was a perfectly executed plan. Every single detractor of the iPhone has started by attacking the price point. By introducing a revolutionary device, Apple had to be prepared to deal with the possibility of the unknown. If they offered the iPhone at 399, they would have created more problems then they would have solved. Also, what is it worth to be the first person to have an iPhone.

My brother has an iPhone, he even has a story about how a friend stood in line, bought it, and sold it to him, AT COST!!! What price tag can you place on this story?

I do not yet have an iPhone, and I am glad that I can stop waiting. I have been in the technology field long enough to know how the game works. Anyone that is angry that they “paid too much” is only angry at themselves, and missing the importance of the value of their “investment”. I still have my first iPod. it is really cool. Of course it does not do photo, of course i does not have video, of course I spent as much on it as an iPhone now costs. But it is cool. It has the great honor of being the device that held a backup of my photos when both of my other backups failed me. There is no price tag for this kind of cool.

Apple is moving at an incredible rate of speed. Apple is honoring their customers that have invested in the coolest technology on the planet.

The “mistake” you speak of is [imho] a master cult leader in action. Every person that I have spoken to has listed price as the number one reason why they do not own an iPhone, number 2 on the list is AT&T, and the exclusive deal.

Almost everyone knows someone that has an iPhone. Everyone that has an iPhone has revelled in their exclusivity, as everyone around them has realized that they are sitting on a fence. This fence was held up by a pricetag, and that leg is broken.