14. HOTLY TIPPED PRODUCT - IPHONE

The iPhone is three "amazing products" – mobile phone, widescreen iPod and breakthrough internet communications – in one. It is replacing the conventional mobile phone, with more features, a better music player, increased internet capabilities and more importantly a memory of 4GB or 8GB. It also has a 2MP camera, touchscreen, as well as Bluetooth and wi-fi capabilities. It is relevant to show the increasing demands of the audiences, and the converged devices which are now being produced. The technology involved, is internet, camera, phone, Bluetooth etc.

The phone interests a wide target audience from the ages of 14 – 35, however mainly males. Music lovers will like the fact that the phone has a relatively big memory so that can store a lot of songs on the phone, teenagers will also like that there is Bluetooth allowing them to effortlessly share their files with their friends, and business men will like the increased internet capabilities which allow them to constantly stay in touch. The phone offers a lot and is seen as a breakthrough in communication devices. The main thing that interests people are the inbuilt iPod capabilities, as a lot of people have ipods, and by converging this device with a phone, it makes life easier for the audience as they do not have to carry two devices – it is all in one.

The institution involved is Apple, who are producing a break through product, which is bound to be extremely popular with the audience, especially following the success in past years with the iPod. The fact that iPod chose to introduce the product several months earlier than its release date (June 2007) allows interest to be created, and thus when the product is eventually it will be in a lot of demand.

Regulation is a factor that needs to be taken into account here as music is often downloaded illegally. This is something which can not really be control, as there are too many people doing it to prosecute everyone. This means that everyone continues to do it. Quality is a factor, as the 2 MP camera is an example of what is being improved through the new technology. Convergence however is probably the key thing. With all of the advance features that the iPhone offers a lot of different technologies have been combined to provide the audience with this e.g. camera and iPod. Portability is a factor, as the point is that you can take the device with you and then do a lot of things with it, regardless of where you are, this is similar to miniaturisation, where even though the product has a lot more features, it is still relatively small considering. The phone is also an example of personalisation, as the things that people put on the phone can be personalised according to their interests for example different music.