Apple launches iPhone
On January 9, 2007, Apple Computer Inc. introduced its newest product. The iPhone is a thin, fashionable cell phone that includes a music and video player. There are two versions of the phone and they will be launched in the United States in June for $499/4G and $599/8G. There are no announcements yet as to when the phone will be available in Canada. On the announcement of the launch of iPhone in June, share prices of Apple Computer Inc. immediately rose by 8% while the shares of competitors, such as RIM, Nokia, Motorola, and Palm, all fell. The launch of the iPhone is a defensive action against cell phone companies, such as Motorola and Nokia, who are introducing smart phones that can play music. These smart phones are aiming at the same consumer market as the iPod. Some analysts strongly believe in the successfulness of iPhone while some analysts think otherwise. At the same time, some competitors fear the launch of the product, while RIM is confident that it is unlikely that they will lose their core business consumers. However, RIM does admit that iPhone will create problems for their consumer-market expansion plans.
Apple Computer Inc. is taking actions to respond to a changing environment of the music player industry. Due to the success of iPod, companies in other areas are entering into the industry to gain a share of the market and its profits; such as Motorola and Nokia. The strategy of coming up with the iPhone is based on organizational learning and managerial analysis. Apple learned from Motorola and Nokia that a cell phone with a music player is an attractive product for consumers. Managerial analysis includes strategic thinking about what is the best way to proceed, given circumstances. Since Apple cannot stop cell p ...