Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Apple, iPhone, App Store
Tracking the iPhone hype generator
So the real story here isn't necessarily that Apple masterfully created a smartphone that revolutionized the industry and made tons of money doing it, but that they coordinated a hype machine that marched to their tune whenever they wanted. The red line above, as you can see, is Palm, and while there are a few spikes along that line (probably interest in various new products and releases), there's nothing like the excitement and hype that shoots up around a big Apple event. The iPhone is a feat of engineering in itself, but the hype machine behind it is pretty well-built, too.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
ichibon said 4:46PM on 2-18-2009
I fail to see how Android is so low on the chart
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Ashwin said 5:11PM on 2-18-2009
A lot more people refer to Android with "google phone", so it is artificially low, but granted, still a lot less than the iPhone.
Ethan said 6:49PM on 2-18-2009
Yeah, it's a more segregated brand. People are probably searching for g1 or gphone or google etc.
Hawkman said 5:10PM on 2-18-2009
I'm not sure it's Apple's doing, particularly. That smells of paranoia. The most reasonable explanation is the prevalence of Apple-orientated sites (like this), and the outspokenness of many Apple fans; not to mention the years of rumour, longing and anticipation. The internet is just a giant echo chamber for all of that.
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Johann said 6:03PM on 2-18-2009
I love google trends. Here is the "google phone" and the G1
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Repsode said 6:15PM on 2-18-2009
Yeah, most ordinary people on the street don't use the word Android (yet). All adverts I've seen for the G1 don't have the word in there, just "With Google" so "google phone" would be more pervasive.
As for the iPhone, I'm going to agree with Hawkman that the Apple community, not to mention the gadget crowd in general, had of course been dreaming of a once mythical iPhone for a few years prior. Apple didn't need to introduce hype. We'd done it for them with constant rumours and speculation. We focused so much on it in the run up to announcement that the end result in that graph was inevitable.
I'd actually go as far as to say the "Cult of Mac" needs no orchestrated hype at all for any product. We come up with crazy rumours all the time. We build up anticipation around them, flip out if they true or fume that we got it wrong. It really doesn't need much input anymore.
Part of the reason I love this community. It's so passionate.
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VanillaSpice said 8:02PM on 2-18-2009
Yeah, definitely. The author is basically saying, well, because the iPhone was a common search term, then that must mean that Apple created a lot of hype. Which is flawed reasoning at a most base level. One, lots of people might have been interested without any hype existing. Two, there may have been hype, but not hype created by Apple, just the normal hype you would expect when a device that had been anticipated for years is released or announced. Three, Apple might just have been doing the normal things that all companies do when they announce or release a device - send lots of press releases; put ads in mags, on TV, and on the net; try to generate buzz, etc. It is not an Apple "hype machine"! That is just a pejorative way of saying that they do what every other company does.
williamlane said 11:26PM on 2-18-2009
http://www.misterbg.org/AppleProductCycle/
:)
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Luna Lovegood said 8:23AM on 2-19-2009
"So the real story here isn't necessarily that Apple masterfully created a smartphone that revolutionized the industry..."
"Revolutionized"... I do not think it means what you think it means.
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