Earlier this month my brother, father, and I went to Macworld in San Francisco, waking up at 4:00 AM on Tuesday to get into Steve Jobs’s keynote. We were amazed by the iPhone — definitely under the influence of Steve’s Reality Distortion Field. It wasn’t until the Cingular CEO took the stage (snore) that I realized how tired and hungry I was.
During the keynote, I was especially impressed by the idea of developing applications for the iPhone since it runs Mac OS X. Turns out that will not be a possibility; the phone is locked from outside developers.
There are two kinds of customer lock-in: by the company or by the customer. (Who holds the knob of the one-knobbed door.)
Some companies lock in customers with contracts, cancellation fees, and being difficult to work with — mobile phone companies, cable TV companies, 1and1.com, and Tivo.
Other companies lock in customers by building phenomenal products and platforms, fostering great communities, and inspiring loyalty (even evangelism) — Apple, WordPress, Bluehost.com. Customers don’t want to leave companies like these; they lock themselves in.
At $500-600, I’m not convinced a locked-down iPhone is right for me. (Maybe.) But if I had the ability to develop applications for an always-on, Internet-connected device, I’d lock myself in.
Bonus: This Nightline video covers the announcement of the iPhone, including an exclusive with Steve Jobs. From :37 to :40 (or 5:16 to 5:13) you can see my father walking along 4th Street early Tuesday morning while my brother and I waited in line. (He brought us back Denny’s.)
I see your point, but the lock-down of iTunes/iPod ACC files isn’t for the sake of consumers, it’s for the sake of the company. Not saying proprietary tech is wrong, but the belief that Apple doesn’t lock-in consumers seens to stem from you bedazzlement with them. You did go to MacWorld and get up at 4am to see Steve Jobs afterall.
True, I’d probably do well to put Apple in both categories because of the iTunes Music Store. (DRM is another form of lock-in I didn’t mention.) I find the DRM annoying, but I often prefer the convenience of the iTMS over waiting for a physical CD to arrive from Amazon. The ITMS DRM is reasonable enough, and if it works with the most popular music player then it doesn’t feel like lock-in to most people.