Wow, I dunno if this is fake, but it certainly looks real. I don’t want to be too sure of myself, however, because I’ve been duped before. So let’s just treat this as a little exercise in creative thinking.
iChat Mobile seems like the perfect name for an Apple phone product. It ties into an existing piece of Apple software used for communicating with your friends. The tag line under the product name sounds just like a tag line Apple would use. The device seems very simple and it’s stylistically consistent with other Apple devices, like the iPod nano, the iPod shuffle, and the Apple remote.
But here’s the kicker… Imagine that it’s not a cell phone. Instead, it’s an 802.11-enabled VoIP phone. You’d need to be in range of a wireless access point, and then you’d use your iChat Mobile to make a call through an Apple VoIP server to a PSTN phone number. Your number travels with you as you and your phone change wireless networks. There would certainly have to be a fee of some kind for Apple to recoup the costs of building the support infrastructure, for maintenance, and for profit. Perhaps it’ll be tied into .Mac in some way, as in, you can pre-pay for a discounted year of service as part of your .Mac subscription.
Think about it… Why would Apple want to enter the already crowded cell phone market and tie themselves to a provider when they can set the standard in an emerging VoIP market that really has no dominant player, and they can control the service themselves? Sounds a lot like the music scene a few years ago, doesn’t it?
This could all be a complete fantasy. We’ll know Monday. But you gotta admit, even if the phone isn’t real, the concept makes good sense.
PS: What appears to be a camera on the back isn’t for video chatting, it’s for taking pictures… just like the camera on the back of many cell phones. The phone would have IM capabilities like its namesake and the camera would allow you to send pictures as you would in an IM chat. A combination of audio chat an IM in this device would truly make it an iChat Mobile.
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August 3rd, 2006 at 4:07 am
“Why would Apple want to enter the already crowded cell phone market and tie themselves to a provider when they can set the standard in an emerging VoIP market that really has no dominant player, and they can control the service themselves?”
- Have you ever heard of SKYPE?
August 3rd, 2006 at 10:05 am
Of course I’ve heard of Skype. Their success has been mediocre at best; they’re not exactly setting the world on fire with a combination of service and hardware. I also remember a music player called the Rio. It existed long before the iPod, and while it may have been the dominant player for its time in the sense that it sold more units than its contemporaries, the introduction of the iPod grew the market by leaps and bounds and turned portable music into a must-have item. That’s what I think Apple could do with a VoIP phone and service in a way that Skype has not. And one lukewarm VoIP service that has seen some amount of popularity makes for a much different, and much weaker, playing field in terms of competition than a number of large cell phone companies who are entrenched in the business with extended product lines. Apple can easily dominate in VoIP where it cannot in cell phones because of weaker competition.
August 3rd, 2006 at 10:42 am
“Why would Apple want to enter the already crowded cell phone market and tie themselves to a provider when they can set the standard in an emerging VoIP market that really has no dominant player, and they can control the service themselves?”
Good point. When Apple lags behind in some manner of technology they tend to hold off until they can make a big impact. They were late in providing CD burners in Macs, but when they finally did they immediatly upped the ante by also providing DVD burning as an option as well.
I may be off on the details, but suffice it to say Apple was late to the party but they try to lap the field once they got there… Same with the iPod (with even more success than they dared to dream).
With the A VoIP phone done Apple’s way may well be the new iPod, or at least a credible attempt at owning the market. But I doubt WWDC would be the place for such a product announcement. Either a special product announcement, or Macworld Expo would be the place for this.
If this is a fake, it’s a cleverly produced one. It looks very much like something Apple would do. The fact it looks like someone snuck in a snapshot of promotional materials also lends an air of credibility to this, as something that looks “too perfect” would breed suspicion of a photoshopped fake.
August 3rd, 2006 at 10:46 am
Oh yeah, Apple also has a built in advantage over any other VoIP system.
Apple Stores.
Not having to beg to be let into retail stores is a great advantage, and I’m sure gives Apple leverage in negotiations to have products carried in stores. (I’m sure Apple must have one of the most favorable deals of any other Wal-Mart supplier. I was suprised to see iPods now are carried there.)
August 3rd, 2006 at 10:53 am
I agree, Shawn, that WWDC seems like the wrong venue to introduce something like a VoIP phone, since it would be a consumer product and WWDC is obviously a developer forum. That makes me wonder if there’s some deeper integration between Leopard, which we know will be demonstrated at WWDC, and an iChat Mobile device. Maybe Apple figures that, since they’re letting the cat out of the bag (so to speak), and they have everyone’s attention, this is the time to introduce “the next big thing”.
Also, good point about the Apple Stores. The more I think about this idea, the more it seems to make sense. (Which is exactly why I’ll look like a fool Monday. ;))
August 3rd, 2006 at 11:57 am
My friend Shawn King rightfully pointed out that I’m hedging my bet in this article. As of right now, I’m declaring the content of this article a full-blown prediction. Re-writing it to change the wording would be a wasted effort at this point, so I wanted to post this official notice.
August 3rd, 2006 at 12:24 pm
Shawn King makes another good point: This looks like a picture taken of a keynote slide. The picture has obviously been shot form the left of, and below, the projection screen (assuming it’s a slide). Now for the big question… Who has the guts (or the stupidity) to take a picture of a slide during a keynote rehearsal?
August 3rd, 2006 at 1:49 pm
It doesn’t look like a keynote slide, more like advertising copy, or a banner. Jobs’ keynotes tend to be black backgrounds with larger text than that.
Then again it could be a keynote slide showing the advertising copy that will be used…
August 3rd, 2006 at 2:04 pm
True enough, it does more strongly resemble a banner they would hang in a lobby or in the Apple booth at a trade show. A poster or advertising copy is also a good educated guess.
August 6th, 2006 at 12:01 pm
It has been confirmed that the phone is a fake. However, I still stand by the concept and the assertion that entering the VoIP market makes more sense for Apple than entering the cell phone market, if they truly intend to make a phone of some kind.
August 9th, 2006 at 1:24 pm
Aaron,
Would the VoIP phone that is introduced a in home phone or mobile phone? I am not sure about where you live but there isn’t the infrastructure to support a phone the requires an Internet connection.
The thought of a VoIP phone for the home is interesting. I ViVoIP (Video and Voice) phone would be even better. Moving iChat out of the computer to a stand alone device would be elegant and smart.
Just a couple of thoughts.
John
August 10th, 2006 at 3:26 pm
“Would the VoIP phone that is introduced a in home phone or mobile phone? ”
Yes.
So long as it’s wi-fi enabled. I doubt it’ll be a good cell-substitute. But it could be a “Home plus” phone. A phone that works with your home wi-fi, and then any other wi-fi hotspot it can access while out. (Airport Express hubs could get a boost in sales as a result, allowing people to take a wired net access and use it for their phone wherever they go)
It could tie into .mac services by providing “voice mail” while disconnected. Much like Skype offers making it more attractive.
Not everyone with a cell needs 24/7 access, this could be a good alternative.
August 11th, 2006 at 12:13 pm
Shawn - after putting a little thought into it that does make sense that you could use it in the home and bring it with you and if there was Wi-fi it would work.
Although a practical design for an iChat ViVoip phone would be a display for the video (maybe a little smaller then the 12 in laptop screens, built in camera, and a wifi hand set. If the hand set was small enough (WAY smaller then what is pictured) that could be tossed in your pocket to take with you.
The hand set would be just that, a phone, the advanced features, video, web browser, etc would be on the main display. Don’t even bother with the silly MP3 player, web browser that most cells have. Think simple elegant and easy to use. The only thing that might be included extra on the portable hand set would be a small lens for still, video capture.
This would make for easy transfer to the main device. It could be stored and used during chat, voice or video sessions. Manipulation would be easy with some integration with iPhoto, iMovie etc on the families main Macintosh. Using ZeroConf networking this would be pretty easy. While you at it use the same technology to sync up events from iCal and Address book on the main Mac, to the phone so it has real to do list, and reminders capability.
Throw in blue tooth and it could then be used with any bt keyboard and mouse. It would also become very portable and useful on business trips, allowing a person to set it up in a hotel room with Wifi. That way you are always just a phone call away from talking and seeing your family.
August 16th, 2006 at 7:18 pm
Has no one else noticed that the video camera lens is on the back? If you were having a V.C. with someone, you couldn’t see the display if you pointed the camera at yourself.
I think this is strong evidence of a fakening.
Oh yes, I made up a word. Live with it.
August 16th, 2006 at 7:59 pm
This picture was long ago proven fake, as I pointed out in a comment. What I’m interested in talking about here is whether the concept of a VoIP phone better fits Apple’s business model, not whether what is specifically shown in that picture is real or not.
November 20th, 2006 at 10:42 am
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