Monday was another big day for Apple. All over the world, Apple fanboys rejoiced. His majesty, Steve Jobs, took the stage at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco and officially unveiled Apple’s latest creation—the iPhone4. This newest Apple release is sure to be the most sought after gadget in the tech space since Jobs last showed us the iPad.
The most anticipated feature of the iPhone 4 is its front facing camera. This feature allows for what Apple is calling “Face Time.” Face Time allows video chatting over the phone using its front and rear facing cameras. This feature will be limited to Wi-Fi hot spots, at least in its early stages. Although, we can be sure the developers are hard at work, scouring the iPhone 4 SDK for ways to make Face Time work over 3G. Could this be the reason that AT&T recently announced caps on its subscribers monthly data consumption? That point is up for debate, but there is no doubt in my mind. Much has been made about mobile video chatting in the weeks since Gizmodo revealed the new phone to the world.
Apple's Promo Video of iPhone Features
I must admit that at first, I was really excited. It will also be nice to talk to friends and family, face to face from anywhere in the world. In a business sense, this will be a great tool as well. You can tell a lot about what the person is saying and thinking through their facial expressions—good or bad.
That said, it is a cool feature and will certainly change the way that we communicate with each other.
Some of the other features the Apple unveiled were:
• Multitasking
• 720p HD video and editing on the phone
• The front and back is made of aluminosilicate glass held together by a custom alloy band that also acts as a antenna
• 960X640 LCD display that is said to be the highest resolution phone screen ever made.
• Other features.
All told, this past Monday was a great day for Apple and its legion of fans. The iPhone 4 represents another huge step forward for the mobile industry. Apple has once again set the bar. It is now up to everyone else to catch up.
Your move Google.
Generation 10:45’s recent emergence has business leaders racing to bolster an increasingly vital business need— 24-hour, continuous brand management. You may be asking yourself who and what is Generation 10:45? Well according to a recent study by The Kaiser Foundation, 8-18 year olds’ media usage in the United States has increased from 8 hours and 33 minutes in 2004 to an astonishing 10 hours and 45 minutes in 2009.
The advent of the personal computer, cell phone and miniaturization of technology have all greatly contributed to the “anytime, anywhere” world we live in today but we must note that the “always on” consumer actually has its beginnings in the late 1960s, as does continuous brand management. AT&T created its first 1-800 toll-free number in 1967 for customers to make “automatic collect calls.” The concept didn’t make big waves immediately, but by 1992, approximately 40% of all AT&T calls were dialed using 1-800 numbers. This theoretically simple service dramatically changed how consumer-oriented companies would eventually manage their businesses.
The first of many major changes to be made by the telephone company was the discussion (or lack thereof) with the customer. Large call centers would be trained to answer phones and follow service scripts in an effort to have an actual dialogue, which was uncommon at the time. More importantly, companies such as AT&T were beginning to recognize the importance of cross-selling and making outbound sales calls. These services performed by the early call centers were the predecessors to both the world wide web and mobile web, as they provided the customer with the ability to reach the company anytime, anywhere.
How will Generation 10:45’s presence impact continuous brand management?
First, they will expect continuity in their brand experience across all devices and platforms. For example, their favorite website, Facebook, must be experienced similarly across the web, iPhone, and yes, their Playstation 3 or Xbox360. If you take a deeper look of the continuous shuffling between their devices, you will notice more – their continuous access to communication and information. Google is everywhere as are their friends, and as a result, their unwillingness to separate themselves from these devices. Companies need to react to this social media-laden landscape by effectively implementing continuous brand management efforts that seamlessly cover all devices, something that is still having great disconnect between customer contact channels.
Another impact that Generation 10:45 will have on companies is their desire for transparent service—to be “seen” at all times. Generation 10:45ers are constantly providing status updates about where they are and what they are doing and will expect companies to provide the same kind of transparency with regard to service and instant information on any order, service, and requests.
Finally, Generation 10:45, like people in general, believe what they hear through word of mouth well before anything you have to say as a company. People generally trust customers far more than any company selling to them so expect Generation 10:45 to be disseminating/recovering customer reviews and ratings online, all the time, and on a continuous basis.
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