Apple iPhone Analytical Essay

The company’s background

Apple was founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Ronald Wayne and Steve Wozniak. At the very beginning this company specialized in the production and marketing of computer kits and different components such as mother boards. An important landmark in Apple’s development was introduction of Mac OS and Macintosh in 1984 (Apple Inc, 2010, unpaged).

These products enjoyed enormous demand among users even despite their high prices. During the period between 1986 and 1993, this corporation attempted to enter different markets and tried its hand at different products such as video consoles, digital cameras, or CD players. Yet, these attempts were not successful, although considerable investments were made for the development of these products (Apple Inc, 2010, unpaged).

At the end of this period, the company found itself virtually on the edge of bankruptcy. Its performance began to improve after 1997 and return of Steve Jobs. Since that time, Apple developed a series of very successful products, for example iMac, iPod and iTunes, and most importantly iPhone.

These are multimedia and Internet-enabled applications which strongly rely on multi-touch screen technologies (Cohen & MacCentral, 2007, unpaged). There are several reasons why customers may choose to buy Apple’s product, for instance, excellent design, functionality, and user-friendliness. Moreover, one should say that this company has always tried to adhere to the highest standards of quality and reliability.

Product information

The iPhone was first released by Apple on June 2007. At this time, this product was regarded as a major breakthrough in mobile and Internet technologies. Since that time, several improvements were made, for instance, the introduction of uninsulated stainless steel, system wide-searching, and ability to interact with nearby iPods or iPhone (Arthur, 2009, unpaged).

Apart from that, Apple added a new mapping direction system into this smart phone. Overall, these changes greatly increased the functionality of this product. The key component of iPhone is scratch-resistant liquid crystal display which has multi-touch capacity. The resolution of the screen is 162 pixels per inch.

Currently, the company uses such materials as aluminosilicate glass and stainless steel, although the previous generations of iPhone were made of plastic, glass, and aluminium (Apple, 2010b, unpaged). Among the most important featured of iPhone, one can single out increased capacity of storage device, capacity for multitasking, and ability to work with Internet applications. The warranty offered by Apple expires within twelve months after the purchase.

The company guarantees free repair service unless the damaged was not caused by disassembly, unauthorized modifications, or accident (Apple, 2010 c, unpaged). This corporation adopts a wide range of quality control procedures, such as quality circles and Six Sigma to ensure the reliability and safety of products.

Survey

This survey is aimed at examining the users’ attitude toward iPhone. In particular, it is necessary to find out how they learned about this product, what qualities of this product appeal to them. Furthermore, it is necessary to learn more about their evaluation of this device and those recommendations which they can make. These are the questions that the respondents will need to answer.

1. From what kind of source did you first learn about iPhone?
   1. From television commercials and new reports;
   2. From Internet;
   3. From radio or newspapers;
   4. By word of mouth.
2. Which quality of this product appeals to you most?
   1. Design;
   2. Functionality and Reliability;
   3. Novelty;
   4. The brand, itself.
3. If you use this product, to what extent are you satisfied with it?
   1. Very Satisfied;
   2. Satisfied;
   3. Dissatisfied;
   4. Very dissatisfied.
4. Do you believe that iPhone provides the best ratio of price and quality?
   1. Strongly Agree;
   2. Agree;
   3. Not sure;
   4. Disagree;
   5. Strongly Disagree.
5. What aspects of this product require improvement, if any?
   1. Cost;
   2. Quality and reliability;
   3. Functionality;
   4. Design.
6. Do you believe that iPhone performs better than other smart phone, manufactured by other companies?
   1. Strongly Agree;
   2. Agree;
   3. Not sure;
   4. Disagree;
   5. Strongly Disagree.

Marketing of the product

While advertising iPhone, Apple placed emphasis on its improved functionality, novelty, and design. Comparison with other smart phones lies at the core of their advertising strategies. During the presentation of this product, Steve Jobs often juxtaposed this product with other phones and focused on their Internet capabilities, overall, design, or operating system.

This contrast is aimed at attracting customers’ attention toward the benefits of iPhone. On the whole, the company attempts to target the potential customers through such channels as television and Internet because these commercials can be effective only if they are based on multimedia. Since 2007 the sales rates have been quite steady.

In total, more than 75 million of Iphone were sold and this fact indicates that the marketing strategies were chosen properly (Kumparak 2010, unpaged). At this point, we need to analyze one of Apple commercials. This commercial was released in 2007, and lasted for two minutes.

The video stressed its innovative design and especially multi-touch screen. Secondly, the speaker tried to attract the viewers’ attention to enhanced Internet capabilities and multi-tasking (Apple, 2007). The main message of this video is that iPhone is not mere a communication device but rather a multi-functional solution which can serve a wide range of purposes and eventually become an inseparable part of everyday life.

Reference List

Apple Inc (2007). iPhone Commercial. Web.

Apple Inc. (2010). Company History 1976-2010. Web

Apple Inc. (2010b) Technical specifications. Web.

Apple Inc (2010c). Service Answer Center. Web.

Arthur C. (2009).”Apple shows off iPhone improvements – including cut, copy and paste“. The Guardian. Web.

Cohen P. & MacCentral. (2007). Macworld Expo Keynote Live Update. Web.

Kumparak, G. (2010). “Apple sold 14.1 million iPhones last quarter, over 70 million since launch“. Mobile Crunch. Web.