3 ms·
He was able to talk Steve Jobs into a network exclusive release deal on the original iphone in Japan.
by downrightmike 7y ago
He was able to talk Steve Jobs into a network exclusive release deal on the original iphone in Japan.
- busterarm 7y agoI don't know how much smooth talking that required. I don't see how Apple would have penetrated the Japanese market otherwise. iPhones were a literal sea change compared to how folks used phones in Japan at the time. iMode _dominated_ the market there.
- throwaway2048 7y agothe original iphone was network exclusive to AT&T in the USA, I don't think there are many corporate visionary geniuses there personally.
- downrightmike 7y agoYeah sorry, the reason this matters is that the ipod had just come out and he saw the next step was a phone.
- perl4ever 7y agoThe way I remember it was everyone was anticipating the Apple phone, but nobody knew what it would be. It wasn't like only visionaries had the concept. I remember (back when Cingular was a thing) seeing the iTunes phone in a store, and thinking "really? ok, I guess.." https://www.cultofmac.com/444315/apple-history-motorola-rokr-e1/ https://www.cultofmac.com/444315/apple-history-motorola-rokr... Now in restrospect, apparently the party line was it was a massive failure, because that's what everything is that isn't the largest success in history. But living through it, it seemed like just a headfake before the inevitable "real" Apple phone, and an early attempt at extending the iPod to a multifunction device.