Dvorak: Pull the plug on the iPhone

Analyst John Dvorak recently expressed his huge skepticism regarding Apple’s upcoming iPhone mobile handset, saying Apple cannot hope to compete in a crowded marketplace like the cell phone industry.

In his column on the site Market Watch, he said that the hype on the iPhone is essentially unfounded due to the fact that nobody outside the development team really knows how the machine works and what features it has.

He cited that there’s really nothing new with the strategy employed by Apple in this scenario, pointing to heavy advertising and customer loyalty as the tools in use. He said that Apple did just that with the iPod and it enjoyed tremendous success. However, the playing field is very different with the iPhone as power players tread the industry. The mp3 player was little more than a vacuum when the iPod was launched.

He cited Apple’s PC sector as the more logical point of comparison than that of the iPod’s case. The PC industry where Apple pioneered with the Macintosh, Microsoft has dominated the Cupertino-based company leaving only five percent of the market to Steve Jobs and his boys. Dvorak said the same thing may happen in the mobile phone venture.

Dvorak also suggested that if Apple wants to stay in the game longer, they should come up with a dozen or so variants of the iPhone because after three months, the analyst says, interest will be on the downward spiral.

To read the full commentary issued by Dvorak, follow the Read link.

Analyst John Dvorak recently expressed his huge skepticism regarding Apple’s upcoming iPhone mobile handset, saying Apple cannot hope to compete in a crowded marketplace like the cell phone industry.

In his column on the site Market Watch, he said that the hype on the iPhone is essentially unfounded due to the fact that nobody outside the development team really knows how the machine works and what features it has.

He cited that there’s really nothing new with the strategy employed by Apple in this scenario, pointing to heavy advertising and customer loyalty as the tools in use. He said that Apple did just that with the iPod and it enjoyed tremendous success. However, the playing field is very different with the iPhone as power players tread the industry. The mp3 player was little more than a vacuum when the iPod was launched.

He cited Apple’s PC sector as the more logical point of comparison than that of the iPod’s case. The PC industry where Apple pioneered with the Macintosh, Microsoft has dominated the Cupertino-based company leaving only five percent of the market to Steve Jobs and his boys. Dvorak said the same thing may happen in the mobile phone venture.

Dvorak also suggested that if Apple wants to stay in the game longer, they should come up with a dozen or so variants of the iPhone because after three months, the analyst says, interest will be on the downward spiral.

To read the full commentary issued by Dvorak, follow the Read link.