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iPhone:Heavyweight Branding

In today’s Wallsteet Journal, Li Yaun and Amol Sharma have an article on the highley anticipated Apple iPhone. It is scheduled to hit the stores on June 29, and there is speculation that it may face stiff competition from rival smartphone manufacturers. The Nokia N95 is slated as it’s biggest rival.

The N95 is impressive with a 5 megapixel camera and features comparable to the iPhone, but at a reatil price of $749 compared to the already pricey iPhone…(you do the math).

The bigger issue here is the power of the Apple brand. Apple has inspired fanatical brand loyalty from it’s core customer base, and the same thing is likely to happen with the iPhone. Apple’s strong suit has always been design based, and they have managed to design a phone and multimedia device that is aesthetically a luxury item. This combined with Steve Jobs tremendous marketing moxy, they may very well sell their projected 10 million handsets by the end of 2008. 

Apple (AAPL) stock has already more than doubled in the past year and today it opened at $125 per share. Despite what skeptics are hissing about, the iPhone could push the stock even higher. As John Jackson, an analyst with the Yankee Group says, “Any handset maker is more than capable of making clever devices. But it’s really about business models. That’s where Apple maintains its business advantage.”

 This is a “brand made world” we live in and Apple is a heavyweight.

Also check out the article in Business Week.