As a self-confessed Apple addict (I have the iPad, iPod, iPhone, Mac air and a iMac) I have been eagerly awaiting the release of the iPhone 5.
I waited and waited for news of a release as I was due to buy a new iPhone and didn’t want the 4 if the 5 came out this month.
There had been rumours of the 5 not being ready and some ‘technical glitches’ and also word of a dispute with the touch screen and component manufacturers, so I was wary.
We all know it is gadget suicide to release something before it is ready and then have people complain and switch to a rival brand.
It’s not that different from uploading your book when it’s done. You may have the ‘perfect finished novel’ but if it isn’t properly proof-read, edited, formatted and you don’t have an eye-catching cover, you could be chancing your arm.
As you may know, we have recently launched our new digi-imprint MWiDP (mark williams international digital publishing) and we are in the process of uploading our first books to Amazon KDP.
We currently have 9 titles live, 16 awaiting publishing or review and another 7 ready to be uploaded. On top of that, there are contracts sat on the desks of some top, top writers scattered around the globe waiting to be signed. We are working with these writers to ensure that when the books are released, readers are getting the most perfect product available.
Maybe Apple are doing that because last night, whilst the world held their collective breath at the hugely-hyped “Let’s talk iPhones” reveal, I joined them in a universal blowing out of cheeks.
Instead? iPhone 4s.
Now whilst this new version has some great extra features such as: a new chip, better camera and voice recognition software: Siri, it isn’t what the techies were expecting. Sure, it works with iOS5 and the new iCloud, but it’s not the iPhone 5.
Apple have come under fire recently for their “walled-garden” business model and their refusal to allow Adobe (who, incidentally, have just bought out Typekit) Flash software on their products, and with the perfectly timed Amazon sucker-punch last week and the new Kindle Fire being released, it is just possible that their heavyweight crown is slipping.
In this hugely competitive, cut-throat digital age, you can’t afford to not play with the other kids. Mark explains our ‘cloud theory’ at MWiDP and how we are even getting into bed (not the ring) with other small publishers, over at WG2E.
So have Apple just thrown in the towel with their damp squib, half-release? Is their domination of the gadget market coming to an end?
It could well be. If the value of their share price compared to Amazon is anything to go by, it’s a certainty.
Don’t get me wrong, I am still a HUGE Apple fan and I am sure the iPhone 4s will sell well, but as a writer and publisher (heck, that sounds funny) I am interested in where the market is for our books and I expect the run up to Christmas to be one huge clash of the titans.
Who will triumph? Who knows? But there’s one thing I can tell you for sure: it’ll be one hell of a fight!
Saffi
PS. If you’re fed up with all the feuding, why not check out the peace and harmony of writers helping other writers and playing nicely in the sand-pit at MWiDP? And if you would like to join the band of merry scribes, drop us a line at markwilliamauthor@gmail.com
Related articles
- The iPhone 5 rumor roadmap (tech.fortune.cnn.com)
- Five iPhone 5 Features You Can’t Count On (savings.com)
- Apple iPhone 5 expected to ‘shatter’ sales records (digitaltrends.com)
- iPhone 5 or iPhone 4S: Rumors Swirl Before Apple Release – ABC News (abcnews.go.com)
- No iPhone 5? Apple May Only Launch iPhone 4S [RUMOR] (policyabcs.wordpress.com)
Saffina Desforges 