Weekend in Nerdland

iPhone 3G launch last Friday! I don't need Miss Cleo's crystal ball or even a glance at Google Trends today to know that the iPhone was a top search item Friday. Fanboy mania...lines, download issues, and dominant stories on all the standard issue tech blogs for days.

I don't have an iPhone, and neither does my husband, although I think they are tan-fastic. We are Verizon customers (don't get me started), and we are not ready to change networks. Also, we live in cowville (ie Mid-Market USA), which means that 3G does not apply to us yet. Which also may explain why he has such a hard time recruiting for all those UMTS positions at AT&T and can only find qualified Europeans to work on 3G.

Still, the iPhone craze affected us, as my husband spent the better part of Saturday morning downloading all the new software for his iPod Touch. Upon completing, he literally made me sit down to tour all the new programs (Twitteriffic, yay!), including virtual beer. He was, understandably, highly distracted at dinner that night. There was a new, improved toy at the table!!! Much awesomeness!!!

I avoided the interwebs Sunday but continued to sift through more blog posts Monday, dissecting what Apple did wrong. Why another product launch with the same issues? Will their fan base continue to put up with this clear lack of attention to detail?

J and I are not even the Apple fan base in the truest sense. Yet I spent the better part of a weekend in Nerdland, reading blogs, watching iPhone shows, and of course sitting down to watch "virtual beer." The launch could have gone smoother, but when it comes to total product devotion, I think Apple is on to something. Why else do they call it the Jesus Phone?

One More Reason Apple Is Doing it Better

First confession: I hate the mall, and avoid it like the plague. I purchase almost everything online. But a once or twice a year an expedition to the mall is a necessity. Kind of like the dentist.

On my latest trip to the mall with my husband, we stopped in the Apple Store to purchase a cover for his new iPod Touch. As a marketer, I must say Apple does so many things right I won't bother to list them. I drool--really, it starts with their products. Minimalist eye candy adorns the store and even if you don't adore technology you want to play with everything. It's so EASY and cool.

What floored me the most wasn't the store layout, tots playing learning games or the MacBook Air. It truly the simplest thing. When we checkout out, the sales assistant asked if we wanted our receipt printed or emailed to us. Slightly stunned, we said email, of course.

How many receipts do you get every week? Can you even count? From the grocery store, lunches, ATMs, gas, miscellaneous items small and large. How much paper does that add up to? How much money do Apple stores save by not printing everyones receipts, many of which wind up in the trash. How does this impact their carbon footprint?

If all the major retail outlets in the country adopted this simple technology, what would the cost savings be? How much paper would be saved? OK, so my tree-hugging roots are exposed here for a minute. I don't mind. However, I actually would much rather have receipts from all my purchases in email. I might actually keep and track them that way.

Plus, from a marketers perspective, Apple gained an additional bonus - our email address.