Since January, Apple has released tidbits of information and peepshow-style views of the iPhone to a salivating public. About a week before its launch, research firm M:Metrics reported that 19 million Americans are interested in buying an Internet phone that most have never even touched.
But the iPhone is merely the latest in a long line of hyped products. Why? Because hype works. Take Windows 95. Jay Leno test drove it on stage with Bill Gates. The Rolling Stones' "Start Me Up" had people rocking out to the ads. But smart marketing aside, the hype succeeded because Windows 95 was good?one of our 50 greatest tech products of all time in fact.
Overhype
Of course, hype can also bomb, as Microsoft most recently learned with Origami, the code name for a collection of UMPCs. A marketing campaign steered wrong set some people's expectations towards a gaming-type gadget. What they got was a tiny tablet PC that many found underpowered and overpriced. Apple is also no stranger to failed hype. Remember the G4 Cube: the diminutive, high-priced Mac that lacked upgrade options and was prone to overheating. And what about WebTV? It may have been ahead of its time, but it foresight doesn't pay the bills. (Tell us below what other products throughout the years you've found overhyped.)
Game Hype
The gaming world is particularly prone to hype. Kids of all ages camped out in lines for a chance to get one of the first Playstation 3s and Nintendo Wiis. Of course, one could argue that the Wii-mania that swept livingrooms around the world has far outlasted and justified its original hype. It's hard to know if that will be the case for the third installment of Halo, Bungie's flagship game for the Xbox. (Let me know how the preview comic ends.) I suspect it will go better than with Riven, the propped-up sequel to Myst that some found disappointing.
But nothing can cut through technology hype like the actual product itself. Unlike an over-promoted band, actress, or beverage (Zima, anyone?)--either the product works or it doesn't. Either people buy it or they don?t. All tea leaves appear to be favorably aligned for the iPhone, but whether consumers and business users will end up mass-buying an expensive, presumably well-designed Internet phone--well you'll just have to tell us.
