Apple 3G iPhone - Next Gen's Product To Avoid?

When a 14 year old knows more about the iPhone than your CMO does, you have a problem.

That dawned on me when I spoke with one of my nieces who swore she’d never buy a new iPhone – and yes, with her fledgling baby sitting empire, she could easily afford one. What she doesn’t do is visit CNet.com or read product reviews. What she does do is IM her friends incessantly, trade products back and forth, and talk, talk, talk. What she also does is influence her mom, her dad and their friends about new products, cool brands and hot items of the moment.

So my question is this – if a 14 year old is commenting on slow downloads, the need to constantly shutdown and restart, and how un-cool the product is turning out to be, why didn’t Apple’s CMO?

Hey, it’s a great brand. It’s the only company that’s been able to turn a tech product into a consumer brand. It could also get crushed under the weight of the new products it’s rushing to market. It would be a shame if the Apple of the future was the next gen’s product too avoid.

Think it can’t happen? Think about GAP in the early 90s – it was the cool thing to wear. Think about how kids look at it like mom and dad's brand to avoid…