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Butterflies in Jobs' Stomach Over iPhone

Steve Jobs admitted that he's nervous about the iPhone launch and has butterflies in his stomach, according to USA Today on Friday.

"We wanted to make a phone so great, you couldn't imagine going anywhere without it," Jobs told USA Today on Thursday. "That was our goal, and we think we achieved it. That's why we have such butterflies in our stomach. We get to see Friday if people agree with us."

Asked why the iPhone has taken the country by storm, Mr. Jobs said, "Mobile devices are really important to people. It's not like this is an obscure product category that affects just a small part of the population. People have seen in the demos and our ads something they instantly know they can figure out to use. People throw technology at us constantly, and most of us say 'I don't have time to figure that out.' Most of us have experiences with our current mobile phones and can't figure them out."

Some have wondered why Apple chose 6:00 PM on a Friday night to make the iPhone available. Mr. Jobs explained: "It seemed like a good time. People are off work. It's a time that's democratic. It's still light out. Everybody is available at that time. We didn't want people to have to take time off from work. We wanted everybody to have the same chance."

Mr. Jobs also weighed in on the EDGE network issue. "EDGE will be faster than people have read in the reviews. Some of the criticism of EDGE is more theoretical. Blackberrys use EDGE, and in many cases is slower, because our software is better." Randall Stephenson of AT&T agreed, adding: "I carry a 3G phone and the iPhone, and in terms of the general experience, it's comparable. I'm not concerned."

Mr. Jobs and Stephenson answered many other intriguing questions. The upshot is that if Apple and AT&T run out of the iPhones, they'll scramble to make more. Customers will have to wait, and then come back later. (No rain checks.) On the other hand, maybe a complete sellout on iDay One isn't so bad. It would calm those butterflies.

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Bosco said:

member since 03 Jun 2002 with 1002 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Steve Jobs admitted that [he] has butterflies in his stomach.

Can't that be treated with antibiotics? He's Steve Jobs. He should have a good health plan, no?

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gslusher said:

member since 13 Nov 2002 with 2088 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Bosco wrote:
Steve Jobs admitted that [he] has butterflies in his stomach.

Can't that be treated with antibiotics? He's Steve Jobs. He should have a good health plan, no?

I expect that he does, though he could afford to be self-insured. Of course, in all seriousness, Jobs has been through at least one health scare when he had pancreatic cancer a bit less than 3 years ago.

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LaurieF said:

member since 15 Jun 2001 with 3547 posts, TMO Forum Mod, send him a message or view his profile

But he's a vegetarian - how did that happen?

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A guest said: (hide)

Being a vegetarian doesn't exclude you from the same ailments as us regular omnivores.

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A guest said: (hide)

Sigh - some jokes are completely wasted on some people…

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Intruder said:

member since 07 Jul 2004 with 3149 posts, TMO Mac Specialist, send him a message or view his profile

Would a butterfly really count as meat?

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Bosco said:

member since 03 Jun 2002 with 1002 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Guest wrote:
Sigh - some jokes are completely wasted on some people…

Fortunately, those people just become part of the performance. That's 1 point for LaurieF if your scoring at home.

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VSeward said:

member since 28 Jun 2001 with 972 posts, TMO Staff, send him a message or view his profile

Intruder wrote:
Would a butterfly really count as meat?

Yeah, I think it would. Besides, Jobs is a vegan, so butterflies should definitely be off the menu. He must have fallen off the wagon.

Vern

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