B USINESS PROPOSAL The iPhone: Powering Up June 30, 2011

Group 3 Innovators Table of Contents Contents Introduction

Executive Statement Objective Mission

Page

Company Summary
Ownership About the Company Going Green

Our Product
iPhone Flaws

Strategy and Implementation

Current Options Innovation Implementation Cost

Conclusion

Introduction Executive Summary

A conventional business strategy is to make many products and see which are successful and popular with the public. This in turn, can create mediocre products because businesses are spreading themselves too thin on numerous products. In contrast, Apple believes in making a few well-made, quality products and working tirelessly in order to perfect them (Morris, 2008). This is the outlook that has made Apple the technological giant it is today. Apple has continued their growth and unconventionality by their commitment to go green. This strategy combined with what could very well be their most successful product of all time, the iPhone, can continue to set Apple apart from their competitors.

Objective
Throughout the years, Apple has evolved through its products, producing more advanced technology as their next gadget is released. One of Apples biggest hits, besides the Mac and iPad, has been the iPhone. The iPhone turned out to be one of the most common phones in the world due to its amazing abilities and facilitation in usage. The purpose of the iPhone is impossible to answer in a sentence as Apple had various reasons to create the phone of the future (Goggin, 2009). In the end, a phone that could play music, surf the web, do anything a standard phone can but better was made. Now, consumers and gadget aficionados have the world in their hands; which was one of the reasons this phone was made. When the iPhone was developed, it incorporated everything about Apple into a phone. Since 2007, over 70 million iPhones have been sold world wide (Kumprack, 2010). While Apple has shocked the market with staggering iPhone sales, their choices to give back by embracing green technology have grown exponentially as well. These 70 million phones, all thrive on electricity and with small innovations each future iPhone purchased could lead to a greener company, consumer, and planet.

Mission
Our mission is to provide Apple with the most feasible solution to allow them to incorporate their own dedication to reducing their impact on the planet with a highly marketable and low cost improvement to their brilliant product, the iPhone. We propose to bring change to the entire company eventually as this innovation can be easily implemented into Apple's entire line of products. We aim to please the consumers and Apple with our prototype products that have been produced. We intend to power up the iPhone with solar charging options that will in turn lead to a brighter future for Apple and the environment.

Fig 2.1 Steve Jobs

Company Summary Ownership

Apple Computer Inc, or as we know today Apple Inc, was founded by Steve Jobs (Fig 2.1) and Steve Wozniak on April 1, 1976. Apple was known back in the day for its personal computer manufacturing and Power Mac lines, such as the Apple I and the Apple 2. Apple was far from the company that it is today. Apple experienced struggling computer sales and was forced to make layoffs during the 1980's. In 1985, due to an internal power struggle, Steve Jobs was forced to resign, leaving John Scully in

charge of the company. The 1990's brought tumultuous change for both Apple and Steve Jobs. He briefly left the company, but as fate would have it, he was reunited with his brain child, Apple. Steve Jobs founded a company called NeXT, which had great technology that would later be used in the future called Mac OS X. In 1996, NeXT was bought by Apple, which put him in the position to regain his power at Apple. He rose to power once again, taking the helm as CEO, a year later. Very soon he had turned the company around from a multimillion-dollar loss, to 25 million dollar profits (CNN, 1998).

About the Company

In 1998 the original iMac was released which integrated a CRT display and CPU into a streamlined, translucent plastic body . The line became a sales smash, moving about one million units a year. It also helped re-introduce Apple to the media and public, and announced the company's new emphasis on the design and aesthetics of its products. "During iMac's first 139 days, an iMac was sold every 15 seconds of every minute of every hour of every day of every week," said Steve Jobs, Apple's interim CEO (Brittain, 1999). Now with Apple gaining in popularity due to the success of the iMac, they were ready to expand their range of products. In 2001, Apple Introduced its first iPod (Fig 2.3), a digital music player that was revolutionary in the size and memory capacity. "The iPod, which claims almost a 73 percent share of the market for portable music players, is the driving force for Apple's cultural and financial Renaissance"(Cantrell, 2006).

Fig 2.3

The 2007 release of the iPhone was an even further step into stardom for Apple. This was further secured by the larger version of the iPhone, the iPad (Fig 2.4). Both of these best selling products have catapulted Apple into nearly every American home, making Apple one of the most well known brands in America and throughout the rest of the world.

Fig 2.4

Going Green
The Apple Corporation is not only at the forefront with technology, they are also frontrunners within environmentally responsible technological companies. In 2009, Apple was the first among computer companies to implement a comprehensive life cycle analysis report to determine the origin of its greenhouse gas emissions. This report consisted of adding up emissions generated by transportation, manufacturing, and recycling. Furthermore, the report included statistics on emissions generated by Apple facilities and stores (Apple.com/environment, 2011). Apple not only encourages other companies to conserve energy, it sets the

example. Various Apple facilities around the world have converted to using 100% renewable energy. Since 2009, Apple has reduced or eliminated the amount of chemicals in their product. For instance, in 2009, Apple launched its new family of MacBook laptops. These laptops contained recyclable aluminum and glass enclosures, mercury free LED back lights and a power conserving design. Additionally, Apple proclaims that all notebooks produced after 2009 are polyvinylchloride or PVC free(Bertolucci, 2009). The MacBook is not the only product that Apple is making green The amount of chemicals, such as PVCs, have also been decreased in iPads and iPods. IPhones and their respective accessories are also jumping on the Going Green bandwagon. The headphones, USB cord, and the internal wiring of the iPhone are all PVC free (Fig 2.5). Additionally, in 2010, Apple introduced the new Mac mini, the worlds most efficient desk top computer. The Mac mini is so energy efficient, that it only needs 10 watts of electricity to operate. More importantly, Apple has reduced the amount of packaging in all of its products. The little packaging the products do have is all made with recyclable materials (Bertolucci, 2009). The majority of companies ship their e-waste to other countries. Mainly, it is rich countries shipping to poor or third world countries. Apple does not practice this. Apple has a strict policy it adheres by and reads No waste from Apples U.S. recycling program is shipped outside North America (Apple.com/environment, 2011). In other words, all e-waste that is generated in the U.S. is disposed of responsibly, inside the U.S. This may sound like a negative to some, but in reality, shipping e-waste to other countries is devastating to that countrys environment, not to mention the indigenous population Apple does not condone the disposal of hazardous e-waste in solid waste landfills for fear that it might cause chemicals to seep into the ground or into the water supply. It also does not endorse the disposal of e-waste by incineration because of the environmental hazard it poses. In the United States, laws for disposing of e-waste are more rigid, severe, and held to a higher standard. If companies disobey these laws, they face hefty penalties and fines by the regulating entities.

Fig 2.5 Materials Used in iPhone 3

Our Product iPhone

Having a phone that can do its basic functions with more advanced technologies enhances the ability of business people, educators, students, and everyone else to function with less hassle. The iPhone (Fig 3.1) can do voice calling, call merging, and call holding, these are only to name a few. Besides the basics, the iPhone is capable of taking pictures, videos, and downloading applications all while saving a total of 8GB of material from music to TV shows straight to your phone (Lennon, 2011). As stated before, not only is the iPhone able to perform standard features any other phone, having Wi-Fi instead, it will allow you to surf the net for six hours according to Lennons article, Apple iPhone Critique, Get the most from your iPhone, (2011). Having the ability to use the internet for this long is record breaking as no other phone has had the ability to make the battery last longer than that while on the web, which is the other purpose of the creation of this phone. If Apple was going to call their latest cell phone the cell phone of the future, then they had to beat out any other high tech phone being made and already made for years to come. According to Goggin, the author of the book Continuum, Apple was working with Motorola to invent the latest phone (2009). However, once Apple saw the design, technological capabilities, battery usage, and how the phone had nothing to do with being eco-friendly that was going to hold the top spot of phones for years, they held back on their

technology and allowed Motorola to finish the phone called the ROKR. From this preview, Apple went full out to ensure the iPhone would be the phone of the future (Goggin, 2009). They ensured that the phone would be able to surf the web, play music, make calls in different way, and help the environment with its long lasting, eco-friendly battery, arsenic-free glass, high-grade aluminum, and strong polycarbonate (Apple Inc, 2011). For the battery, they used the technology of Energy Star version 5.0, which allowed them to make recyclable batteries once the battery of the iPhone is dropped or no longer functions. Overall, the battery being recycled along with other recyclable gadgets, Apple produces a total of 1 percent greenhouse gas emissions to recycling, also known as 62,000 metric tons. As the iPhone is the identical twin to the iPod, Apple found it really necessary to have it do the same functions the iPod did. That included the ability to sort the songs in the media player by songs, artists, albums, videos, playlists, genres, composers, and in alphabetical order. It also included the capability of the podcast to be recorded and played, an audio book, and compilations (Neagu, 2009). If one changes the device from vertical to horizontal position, then the cover flow view changes in its direction as well. It has the basic functions of play, pause, skip, repeat, voice control, and headset control as well. The number one feature the iPhone has as it is being used as an iPod, is its ability to download song from iTunes directly from the phone instead of having to connect it to the pc and synchronize everything (Neagu, 2009). Other amazing features, besides the ones it already has, are the applications people can download. There are over 50,000 applications (apps) one can download to make the most out of their iPhone. Apps such as a library, cooking, studying, mapping, etc, almost anything one can imagine, there is an app for that. This enhances the phone of the future drastically as anything that one could want could have it in a matter of seconds with just a couple of taps away.

Fig 3.1

Flaws
Consumer reports revealed that the iPhone 4 had several problems/weaknesses. One of these problems is the reception which in most instances resulted in dropped/lost calls, and that there was a simple fix to this, which was to hold the phone differently so that it could get a little more reception, (1). In comparison, the iPhone 3G did not have this issue. The iPhone also has notification problems. For example, the consumer is in a phone call when a text message comes, it will automatically come up, say that the person ended the call, then he/she would have to close the text message before he/she can actually end the call. Fragility of the screen is another issue, the material (aluminosilicate- which is very similar to glass) is supposed to be more resistant to scratches, but this material has more internal tension which makes it more prone to breaking. Some other hardware problems include the microphone will malfunction unless the speakerphone is on; the volume buttons might be mixed. Another startling flaw is the battery life of the iPhone. Since it is constantly in use by being connected to either wi-fi or 3G networks, and is essentially running most of the programs that a computer would, the battery does not last as long as many consumers need it to. "It's proving to be something of an Achilles' heel on Apple Inc.'s flagship device, more than 1 million of which were sold in the first weekend" (Sarno, 2009). In fact, many users can not make it through an 8 hour work day without recharging their iPhone. This proves to be more than inconvenient to consumers that are leading very active lifestyles and rarely are near an electrical outlet. The 8 hour talk time is better than Apple originally predicted but is still far from where it could potentially be considering the advances in today's technology and abilities to harness solar power (Fig 3.2).

Fig 3.2

Strategies and Implementation

Current Options

Currently there are multiple options available for charging an iPhone with solar power. These options are not always viable considering the activities of the user or personal style. Novothink has created a case for the iPhone that includes a solar panel on the back (Johnston, 2010) (Fig 4.1). While this a great leap forward, it eliminates the potential for consumers to be creative in their choice for iPhone covers or skins. This option also eliminates the possibility that a water resistant case such as the Otterbox can be utilized by active consumers.

Fig 4.1

There are briefcase type chargers as well, but they are designed for the iPad and are far to bulky to be used in outdoor activities such as camping or hiking (O'Brien, 2011). This would work for an office setting or someone with a more sedentary lifestyle but it is just not conducive to encouraging consumers to get out and enjoy the planet that Apple is encouraging them to protect. Of course, there is still the original types of solar panels that must be placed in the sun and that an iPhone or any other device can be

plugged into so that they can take advantage of free solar energy. This is good for camping and times when the user is stationary, but it requires the consumer to be outdoors and to dedicate a long period of time to letting the phone bake in the sun's rays in order to obtain a charge from the solar panel. The most noteworthy information about the current options for solar charging is that none of them are being implemented by Apple. They are aftermarket designs that are compatible with the iPhone or they are devices that can simply charge any piece of electronic equipment. This is a huge share of the market that Apple is missing out on. They could be using this option to turn a profit as well as reduce the energy consumption that charging their products necessitates.

Innovation
Our proposed innovation consists of incorporating existing technologies that utilize solar power. The devices that we are looking to for inspiration are the solar powered calculator, which has been on the market for many years and that has became incredibly inexpensive to manufacture over time. The solar cells in calculators are small and work in any light source to convert useable energy from light. Just the solar cells from calculators being merged into the iPhone models would be a vast improvement in environmental impact and battery charge times as well. In accordance with the innovative design of the iPhone, a another useful technology, Eco-Drive, has been developed by Citizen Watch. This technology utilizes a thin solar collecting wafer placed under the watch face that is capable of converting any light source into energy. This technology also includes a lithium battery that stores the excess energy that is absorbed from light sources to be used as needed. This storage system powers the watch even when it is not currently being exposed to a light source (2011). Coupled with the battery and the wafer design, the larger surface area of the iPhone would dramatically increase the running time of the iPhone. This enhancement will not change the iconic style of the iPhone or any of the like Apple devices but it will make it even

more useful with the independence from electricity and the green impact it will make.

Implementation
The device that we envision is the collaboration of technology from 3 devices. First, is the iPhone, which is the backbone and purpose of our research. Secondly, is inserting 4 solar panels borrowed from solar powered calculators into the iPhone. These would be placed strategically adjacent to the speaker and also on the bottom of the phone near the button. Thirdly, the Eco-Drive battery and solar collection devices would be inserted into the phone as well. This will create the most useable and dependable solar powered smartphone of all time. The technology is there, as is the drive for Apple to create the most green company they possibly can. It is destiny that once again Apple will boldly go where no other electronics manufacturer has in order to be green and meet consumer needs. Timing for this innovation is at the peak of perfection. By developing this proposed change to the fullest extent just as the iPhone 4 launches, means that the changes can be included in the development of the iPhone 5 to make it the iPhone 5S for solar! There will not be a need for a middle of the model change. This will reduce production costs because it is being initiated in conjunction with the revisions that are already in the planning stages for Apple's next iPhone model. These will be the only changes to the function of the iPhone. A corded charger will still be included for use, should a consumer be away from any source of light for an extended period of time. The cord is still included as it has a function that goes beyond the charging of the phone. It is also how information is shared and transferred with the iPhone.

Cost

There is not a perceived increase in cost for consumers. Due to the low cost hardware and previously tested technology that is being interjected into the iPhone design, the price point should remain static, which is a standard that Apple has established with each new iPhone version that has previously been released, no matter the improvements. There will be some costs to Apple to facilitate the manufacture of these phones in regards to the hardware that is needed to complete building the phones. However, with Apple, the environment and needs of the planet supersede the slightly increased production costs. The current iPhone has 49% of all the greenhouse emissions it creates caused by the consumer (2011) (Fig 4.3). This can be completely changed to be a 0 consumer emissions device by implementing the proposed changes. This higher cost to produce the iPhones with our technology would also be negated by the increase in sales and individuals that choose to upgrade in order to have the solar charging, energy independent iPhone of the future.

Fig 4.3

Conclusion
In closing, the innovation of implementing these technologies into the iPhone will be groundbreaking. It is a promotional dream. The environmental impact is huge as is the influence it will have on consumers to embark on a healthier and more active lifestyle by

not being tied to electricity. The phone will be energy independent but the style of the phone can remain unique and tailored to individual tastes while being the best thing to happen in electronics yet. After the iPhone experiences astounding success with becoming solar powered, Apple can then further extend this technology to the vast array of Apple products. Solar is the way to power up, and Apple is the best company to make it happen for the products that people use most.

References
Grossman, L. (2007, November 1). Invention of the year: the iphone. Time. Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,2 88 04,1 677329_1678542_1677891,00.html. This article covered pertinent information to when the iPhone hit the market. It detailed why it was being projected to be a hit among consumers. The article listed five reasons why that the iPhone was the product of the year for 2007. Ironically, the iPhone is still immensely popular today for many of these same reasons. This information was chosen to be used in the paper because it focused on the iPhone specifically, which is the topic of study for the paper. The article was helpful because it offered a glimpse into where the iPhone began, and from this the previously implemented improvements can

now be identified. Since the article discussed why the iPhone is such an iconic gadget, the importance of improving it to keep it at the top of the market in popularity was evident and this supports the evolution of the iPhone as an innovative product.

Johnston, L. (2010, March 22). Novothink unveils applecertified solar charger. TWICE: This Week in Consumer Electronics, 25(7), 44. In this article, the first Apple licensed solar charger that was specifically created for the iPhone and the iPod products is discussed. The article chronicled the parent company that designed the charger. The price point for the device is discussed as well in the article. Also in the article are the technical specifications for how long the solar powered charger can power the device and how long it takes to charge the phones or iPods. This information was extremely useful in researching the use of solar power to charge iPhones. From this article a lot of knowledge was gained about the expected specifications that can be achieved when adding the feature of a solar charger to the iPhone. The article discussed charging times and cost. Both of these topics were necessary to investigate so that appropriate and factual assessments of iPhone solar chargers could be made in the report. O'Brien, T. (2011, June 23). Voltaic spark tablet case powers your pad with the sun's rays. Retrieved from http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/23/voltaicsparktabletcase-powers-your-pad-with-thesuns-rays.

This article discussed using solar power to charge another Apple product that is very similar to the iPhone, the iPad. The article discussed the charging times for the iPad and that the excess solar energy could be stored for later use in this specific product. This article detailed a product that was similar to others, with a slightly different approach with the inclusion of energy storage. This product also comes with a slightly higher price as well. Since the ipad is essentially a larger version of the iPhone this article was very helpful with the insight it presented. The approach to storing solar energy is a step above what our research was intending to cover, but it does open the door to even further possibilities in improving the iPhone and the dependence on energy to power it. The article again offered a price tag for the product which shows where implementing something like this would place the iPhone in terms of increased cost for the consumer in exchange for the convenience of solar charging.