Nokia, Motorola scream to be heard over iPhone 5

So, I’m reading over Techmeme and can’t help but notice that the top 19 stories, yes 19, are about mobile phones, devices or their operating systems.

Nokia’s talking about its Lumina. The company’s design head, Marko Ahtisaari (got to be a designer with a name like that) is proudly spreading out the Nokia’s offerings while boasting that he wants to out-design Apple. Windows 8 has a new app. Motorola Mobility is improving screen size and battery life. Oh, and it’s got a new Droid Razr.

You don’t think the flurry of mobile mentions means there’s an iPhone announcement coming up, do you?

Oh wait. There is. Sept. 12. You know the drill: Clever cryptic invite. Yerba Buena Center. 10 a.m. Big stage. Big hype. Fawning media. Fawning fans. Monster sales.

So, it’s hard to blame everybody and her cell-phone-making brother from trying to get out in front of the Apple buzz machine. But I’m deflated. This is all starting to remind me of a political campaign. The noise never stops. 24/7.

If we learned nothing else from the big Samsung/Apple patent trial in San Jose this summer (and actually we did learn plenty), it’s that the stakes are huge in mobile. It’s increasingly where all of us live; and more importantly where we consume advertisements, buy stuff, entertain ourselves, conduct business, make friends, insult enemies and search for what in the world is going on in the world.

All of which is why every mobile-device-maker is looking to grab us by the ankles, turn us upside down and shake every penny out of our pockets.

Your best bet? Just get used to it.

Apple’s cryptic invite

Mike Cassidy (90 Posts)

I write about the culture of Silicon Valley for the San Jose Mercury News.