Apple Needs a Big Bang Announcement Today Amid Huge Expectations

Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL)’s Chief Executive needs to have a few surprises up his sleeve later today when he launches the company's latest iPhone.

It has to be more than just a smartphone; it has to be something which nobody has ever thought if the company wants the sustained interest level that the mere anticipating of it has generated all these weeks.

Other companies like Samsung Electronics and Nokia have already unveiled phones with larger screen, faster wireless networks and new operating systems, better imaging capabilities and so on.

The Cupertino company has its work cut out to better all these and more. According to reports the new iPhone will have a larger display with 4 inches compared to the 3.5 inches now.

But what everyone will be looking for is whether the company will have any new technologies to offer, the `wow' factor so to say that will give it that definitive edge compared to its rivals.

Apple is no longer the new kid on the block now, setting the trend for others to follow. Others like Google and Amazon seem to be ahead of it. Samsung itself, despite all the controversies about patent infringements, is appearing like a company which is more in tune with what consumers want.

The company's competitors are no longer what they were when the first iPhone was launched in 2007. Then it was up against stodgy companies such as Nokia and Research in Motion who were established and entrenched players and did not play much attention to path-breaking technologies.

So when Apple came on the scene then with its intuitive features that seemed to be just what customers were looking for, it created a major ripple.

Now almost everyone company has started thinking in terms of what the customer would want, anticipating their needs even before they have realised it themselves.

It will be tougher a market to crack from a year earlier.