iPhone is an Astonishing v1.0<< Google Android: Nokia and Apple Reaction | Main | Mobile UI is All the Operators Fault, Right. >> IanFogg | November 09, 2007, 10:02 AM I've been using an iPhone for a couple of weeks now (*). The iPhone is a really astonishing phone. How Apple differentiates from the competition is not through a long list of features as loved by other handset makers, but instead through the way in which the iPhone does the things it can do. It's not what the iPhone does but how it does them that is revolutionary. Other handset makers must learn that 'the end' feature cannot justify an ugly arcane interface 'means' to get there. Thinking about the other announcement this week by the Google-led alliance, or about Palm's aspirations for its new Linux mobile operating system, Apple has reminded me again of how hard it is to create a good mobile device. Apple has managed to build a fast and reliable mobile operating system, package it into a small device with both a large screen and a good battery life, and deliver an intuitive revolutionary user interface. Each of those things would be impressive in a v1.0 mobile device, to do all three in the same device is unprecedented. I have much sympathy with Symbian, Nokia, Palm and Microsoft's negative reactions to Google Android. Until there are solid, usable, Android devices in consumers' hands the jury will remain out on Google's initiative. Google has to earn a reputation in mobile. And, for the next 18 months at least, the established handset and mobile OS players will continue to grow the smart device mobile market. The iPhone does have omissions and weaknesses, but overall Apple has made well-informed trade-offs to create a genuinely different mobile phone. Many of these issues will be fixed through ongoing firmware/software updates (which delivers a carrot that is Apple's best weapon against hackers). Other improvements will arrive as Apple moves to a family of mobile phone devices at some point in the future. Will iPhone be a success in Europe? Well, I believe the real area to watch going forward is not the volume of (initial) iPhone sales. What matters to the industry is whether the iPhone will take on the role of a Netscape for mobile phones: Will the iPhone make the Internet interesting and usable to the mass market? And, if so, will increased mobile Internet usage deliver improved revenues for mobile operators? Read more in these reports:
(*) The iPhone was provided to me by Apple and O2. |
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