iPhone The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
01.18.07 - 03:59pm
The iPhone has some glowing commentary with numerous hype and iPhone hopefuls are already starting their iPhone caddy in preparation of the big day. Many love the idea of having a super video iPod, music iPod, wi-fi, web browser and phone all in one and consumers are clamoring in line to be the first one to have one. Yet there is also the bad side of things. Commentary on the iPhone seems to either be ecstatic or gloomy with little in between. This could in the end be a
good thing for the iPhone as lots of free press and hype will be created in the battle, and after all, who wants to buy something that doesn’t have a little bit of controversy mingled into the mix.
Commentators against the iPhone are saying that Steve Jobs is simply attempting to recapture his glory days of the iPod, but they say he is too far off the mark. Tero Kuittinen from Real Money.com wrote “The device is defiantly out of step with the existing smart-phone market, which, incidentally, is wildly more successful than the iPod on a global scale.”
Smart phones sell for less than $300 and are dominating the market without carrier subsidies. One of the problems commentators are seeing with the iPhone is requiring buyers to sign with Cingular, plus forcing a two year contract. Most people don’t like two year contracts, technology is changing too fast and who knows what happens in two years!
The iPhone costs approximately $300 above the average smart phone yet lack some of their most sought after features. Mike Elgan with Computer World writes “The iPhone doesn’t have voice dialing, voice memos, 3G Internet access, Word or Excel support, one-handed operation or video recording. It can’t be used as a laptop modem. The battery can’t be replaced. It doesn’t support removable storage. The calendar, task list and e-mail won’t sync with Microsoft Outlook.” He goes on to explain the lack of space available and how by the time applications and music are loaded there is only 1 or 2GB left available which will only hold one or two movies.
The really ugly side of things that commentators appear to be cynical about is whether the iPhone will be able to make it anywhere but the U.S.. Europe and Asia are the two biggest phone markets in the world. Kuittinen writes “In those markets, this niche is already filled with smart phones. The 100 million consumers there won’t easily be retrained to do without what they already take for granted. …Every controversial design decision made by Apple flipped in favor of a narrow, parochial vision geared toward affluent U.S. consumers. There is not an iota of a global strategy in its game plan.”
Most commentators seem to agree that the wait to sell it in Europe and Asia is a huge mistake. While the iPhone may make a big start up in the U.S. knockoffs from Asian companies will have plenty of time to take place and with a similar product being offered, cheaper, with no hold-up on the carrier for the consumer - most just see the iPhone’s profitability being eaten up in Europe and Asia before it even starts.
The good side of things though is seen as radically different. Many commentators see Apples patented multi-touch system as a system that will revolutionize the world. At present we operate with the mouse (wireless at least!) but it does seem time for a new revolution and touch screens with multi-touch sensitive pads appear to be the next logical step. Plus the iPhone not only adds multi-touch but multi-gesture! with steps such as unlocking the iPhone by sliding your finger across it’s face and zooming in on a web page by poking at the area you would like to enlarge.
One does wonder if the Apple iPhone will work well for texting. Jason Snell writing for Reseller News wrote that it was easy to type text messages writing “…And as you type, the keys “pop up,†getting larger as if they’re rising up to meet your touch, which gives you visual feedback that you’re pressing the right letters.”
People who were actually able to touch and see the iPhone have marveled at it’s beauty and it’s patented touchscreen. Without having exact knowledge of the iPhones applications it is definitely too early too count it out, even in the Europe and Asian markets. Also while the smart phones currently available have numerous application processes they often have problems with breaking down and sometimes seem only to work on a their whim. (just like they have their own personality!) Most people want something that is guaranteed to work every time.
The ongoing questions that will now plague us for the next six months are: Will the iPhone hype hold up? Will Apple be able to fix any software and battery problems during the 6 month wait till arrival date? Will the iPod drop in sale during the wait for the iPhone? What will the software be? With bated breath we wait and see.
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