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iPhone Revolution? (part 1)Fri, 07/20/2007 - 00:46 — Seth Weintraub
Perhaps Steve Jobs is right? He's been right before...actually a few times come to think of it...
You have to admit, he might be right - as well as generous. And this isn't just pure fanboyism talking. Although that makes it all the easier. What has changed in less than a month since the iPhone has been released? Everything. Phones are no longer phones. They are computers. Of course they were always mini computers but now they are thought of differently. Some of these computers are better than others. The iPhone, though it does have tons of well publicized shortcomings, is far and away the best phone/computer that has ever been made. There is nothing in its league. But was it even Apple's choice to go out and develop this whole new platform? Was this a natural evolution from the computer business or was it something that required a swift turn of the captain's wheel - one like Bill Gates is famous for making at Microsoft when it became obvious to him that the Internet was, well, everything. It is apparent that at some point, the Apple management team said, "This laptop/desktop paradigm isn't going to be around forever, we need to be working on the next big thing." Add to that the landscape of seeing the success of mobile devices like the Blackberry and Sidekick which were starting to take away some of the roles of computers. Then throw in the proliferation of high speed wireless networks that are only going to become cheaper, faster and cover more ground. Finally, products like Nokia's and Microsoft's Tablet then UMPC's start littering the landscape. What you have there is a recipe for change. That's all for now - continued soon!
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Steve Jobs told Apple employees before the introduction of the iPhone that they will get to tell their children and their children's children that they worked (long and hard) on a device that will go down in history as one of the milestones in technology evolution - then he hooked them all up with an iPhone.
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Comments
Irony
The ironic thing is that Apple absolutely had to get into the "phone" business. By phone, I mean a pocketable networked (not necessarily cellular) device that can exchange voice and other forms of data.
The trend has been that people prefer to carry one device, and preferably with a phone capability. If the phone could do other things well, then people would stop carrying products to do those other things. This was a clear threat to the iPod's future. (Even with 100M iPods sold, the number of phones "sold" makes iPods a rounding error!) I think this was clear to Apple way back in 2004. So they partnered on Motorola's ROKR just to get a product out so as to learn about the market. And it quickly confirmed that mobile phone user interfaces (all phones, not just the ROKR) were so bad that people just wouldn't use those phones to play music. And, having already begun working on an all-Apple phone, they realized they had a huge opportunity and that they had time.
The iPhone allows them to turn from defending their iPod franchise to attacking smartphones today, and all mobile phones within the year (I believe those iPhone nano rumors are true, though maybe not until 2008). From defense to offense in one move!
Someday, the majority of Apple's pocketable devices will have a voice/data communications/network capability. As technology becomes more powerful and cheap, and as we move from locked-in cellular carriers to free/low-cost WiFi everywhere, I think the iPhone to iPod (where iPod has no network capability) ratio will become at least 9 to 1.
Did you see that Google is bidding for wireless licenses?
Everything changes...
Steve's ability to see the change before it happens is what makes Apple great. It all started whit the Apple 1 when IBM though everyone would go to a library or a "technology center" to use a computer. They laughed at the idea that people would want to have a computer at home.
Same thing now. The iPhone is a computer that can make calls. Havingyour computer with you all the time will change things.
Apple has been also working on an automotive computer that will allow you to have all your stuff in your car and with the proliferation of wireless networks, well, the possibilities are endless... Internet, Mail, GPS, iTunes Radio, iChat, Traffic, Wheater... Can't wait to see that. I guess it will replace your car stereo or something like that...
I hope that Apple continues innovating and bringing exciting products that actually change the way you live your life...
The Desktop and the Laptop
The desktop and the laptop are not passing away, they are just passing out of the spotlight. They are yesterday's celebrities, no longer in the news, no longer the darlings of the press, no longer on the growing edge, but there will always be a need for them and they will always be around in some form or the other.
A baby is an addition to the family, not a replacement for its older siblings.
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