Contrary to reports, the iPhone is good for everyone

Published by Ewan Spence at 18:19 UTC, September 9th 2009

In a report surely to be widely read by networks around the world, Strand Consulting have summed up the iPhone effect on a network's bottom line, but I think it goes a lot deeper. The standout line is "Not one (operator) has increased its market share, revenue or earnings as a result of introducing the iPhone." But then networks have never been about one product. They've been about offering the right device, to the right people, at the right time, for the right price. Let me explain.

Apple actually do this - but not in the phone market. Looking at the iPhone as part of the iPod range that stretches from the high end iPhone right down to the pocket priced iPod Shuffle, there is a portable Apple media product for everyone - only the top of the line device actually does telephony, although the iPod Touch allows Wi-fi connectivity. I wouldn't be surprised to see connectivity reach further down the range over the next few years with the Shuffles and Nanos slowly pushed away for cheaper and cheaper Touches.

Offering the iPhone via the mobile phone networks has distorted the issue in terms of carriers. Now there is one phone that people expect to do everything - because "iPod" has something for everyone. Unfortunately "iPhone" is still just a single data point in what is an increasingly complicated portfolio that every network has to offer their potential and existing customers. Even just the split between contract and pay as you go phones makes a huge difference to pricing.

Of course any manufacturer that makes more than one phone is going to be in a much better position to serve a network looking for breadth in their catalogue, but this of course brings its own headaches with different firmwares for every phone, support issues across not just the entire range but across the variants on each network. The reward, of course, is far greater unit sales across the range.

Any sensible mobile network is going to embrace these two different styles. The horizontal breadth of a company like Nokia can provide them with truckloads of cheaper phones that will happily swing in and out of fashion, while the vertical devices offer the distinctiveness a network looks for - think O2 with the iPhone or Orange with the Samsung i8910 HD. A mix of these two approaches mean that the geek and the general market can be catered for in a company.

There is no right or wrong approach to this, and if you look back at technology over the years, the battles between a horizontal and a vertical in the same market space have been won roughly equally. Probably the one most relevant to the current smartphone market was that of Psion and Palm... interestingly the Symbian (née EPOC) powered machines in those days were fighting as the vertical "boutique" device, while Palm was the mass market PDA that was a companion to every PC out there. Now the boot is on the other foot. Nokia have taken Symbian to the horizontal approach, while Palm is pitching as the vertical device alongside the iPhone.

So am I happy that the iPhone is out there? Most definitely. And once you get past the zeal that many have about the iPhone, it's clear that the iPhone cannot be the answer to everything. Neither can Symbian. They're both locked into this mad "Odd Couple" relationship that will continue to spin its way through the smartphone and mobile world for many years to come.

-- Ewan Spence, Sept 2009.

News Discussion

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unregistered Nice Ewan. All the sad nokia fanboys that populate AA(N)S will be pleased (see retarded comments above) Comparing such a "great" device like the n80 with the iPhone might actually be a new low...well done!

:rofl::rofl::rofl:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unregistered :) I had a Nokia N80 and I must say it was a nightmare. Useless web browser, pathetic applications, extreme slowness, 3G net that was barely faster than my 28.8 modem connection 10 years ago. Good for phone and sms only. Comparing it to the iPhone must be a joke.

I only used the web browser if I was forced to by circumstance.

I enjoyed using my N80 as a phone the call quality is excellent and the reception is good. It didn't help that the last two places I lived in are split between cell towers. one tower for reception at the front and a different one at the back.

One problem I found with the N80 was the carrier it was locked to did not provide any firmware updates after the first, I didn't realise this for a while and de-branded and updated two weeks before my N95 arrived. I upgraded to N80i firmware as my phone was already black pearl. The speed difference was astonishing. I really felt the carrier had ripped me off in the last two years of its use by not providing the updates.

Which brings me to my last point, the one thing I really like about the iPhone is the firmware updates, there is no need to de-brand to get the latest update, it is automatically provided.

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Originally Posted by Unregistered Geez!!!! Talk about bitter, misdirected passion! It's a PHONE, people!!!, It' s not a way of life nor is it a belief system. Get over it!!. I suppose anyone who doesn't drive the same make and color of car as you are also gullible lemmings??? And NO.I DON"T OWN AN IPHONE!!!

We can tell you don't own an iPhone because you wouldn't be writing things like "It's not a way of life nor is is a belief system". Most iPhone owners value their capacitive touch screens because they respond well to their phallus.

As for the N80, this was a phone that came and went long before the iPhone appeared so it's effectively from a different era. Interesting how comparatively well featured it was though. I bypassed the N80 because it was fat, it was really deep in one particular dimension and that made it so unwieldy.

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Originally Posted by ashu iPhone is infinitely better than many nokias out there. c'on people, accept what is there. .

Surely this depends on your particular requirements?

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Originally Posted by ashu everything you need is there on the screen.

Everything who needs? The iPhone doesn't suit my needs so it just doesn't get considered. Nor is it offered for sale on attractive terms. It's also too big an cumbersome for me. MOST other phones suit me better than an iPhone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ashu i am going for a blackberry bold rather than an iphone for entirely different reason. Bold would cost me $550 compared to iPhone's $750 and the second is we still do not have iPhone 3GS in India. I need the physical QWERTY of BB.

There you go! Needs, price! You are a sensible person after all. Forget availability.

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Originally Posted by Unregistered Like the guy said...IT`S ONLY A PHONE !! Yes, I have an iPhone. I used to have an N95 8GB, and really liked it. Then upgraded to an N97 and really hated it. You buy what is good for you. I just really dont understand the anti-iPhone brigade. I dont hate you because you have a Symbian phone, do I? Thats why I still read AAS.

Thank you....I so agree. It's like that in a lot of other forums too. I think you should use the phone that best fits your needs and keep it at that.

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