The iPhone is one of the most beautiful, functional, mobile devices ever created. You will be hard pressed to find a bad review written about the device this passed weekend. The iPhone’s interface can be summed up as “industry changing” and Apple will go on to sell quite of few of the most hyped mobile phones in history.
All that being said, Apple has left the door wide open for a competitor from the likes of Google or Microsoft and it really has little to do with the iPhone itself. Paternering with AT&T is the culprit.
To make a long story short, EDGE is flat out too slow. The iPhone at its core is a media device and when you are sitting in a Wi-Fi hotspot, is unlike any other mobile device that I’ve seen and worth every penny. When, however, you browse the web while on the EDGE network, it feels like using dial up.
In my opinion, the killer app for the iPhone is not the phone, it’s everything else, This is why I think that a Google Phone or a Zune Phone that is a superior mobile phone, can deliver a a similar web browsing experience, has a pretty good GUI interface, and allows you to use the killer app efficiently when not sitting in a Wi-Fi hotspot, has a real chance to succeed.
The key for Google, Microsoft, or any other competitor is to come out with such device before Apple hits critical mass with the iPhone. Seeing how over half a million iPhones were sold this passed weekend, someone needs to come out with a really cool device very soon.
So you want to blame AT&T for Apple not having a 3G radio ready for its hurried release?
By all accounts, this is Apple’s show, from the secrecy of the release, to getting minions to stand in line to the price point to the style to the purported verbage that AT&T COR employees were supposed to say…
It would be nice to see some articles that were not written by the verizonites.
They passed for a reason and now that it was not released on the “network”, suddenly they come out the woodwork with the garbage throwing…
Glad my one experience with the device on Friday night, Saturday morning told me otherwise…or I would believe the anti-hype being spread as gospel also
Not gonna by a iphone as my needs as different, but I wonder why the sudden need of people that have hidden agendas (bloggers and writers tied to verizon) to poo-poo the device…wonder if they would say the same if it were on the “network”…
Robb: great commentary as always. As to the door being open:
I really don’t think it is from a practical point of view. There is no other competitor in the world today that can even come close to what Apple accomplished on the iPhone, much less in a short period of time. You simply cannot substitute or take a shortcut for all of the years of careful development that Apple put into that device, much less their entire history and tradition of building devices with the end consumer in mind. Then there’s the fact that Apple patented the heck out of the device, which will make it even hard for companies to replicate. Other companies will try, no doubt, but none will come close, just like with the iPod.
Sure it would be great if the iPhone had 3G; but it will be Apple itself that produces the 3G competitor to its own device, just like it was Apple that produced the smaller competitor to the iPod in the iPod mini, and then the nano.
Steve Jobs has said that he reckons the iPhone to be at least 5 years ahead of the competition, and he is absolutely correct. I mean, what other vendor has the software background to put an entire desktop class operating system in a cell phone? Ain’t gonna happen.
As to Google, well, for all intents and purposes, they are a partner in this venture with Apple, and that role will only expand, esp. with one of the Google founders on the board of Apple. A good portion of the selling points for the iPhone are the Google apps, like maps and YouTube. The iPhone is in essence the closest thing to a Google phone that you are going to see.
As for Microsoft, they cannot even come close. Sure they have the resources, but they do not have the expertise in designing for the end user like Apple does. Remember the Zune?
I really do think that Apple has hit a huge grand slam home run with this release, and the ripples will be seen for years and years to come.
I agree, the Verizon and Sprint EVDO networks are much better suited for high speed internet. Whoever goes with these network will rock!!!
Sigmamason,
I was actaully blaming Apple. The big miss for me on the iPhone is that it isn’t 3G. I am also kind of surprised that it doens’t have voice activated dialing. Apple may be able to address that with a service update.
As for AT&T, I agree with you that this was Apple’s show, however, I will give credit where credit is due. The release of the iPhone, logistically speaking, is by far the best that I’ve seen for any consumer electronics device surrounded by this much hype. Apple may have planned everything but AT&T definitely executed on those plans.
If ifs and buts were candy and nuts… I think you know the saying. Thought is right. Just because Apple just announced the iPhone earlier this year doesn’t mean that is when they started working on it.
Just like with the iPod is with MP3 players, Apple will be it’s own biggest competitor when it comes to media mobile phones.
Media Mobile Phone… Has Apple just created a new vertical in the wireless industry?
One more huge advantage to Apple: they can address virtually all of the issues of missing features with software upgrades, and according to rumors, are planning an aggressive schedule to do so.
Perhaps the only item they cannot address with software is the lack of 3g: but that just gives them an excuse to come out with another version. And it will happen: my prediction is within a year, perhaps by Christmas.
Imagine where Apple will be in 2 to 3 years time; 3g will be ubiquitous in the US.
In the next few months the iPhone will come out in Europe and it seems to be already clear that it will work on 3G. In Europe 3G is a common standard – as well as in Asia.
So just be patient and wait a little bit….;-)
ok silly question at&t has edge as you all say is slow but what does tmobile run on cause my boys blackberry moves preety fast if anybody knows let me know please
did anyone use it with Corp Exchange Server? How does it sync with Email, Cal and contacts? I’ve read several conflicting stories about that.
Pierre: all of T-Mo’s BlackBerry’s run on Edge…of course, most of what BB’s are used for are not the sort of multimedia heavy applications that will be used on the iPhone…for instance, you probably won’t see someone try to view YouTube on their BB…and the BB doesn’t have a full web browser like the iPhone…
The iPhone competitor is RIM. Or should I say, the RIM competitor is the iPhone. I know, I know. They aren’t targeted towards the same users. But BlackBerrys are no doubt the premier messaging device. With the more recent focus on multimedia capabilities, you can be sure future BBs will take full advantage of the faster 3G networks available. So, with the absolute best in messaging and new media centric phones, there won’t be much of a reason for people to get the “dumbed down” version of a smartphone. Give it a few months and you will see some superior devices.
The iphone is plain out bananas! Apple is showing the world what it is capable of doing right now, and that is running the mobile market. The next iphone will everything that this first model does not. And that will be a scary day for all the other phone manufactures!!!
Sean,
What exactly is the iPhone showing the world it is capable of? A beautiful UI? Well that is definitely true, but it really isn’t anything we all didn’t already know. Heck, I own a MacBook Pro and will upgrade to Leopard when it is released in the fall. So I know their interface is top-notch.
So sure it created a multimedia phone with a beautiful UI, but there are many segments of the industry that Apple can’t and won’t be able to touch. This is the point. A manufacturer like RIM can definitely wrap up a large percentage of “serious” users that want some multimedia capabilities. I for one don’t need to watch movies or have 45 albums on my cell phone. But give me a good camera and full fledged browsing on a device that has proven messaging capabilities and I’m sold.
Based on Basillie’s recent comments, I don’t think I’ll have to wait very long.
Plain and simple:
3G = More battery drain.
This is not from me. This is from someone who beta’ed the device and got to be in on the iPhone about 1 1/2 months ago. Too bad he couldn’t tell me squat about the thing.
I do agree that webbing on the device is slower than it should be if not at a WiFi spot. It’s a shame. A compromise had to be made and longer battery life won out.
A question:
Would you rather have faster internet and less mobile phone talk time?