Hidden Dimensions - Apple is Outsmarting the iPhone's Compe...

[MacBytes]

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Category: Apple Hardware
Link: Hidden Dimensions - Apple is Outsmarting the iPhone's Competition (http://www.macbytes.com/link.php?sid=20070714032347)
Description:: The Apple iPhone is going to make some serious inroads into our lives and change the way we use hand held computers, indeed, even our desktops. To fail to understand that is to fail in the wireless market. Some companies that sell mobile phones are going to fall into hard times as a result over the next five years. That's because they don't know why they're winning now, nor do they have the corporate insight to see how they're going lose in the future as the smartphone evolves.

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[rjwill246]

When the "corporate" folks weighed in on the iPhone, you would think that they were the ONLY users in the world. Thanks for pointing out that they are not and would thus have little effect on iPhone sales.

I am still stunned at how people underestimate Apple. A shrewder CEO may have never existed and the talent at Apple, Inc. can hardly be written off by the trite comments of RIM's CEO, eg, who must either have his head in a dark place, or who, as you suggested of some, that they simply don't know why their companies are a success. Success by happenstance in a virtual vacuum. That is where I see most phones these days, including the Blackberry.

In the phone universe, there are virtually NO design features that make using the phones anything other than a chore. Indeed, the manuals often don't match what the phone actually is all about and then, trying to find features, such as how to add ring tones becomes a nightmare. I have had to go to Internet sites to find out how to do things that the manufacturer forgot, or, equally as likely I guess, that the phone company did not want you to know. Missing elements from the manual, made all the more laughable as the manual was far from slim!!!

All of these things will conspire to have the CEO's of these companies have their heads handed to them, since they will not be able to engineer themselves out of the crappy situation that they, and their products, are in.

Things have changed, once again, due to Apple's innovations. Those who criticize the iPhone for lack of features-- and it certainly HAS got limitations-- clearly don't know Apple. That doesn't matter if you are a potential user. Apple will sell millions of this device and by then those people will come to realize how good the product has become. It is the competitors that need to panic-- because, as you pointed out, the Roxio scenario is only a quarter or two away!!!

[FDX]

Apple, over the years, has shown a unique, focused ability to put its corporate will and intelligence behind a single device. The whole company's resources can be devoted to the iPhone, not only in terms of the hardware and integrated OS, but also in terms of marketing, retail sales, and integration with its own technologies, like iTunes.

That should scare the hell out of Apple's competitors.

My favorite part of the article.:D

[Cleverboy]

Nokia's no fool. They've seen it, and they hear LOUD and CLEAR that things like "side-loading" (how they refer to iTunes) and desktop syncing are important to users and dead useful to boot. There are some companies, like Helio (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=329599), that think that downloading "over the air" is the end all be all to how people want to consume music. Verizon is also apparently of this opinion.

While Apple insists that the outcry for over-the-air downloads isn't nearly loud enough yet, just a squeaking... and that desktop-integration and syncing is FAR more important to FAR more people. HotSync was one of the elements that Palm got RIGHT, and yet many manufacturers are still oblivious to the fact that there's even more than can be done.

OS
Evolution
Infrastructure

[grayskies]

good article, very interesting

It does seem the iPhone is being dismissed by other companies.

I look forward to the competition and innovation the iPhone will bring to the market.

[iPoodOverZune]

Folks, a very nice read:
http://www.investorvillage.com/smbd.asp?mb=445&mn=75373&pt=msg&mid=2548510

I agree with a lot of thoughts in this article and I personally had been rationalizing that for quite a while about apples' thought in their products and how this would influence their image and financial situation. Before even the iPhone was revealed in January, I had the feeling that Apple has been treading their product path for the last few years very judiciously, with extreme care and well laid out patterns, and this year their stock may hit near 150. Well, its already near that. It wont surprise me if by the end of this year it can hit near 200. [unfortunately, my monetary situation is not allowing me to buy more :( ]
My belief is that apple is not looking to compete or compare against either in the smartphone market (of business people) or the regular phone market but actually grow a new category of handing that phone smartness to regular users (which has lot more potential than the smartphones market alone) and as an extension to desktop computing which had been there for a while but only in its infancy? A stand alone elegant mobile desktop extension, in small-ish form factor, by itself would have been difficult to market but by wrapping it around with a phone and iPod function, they will slowly sway the customers to use the mobile computing function and thus completely build a new market.

What do you guys say? Pin your thoughts about Apple's strategy regarding their products taken as a whole rather than the sum of the parts (ie mac, ipod, iphone, appletv).

[imagineer2000]

I have been enjoying my iPhone since June 30th, and it is an incredible device. I often wonder if I'll come to take for granted the touch interface, which still seems like something out of Star Trek. So far the iPhone is incredibly useful, and the Google maps application far more handy than I expected. The battery lasts for a full day's very heavy use with some to spare. I have to charge my [work] Blackberry every day too.

The article peeks into what may be to come. Apple has delivered an amazing product and a mechanism that can readily deliver more features to the product. OS X on the iPhone means more incredible features to come.

I hope the other phone makers don't see what's coming. :D

[surferfromuk]

I hope the other phone makers don't see what's coming. :D

I honestly don't think it will make one bit of difference even if they do...

OSX is arguably beyond the abilities of Microsoft so what chance does Samsung, Motorola or Nokia have!

If Apple maintains it's current growth dynamic then by 2010 Apple shares will be somewhere in the region of $500 never mind $200!!.

In my opinion Apple have in this year reached what is know as the 'tipping point' or the 'fulcrum of no return' in which the competition simply does not have enough time to catch Apple no matter what they do.