Observations on the Techie World
Just my take on what the world of IT and technology is all about.
Friday 3 August 2007, 10:40 AM
Who do Apple think want an iPhone
There has been a lot of media hype about the shiny little device with its touch screen but on close examination I think many people in the media have missed the point. Apple always said, right from the initial announcement of the device, that they wanted to redefine the mobile phone. Many commentators in the media seem to have interpreted this to mean that Apple was going for the smart phone market but I think this is just not the case.
Most smart phones are sold to corporate users who like to be able to access their exchange servers and applications while on the move but the iPhone does not have this functionality, at least not at the moment. Smart phones tend to be a bit over the top and complex for the average mobile user and don't really look all that good. I think what Apple have tried to do is make a smart phone for the masses. It's a device that gives an average user what they want, such as POP email access and a decent web browser. All this together with a very easy to use phone and a video iPod all in one device.
This is the real strength of the iPhone, not in the traditional smart phone market, but in the much larger fashion phone and high end tech toy market. I think apple have managed to redefine the mobile phone in that they have produced a device with smart phone features which is easy enough to be used by anyone and looks good enough to appeal to a more general mobile phone market.
In my opinion this is where the iPhones strengths lie and that is the potentially huge market sector they have gone for. Many commentators have said that there would be only a small market for a smart phone, but that is not what apple produced, they have instead produced a smart phone for the mass market, which does indeed reinvent the mobile phone, at least in some ways.
PreviousComments on this post
As much as I want an iPhone for the things it has, I fully understand those who see this as a try to redefine the American mobile market.
At some point, European customers, must ask them selves what the value of the device is. Without 3G, MMS, and a decent Camera one has to ask how and where to use it.
Do you sit on the train day in and day out flopping through your images with the finger and a wet eye? Will you listen to your music and manually change your songs because it is so cool to do it? Will you be satisfied with the slower than dial-up connection for your mobile surfing, while others on Nokia/Sony Ericsson surf away in 3G and Opera Mini?
Will you be happy not being able to install software like Vyke.com which enables you to send messages for free and call anyone around the globe at local cost?
At $499 or $599 (+tax), you can get plenty of surfing with your regular mobile phone using Opera Mini.
Don't get me wrong I do love the iPhone, but if the European iPhone version is no different from the revolutionary 2MegaPixel/GPRS/GSM version in America, I think it will be a love from distance.
You do have some good points there as the iPhone is an expensive toy for the most part. However its not the actual functionality or lack of it that defines this device. Apple seem to have gone for a more usability led approach which I think has been rather refreshing to many people who have purchased the phone already for what ever reason. Its true what you say about slow connectivity but most people will only use the browser when they want specific information on the move and for the most part speed there is not an issue. What will be a winner for most non-tech users is that you can give this phone to more or less anyone, with no instructions and they can just use it, all of it. The problem with most devices similar to iPhone is that most people never use anything other than the phone and text functionality because they can't be bothered or find it too difficult to learn how. This is the strength of iPhone and where I think it may just succeed where other devices have failed. Also on the price front, apple is making a huge profit on each phone so when the early adopters have all purchased the phone at full price and sales start to tail off Apple can easily cut the price by a third and still make a killing. I think for a version 1.0 device this shows that Apple is well ahead of the game with usability and looks. When its launched here in europe it will almost certainly be a more refined device and with low power 3G chip sets just round the corner I think iPhone V2 could address many of the current devices shortcomings. The type of user that iPhone is aimed at don't know what Vyke.com is and would not know how to install Opera Mini, with iPhone its all about what it does strait out of the box. Like I said I think Apple are going for the main stream with this one not niche markets.
Pround, nice well thought out article with interesting points.
I agree that people do not understand the iPhone (Apple's) target market. It is NOT a give-away phone, carrier-choice phone, or corporate smartphone. Apple is NOT trying to dominate the entire market Microsoft-wise.
It is a consumer device aimed at the "rest of us". Those of us for whatever reason who do not want to have to often resort to manuals or master arcane methods of use. We don't want "difficult" or frustration. We just want it to be stable, hassle-free and to do what we want easily, and if it puts a smile on our face, it will generate brand loyalty and enthusiasm.
And there are a lot of us. The corporate-security-conscious and the technical Geeks are in the minority, although you'd never know it from the noise they generate. Apple has another people-pleasing winner on its hands.
As for price...I don't care. I can't afford a mansion, new Mercedes or private Chef, but the iPhone adds some elegance to my life and makes me feel good when using it.
WHOM vs WHO ...
this tortured headline is a perfect example of why some people have a hard time figuring out which one is correct.
this headline is also a perfect example of why headline writers should come from the ranks of copy editors ... or at least be native speakers who have have passed their 'A' levels!
let's apply one of the simple tests used by school children to "unwind" an interrogative, so that word order can clarify the grammar - both combinations reveal what a convoluted mess the headline writer created:
* Apple thinks who/m wants an iphone
* Who wants an iphone, Apple thinks
The intended meaning is this:
* Just who is it that apple thinks wants the iphone?
* Apple thinks it knows who wants an iphone!
I am not trying to be picky! - breaking rules is fine if it does not impede clarity! ...
... but when the bad grammar bangs into itself, then i am forced to slow down, reparse, and generally decode the mess ...
... which wastes my time.
... which i resent.
... so i whinge
... rightfully so!
