What has been happening for over a decade is the grand convergence of mobile telephony, mobile computing and the Internet. There are three distinct elements in this:

  1. The mobile device (PDA phone): Until the iPhone there was no mobile device that combined the usefulness of a powerful PDA with the high functionality of the mobile phone. There were many spirited attempts. Nokia had some impressive and highly functional top-end mobile phones. Microsoft tried hard with Windows Mobile, but it was fighting this battle using the tactics of the previous war. The PDA phone was never going to be defined by whether it could run Word and Excel. RIM’s Blackberry proved to be very close, but the Blackberry became an email phone rather than a general purpose PDA phone. The iPhone made it because it was truly multifunctional; music, video, notes, email, browsing and telephony.
  2. The carrier service: For the moment the carriers think they have this under control with the iPhone, but actually it’s running wild and out of control. The PDA phone users don’t want a monopoly connection deal, they want wifi and choice – and in the end, they’ll get what they want.
  3. Content: The most important stat to emerge from the weekend 3G iPhone rush was Apple announcing that there were 10 million downloads from its new App Store in its first weekend of existence. This little stat tells you that Apple has struck gold yet again – doing something that no other vendor even thought to do. This is the iPod story all over again except for the fact that now it’s not just music and video, it’s also apps. And apps not only means games – it means platform and an ecosystem that continually enhances the iPhones functionality.

The iPhone Platform

Last weekend the iPhone became a very powerful and probably uncatchable commercial platform. Let’s do a little stock taking:

  • Apple owns the etail stores from which you buy content (music and video).
  • Apple owns the App store from which you buy all the apps.
  • Apple owns the mobile device (and hence its evolution).
  • Apple owns the OS that the iPhone rode in on.
  • Apple is now pursuing non-exclusive telco deals in order to maximize the market, and every carrier and his country cousin wants in – and should want in.
  • iPhones are selling by the million.

What I’ve listed here are the characteristics that make the PDA phone market and Apple is alone in being able to offer them. Apple has no competition. None at all. This is the Windows PC of the phone market. From here on in, it’s Apple’s to lose.

«- 1 2 View All -»

  Subscribe to HaveMacWillBlog in a reader