It seems like everyone is excited about the new iPhone that was introduced by Apple on Monday (many people are actually calling it the Jesusphone) but I think everyone’s missing the big picture.
Flickr photo by nedrichards
What triggered those thoughts was today’s blog post from Mashable, discussing what was really revolutionary about the new iPhone:
And, The Really Big Thing About The New iPhone Is… GPS. Global Positioning System . Geo-anything. Location based services. (…) Why hasn’t all this happened before? Three words: ease of use. While you could have done all these things for the Symbian or Blackberry or Windows ME platforms (provided the device had GPS capabilities), it just took too many clicks and required too much fidgeting for any of it to get mass appeal.
I actually agree with that statement. The iPhone is well designed, it’s very easy to use, it’s now location-aware and the touchscreen navigation is amazing…
BUT…
- RIM (Blackberry) is working on a similar device
- Nokia is working on a similar device
- Samsung is working on a similar device
- HTC is probably working on a similar device
- Google might be working on a GooglePhone
I give kudos to Apple for innovating, creating a user-focused device and forcing change in a market that badly needed the kick in the pants but, the same way the social Web is not about Facebook, Friendfeed or Twitter, the mobile Web is not about Apple and the iPhone. It’s about permanent change in the way we access the mobile Web and that’s good. But, it’s certainly not about the iPhone…
Update1: David Pogue from the New York Times reviews the Samsung Instinct.
Seb Provencher's Blog 
If its anything like the GPS capability on the BB expect most people to turn it off. I was getting barely a day of battery life with the GPS enabled on my BB Curve…
I think a better solution and generally accurate enough is the triangulation software that the Gmaps application uses. It claims accuracy to within a few hundred meters ( accuracy in Toronto has been even better ) and doesn’t drain the battery.
If its anything like the GPS capability on the BB expect most people to turn it off. I was getting barely a day of battery life with the GPS enabled on my BB Curve…
I think a better solution and generally accurate enough is the triangulation software that the Gmaps application uses. It claims accuracy to within a few hundred meters ( accuracy in Toronto has been even better ) and doesn’t drain the battery.
The really big thing about the new iPhone is not related to technology at all. It is a step backwards on the business model side. The carriers have taken back all the power they ceded to Apple on the first go-around. Higher data rates, no revenue sharing, mandatory activation…
I agree completely that this is good change in the way we access the mobile web, but change has to come on the business side as well.
The really big thing about the new iPhone is not related to technology at all. It is a step backwards on the business model side. The carriers have taken back all the power they ceded to Apple on the first go-around. Higher data rates, no revenue sharing, mandatory activation…
I agree completely that this is good change in the way we access the mobile web, but change has to come on the business side as well.
Sprint / Samsung ought to call it the iFlop or iFail…
Sprint overcharged my small (US) company for over $50,000.00. We caught them doing it and now they refuse to refund the over-payments. You can read the full story at http://www.sprint-really-sucks.com
I also wrote an open letter to Dan Hesse the Chairman and CEO of Sprint Nextel. It is a good read so please consider reading the letter.
http://www.sprint-really-sucks.com/open-letter-dan-hesse.aspx
Sprint / Samsung ought to call it the iFlop or iFail…
Sprint overcharged my small (US) company for over $50,000.00. We caught them doing it and now they refuse to refund the over-payments. You can read the full story at http://www.sprint-really-sucks.com
I also wrote an open letter to Dan Hesse the Chairman and CEO of Sprint Nextel. It is a good read so please consider reading the letter.
http://www.sprint-really-sucks.com/open-letter-dan-hesse.aspx