Apple Passed on a Chance to Make Phone History
Funny how shiny objects captivate and confuse us. Take the Franz Mesmer performed by Steve Jobs last week with the introduction of the Apple iPhone mobile phone. Among the more hyperbolic statements made, was Jobs' assertion that the Apple phone would “reinvent” the telecommunications sector. The reality is, the unit may prove to influence the future of handsets, or perhaps handset GUIs, but the entire telecommunications sector, I think not. They could have changed the world and won the hearts and wallets of BubbleGen consumers everywhere, but they whiffed Tom Evslin put it well:
The telecommunications sector (or at least the mobile part of it) WOULD have been reinvented if Apple said that the WiFi connection on the phone could be used to make voice calls without going through the Cingular network. But they didn’t.
The telecommunications sector (or at least the mobile part of it) WOULD have been reinvented if Apple had announced a phone which is network agnostic and let the carriers rush to announce their support for it. But they didn’t. Read more.
No, the hero of the Bubble Generation will be the company with the courage to break the mold and more importantly, break the "carrier barrier," giving consumers the freedom of choice they value above all other features.
It is early days yet. Come back in three years time and repeat the accusation.
Posted by:Charel | January 15, 2007 at 07:11 AM
"The telecommunications sector (or at least the mobile part of it) WOULD have been reinvented if Apple had announced a phone which is network agnostic and let the carriers rush to announce their support for it. But they didn’t."
When did anybody rush to support ANYTHING Apple? Apple managed to build a relatively agnostic Music store by signing all the major American labels. Despite (becuase of?) their success, they were unable to do the same with Movies.
Do you honestly believe that Steve Jobs didn't WANT to announce an agreement with all the major cellphone networks during his keynote address? What probably happened is that the only way Apple could get EVEN ONE network to sign on was to agree to the multi-year exclusive deal he signed with AT&T.
Posted by:JayZee | January 15, 2007 at 12:11 PM
Do you really think that Cingular/AT&T would have agreed to carry the iPhone on its network if the iPhone user could simply opt out of the Cingular network via Wi-Fi?
Why would Cingular allow such a feature? How would it profit from doing so?
You really should have thought about this issue from AT&T's vantage before you started typing.
Posted by:Kcar | January 15, 2007 at 04:02 PM