How did the iPhone change the mobile industry?

By Kim Dushinski • October 10th, 2007

At Mobile Web Americas, (which I wrote a wrap up of here) the most discussed company who didn’t happen to be represented, was Apple. Not surprisingly, I saw more iPhones in use at this conference than I have in any other setting. It was clear that the folks who had them were very happy with them. It was equally clear that some people present were tired of hearing about iPhones.

While it was widely acknowledged amongst speakers that the arrival of the iPhone had changed the face of the mobile industry it was not agreed upon whether this was because of a true technological breakthrough or smart marketing of mobile technology.

At one point a gentlemen who was extolling the virtues of his beloved device commented that (Please forgive any technological errors I make when I write this. Remember I am marketing type, not a techie) the iPhone is the best because it was the only mobile device that uses Ajax.

The panelists were almost jumping out of their seats to say that was untrue – Jon von Tetschner of Opera stated that his browser incorporates Ajax technology and has for years. Craig Cumberland of Nokia was just as quick to point out that Nokia has an Ajax-supported browser. Then Sanjiv Parikh from Microsoft mentioned that in the early iPhone ads The New York Times is the website used to demonstrate the sheer coolness of using an iPhone but that it is Microsoft technology that powers the NYT site.

At that point it became crystal clear to me that the true super power behind the iPhone changing the face of the industry is Apple’s MARKETING department. Maybe Nokia’s phones and other phones using the Opera browser really are as totally impressive as the iPhone, but Apple showed it to the world in a widely seen ad first. Apple brought the concept of mobile browsing into the mainstream by doing great commercials that clearly demonstrate what is possible.

As for the technology behind all of this, I will leave that up to the true technologically inclined folks to debate; but if you ask me, those guys and gals over in marketing at Apple deserve a hearty round of applause. In my opinion, they have out-marketed everyone else in the industry.

What do you think about the iPhone? It’s impact on the industry? The marketing genius of Apple?

NOTE:
I currently own a handful of shares of Apple stock.

Comments(2) Mobile Conferences, iPhone

Comments

By Janet Johnson on December 27th, 2007 at 1:36 pm

It’s the phone that made me switch to a Mac. And I did so because of the seamless integration of the phone’s technology to Apple’s applications. I have been plunking along for years with a Blackberry and MSFT - and this year when I became truly mobile, they stopped working for me. I needed an IT department to support them both.

So I’ve been on an iPhone for a month now, and it’s changed my life. I blog about it embarrassingly.

As you noted in your post about Papa John’s - the EXPERIENCE of the iPhone is what sets it apart - from the commercial to the purchasing process to the synchronization process.

One caution, if you have IMAP email, you’re golden. If you’re stuck with a POP email service (like Comcast), you’re not. True synchronization between email systems is only available with IMAP.