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The iPhone , why it is and will be overhyped and might not be a HUGE success
It’s out, the iPhone, my god look at it, its beautiful and awesome. What will Nokia, Motorolla, Sony Ericsson et all have against THAT?
Those were the kind of messages i got via SMS and email yesterday after the keynote. At first I have to admit, I was awestruck as well. Then I slept over it and today in the office we had a few chats with my colleagues and we all came to the same conclusion: overhyped and underperforming!
Yes, I know it is not available and I cannot possibly review it. And I won’t even try (unlike other people who have written a ?review ? of it already. Anyway, I am comparing it to the mobile phone market today and how it will be in the next year (contrary to popular belief, there is a market OUTSIDE the US :))
Ok, so what can it do? It has a big screen and ,in my opinion, one of the best operating systems ever under the hood. It also sports a 2mpixel camera and can sync/work with your mac applications perfectly. You can use it as an iPod and you can browse the web over WLAN and EDGE. The interface is completely touchscreen and it has really excellent GUI effects. It will be available in the US for $499 (lower model) with a 2 year contract in JUNE! Great.
Now let’s compare it to something that I know and CAN compare it too since I have been testing it. The Nokia N95. Why did I choose that phone? Well its the upcoming ?flagship? and it will also be available, so it is not out (available February or so) . Just for kicks I made a comparison chart between the 2 phones purely based on what is on their respective homepages.
| Phone | Nokia N95 | Apple iPhone |
| Camera | CarlZeiss optics 5mpix + front camera | ?? 2.0mpix |
| Memory | 160MB + 2GB MicroSD | 4-8GB |
| Screen | 240×320x16million | 320×480x16million |
| Networks | 5-band (WCDMA2100 (HSDPA), EGSM900, GSM850/1800/1900 MHz (EGPRS)) | Quad band |
| Data | WCDMA 2100 (HSDPA), GPRS, EDGE, EGPRS , 3G | EDGE |
| WLAN | 802.11b/g + UPnP | 802.11b/g |
| Dimensions | 99 x53 x 21 mm | 115 x 61 x 11.6mm |
| Media Player | Yes, MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+/WMA/M4A with playlists and equalizer | Yes, MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+ with playlists and equalizer(?) |
| Video |
Record 640×480@30fps Playback: MPEG-4 , H.264/AVC , H.263/3GPP, RealVideo 8/9/10 |
Record: ? Playback: MPEG-4 , H.264/AVC , H.263/3GPP (?) |
| Bluetooth | 2.0 + EDR | 2.0 + EDR |
| Software | Tons avilable | Unknown |
| OS | Symbian S60 3.0 | Mac OS X (mobile?) |
| Webbrowser | Opera Mobile/Nokia own | Safari |
| Extras | Built-in GPS and Software, Rotating screen, Dual Slide for special media keys- Automatic lock if slid shut. | Touchscreen, sensor rotation, ambient sensor, proximity sensor |
| Weight | 120gr | 135gr |
| USB | USB 2.0 standard connector. Becomes a removable drive | USB2.0 Ipod Connector |
Ok so this is a brief run-down of the features of each handset. The iPhone takes a beating, in my opinion generally. Except in the screen and the touch screen features. I thought at first it would be small and slim, but in weight the N95 wins and the iPhone is just slimmer. The camera is 2.0megapixels. Hello, in a year 5 megapixels will be pretty standard. N95 has GPS, and not only Satelite tracking, no if you don’t get satelite reception it uses GSM triangulation. I have tried it, it works. It comes with software preinstalled but you have to pay a weekly/monthly/ yearly license for the streetmaps. This might sound outrageaous but think about it, you will always get updated maps. And you can download them via WLAN and cache them.
Don’t get me wrong I am a BIG Mac fan, in fact I am typing this on my Macbook Pro, but Apple is entering a market that is saturated and WELL established. Kind of like what Microsoft did with Zune. The only way to succeed in this market is price (for consumers) or business features. The iPhone has neither. At 499USD (and probably more in Euros) with a 2 year contract in JUNE, its a far cry then the suggested price of the N95 of 499 USD WITHOUT a contract. Granted you get an iPod with the phone and the sensors and 4GB storage, but this is a niche market. What consumer, that does not have an iPod yet, will buy an underpowered phone for 500 USD with a lock-in for 2!! years?
And please remember, Nokia is not the only one preparing next gen smartphones. I am sure Sony and Motorolla will have an answer as well. Apple claimed that it innovated. They took yesterdays phone and added their OS and a rotating touchscreen onto it.
Mac people and some other people will love it but what about Windows, or Linux interoperability? The N95 mounts as a standard removable drive and you can upload MP3’s in Linux just fine and play them.
So the price is a no go, what about business features? Steve Jobs bashed Blackberry in his keynote. But the reason why blackberry is such a success is because of Push-Email. Every major corporation supports and builds products for this purpose (Nokia Business Center - now Intellisync , Blackberry’s Blackberry server etc.). What about applications? Can I open .doc or .xls files with the iPhone?
The last point I am making is, do you want to purchase an expensive phone that looks really slick and has no applications? I mean Symbian, Windows Mobile and even Palm OS have applications…. LOT’s of them.
It is a great product but I think this one is overhyped because it has a shaky base and is entering a market where bigger corporations spend many times of Apple’s R & D per year in order to innovate.
Of course, I could be completely wrong and the iPhone will be Apple’s biggest success story yet to come.
//Flosse
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Some fixes on your table:
N85 software: Tons avilable (in reality, just 200 S60 3.0 apps exist, but many ugly and buggy J2ME apps exist too)
iPhone third party software: Unknown (possibly none originally, no SDK announced as of yet)
OS: Symbian S60 3.0 (actually, it will be S60 3.1)
Webbrowser: Opera Mobile/Nokia own (actually, it’s pretty much the same browser as Apple’s, Webkit/Webcore — they share a lot of the same code).
Thanks Eugenia,
Good things to know. You are right about the buggy J2ME applications but they are still available
As far as the S60 3.1, the latest firmware still says 3.0 but I guess you are probably right.
I completely agree with Jobs about applications on the iPhone: it should be quality controlled so the HIG are followed, and the stability and consistency is unquestionable.
iPhone has vastly more memory than the N95, it has a multi-touch screen that has 2X the screen real-estate (entirely different UI than anyone has ever used), and syncs perfectly with your computer because its an iPod. Its media capabilities may not look as impressive on paper, but any iPod user knows that the N95 isn’t even in the same class.
The N95 is a brick compared to the iPhone. Not quite as tall or wide (hence the little screen), but twice as thick. Its like MacBookPro versus Dell Inspiron.
When i want to take really nice photo’s, i’ll use my Nikon D200 with Tamron 28-105mm 2.8:1 zoom lens. Phone cameras are best served as a way to add a photo to the contact you just made, not take up extra memory for a 5MP image thats not so hot anyway because it was taken with a phone. People nowadays think that CarlZeiss optics = worthy camera. Hate to brake it to you, but there’s much more to it than megapixels and a lens brand name.
The two major drawbacks for the iPhone are the lack of GPS and 3G or WiMax . Thats why i’m going to do my best to hold onto my wallet for the 2nd generation. Who knows tho? Maybe the iPhone will be able to do GSM triangulation with a software update, and i’ve even heard rumors that the 3G is also there but deactivated. IF (and thats a very big if) that were true, then the iPhone would not only win people over for its amazing software and Beautiful/Intuitive UI, but also for its FEATURE LIST, which is something apple is not known for. Wait till its out to draw a final conclusion.
Uhm, interesting comment. The syncing is a bit of a questionmark. I am thinking PC syncing. Will they provide a way to sync contacts et al from the usual suspects too? (Outlook etc.) And with the recent announcement that there will be NO 3rd party software on that phone the whole GPS thing is killed unless it comes from apple and then the price will be steep. Besides the iPhone has not been seen in action, will everything work as smooth as demonstrated? what if the sensors get messed up? or what about scratches and smudges on your screen after using the touchscreen for a while? it is all WAY to uncertain to make a full conclusion as to say that the phone is perfect or its not there etc. My point was that it will face a market that is well established it wont be easy for sure.
–flosse
I love it! I want it! You can do everything with it! Very great!
I found a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xXNoB3t8vM