Technology news and Jobs 
Information Technology News iPhone will be a game changer: Gartner analyst
Information Technology News iPhone will be a game changer: Gartner analyst | iPhone will be a game changer: Gartner analyst |
|
| by Stan Beer | |
| Tuesday, 26 June 2007 | |
|
"I think it's a game changer in the sense that once people get a look at it and play with it, I think their expectations of what a good user interface is will be changed. That's not to say that the iPhone will necessarily be successful because we're yet to see whether it will be a good phone. But in terms of user interface, it's really raising the bar." Despite its elegance of design, Simpson believes that iPhone's performance as a phone will be the crucial determining factor of the product's long term success in the market. "It all still depends on whether it's a good phone in terms of voice quality and reliability," he says. "Lots of other players have tried to enter the phone market and not done a good job on their product in terms of its quality as a phone. You would have to say that the first Handspring phone wasn't that great and it took them a while to get it right. "However, Apple has got a pretty good track record in this regard and I would be surprised if they brought something to market that wasn't ready. They learned that lesson with Newton a long time ago." According to Simpson, consumers will be only too willing to give the iPhone serious consideration. "At the end of the day, a lot of people are going to look at it because it's different, it looks elegant and the very clever marketing that they're doing. People will want to go and see it but whether they end up buying it in droves depends on how well it works as a phone. The iPod side and so on is probably of value but somebody looking for an iPod is not necessarily going to buy a phone unless the phone is very good." While Apple has been criticised by some analysts for designing the iPhone with a non-removable battery, Simpson does not believe this is a major issue. "If a battery fails, an enterprise user is not going to be happy about losing their phone for a week or two or however long it takes to get fixed, although it may not be such a big deal for a consumer," Simpson says. "But the point is by not having a removable battery they can make the mechanical design of the thing a lot more reliable. "Will the iPhone survive a drop test? The proof will be in the pudding but there's so much at stake here that if they don't get it right everybody's will be only too willing to pour scorn on them. However, I think they've learned quite a bit about mechical design and casings with the MacBooks and PowerBooks." Price, according to Simpson, will be Apple's biggest challenge. "They're really trying to change something that's been reasonably accepted for two or three years now in the phones market and the way phones are distributed. That's probably the biggest question. I don't think it matters for the initial enthusiasts. Where the rubber hits the road is three months down the track when all the excitable people have got one. I would imagine that Apple is hoping that the innovation that they have made will be enough. "However, the early success is probably no indication of the long term success because once the hype dies down the only reason you're going to pay the money is if you really think that the user interface and the functionality is worth it." So can Apple sell 10 million iPhones in the first year? "I think they can," says Simpson. Can Apple sell more than 10 million iPhones in the second year? "The jury is going to be out on that one. If they introduce iPhone to Europe and Asia next year with 3G then they could possibly exceed that number."{moscomment}
Get stories like this delivered daily - FREE - subscribe now
|
Tags
| < Next story in category | Previous story in the category > |
|---|
