Smartphone or consumer contrivance ? Serious business tool or high - tech toy ? Ever since Steve Jobs first pull an iPhone out of his pocket in January , the public debate has raged over just who makes up the target audience for this nomadic phone .
Back in January , some nomadic machine analysts tell Computerworld that the iPhone was n’t so much a smartphone as it was “ a super - smart iPod with earphone functionality . ” Other analysts predicted that Apple ’s gadget would put pressure on other French telephone makers , particularly those at the higher - ending of the market . Meanwhile , recent calendar week have seen the research firm Gartner advising its IT clients to keep the iPhone forth from their meshwork , with IDC analyst Randy Giusto describing the iPhone as “ not positioned at all for the IT world . It ’s a personal equipment . ”
Apple weighed in with its own opinion on the iPhone ’s place in the mobile machine mart last hebdomad . The company broadcast out adata sheetto reporters , comparing the soon - to - be - released iPhone to four other earpiece theoretical account made by Nokia , Samsung , Blackberry and Palm .
Apple ’s side - by - side comparing does n’t necessarily intend the party witness the iPhone take on those four specific mannikin . “ I do n’t call up Apple is place any specific marketer or operator by free extra eyeglasses on iPhone , ” said Bonny Joy , an psychoanalyst atStrategy Analytics . But it does proffer a coup d’oeil into Apple ’s thought process on the party it would like the iPhone to keep .
The telephone set Apple selected for its side - by - side comparison let in theNokia N95 , theSamsung Blackjack , theBlackBerry Curve 8300 , and thePalm Treo 750 .
Just glance at the name calling on that list , it ’s clear that whatever analysts think of the iPhone , Apple see it straightforwardly in the middle of smartphone territorial dominion — all four of those devices are targeted at business users or consumers looking for a multifunction gimmick to keep them in tactile sensation with the office via e - mail , WWW , and vocalisation service .
It ’s not surprising that in a compare arranged by Apple , the iPhone follow out on top . It ’s the thin of the phones listed , pound out the Blackjack by a tenth of a mm ; at 3.5 in , it also feature the widest viewable screen country . It also helps Apple ’s compare that the data point sheet was released after last workweek ’s announcement of improved battery spirit for the iPhone . Apple also announce that the iPhone ’s display surface would be glass , compared to the fictile Earth’s surface on the four other smartphones .
Improved battery life history is peculiarly key , according to Joy . “ In our study we launch that the battery life-time of their cell phone is one of consumers ’ major vexation , ” he said . That ’s important particularly for cadre phones that are also multimedia system capable , Joy total — a grocery segment the iPhone is sartor - made for . To that end , Apple ’s datum sheet note that the four would - be iPhone competitors don ’ offer specs on how long they last when get at the cyberspace , playing back video or playing audio file .
“ By annunciate iPhone has extend battery life , Apple is targeting existing iPod customer base to upgrade to iPhone , especially the ones who conceive characteristic like battery liveliness could be sacrificed for the sake of extra functionality , ” Joy said .
The iPhone is not considered a “ 3 G ” cell telephone set — a cell earpiece that has true eminent - f number networking capabilities over a carrier ’s data point internet . But the iPhone , unlike all others on the list except for Nokia ’s N95 , can eschew AT&T ’s data point meshwork for a local Wi - Fi connection instead , boosting its net surfing capability .
“ The iPhone does n’t have 3 gigabyte so Wi - Fi gives it an bound , ” he add . “ There ’s a reasonably good penetration of Wi - Fi [ in North America ] . ”
Despite Apple ’s location of the iPhone , Joy note that the comparisons to the other four devices do n’t pitch wholly in Apple ’s favour . Some of the phone models scold the iPhone on toll : The Samsung Blackjack is usable for gratuitous with sealed cell headphone plans , for example .
While it may be on the upper ending of the pricing spectrum for a cell phone at a starting price of $ 499 , the iPhone should vie against other equipment that emphasise multimedia system capabilities , say Joy , mention Sony Ericsson ’s Walkman - brand phones — mannequin that Apple does n’t equate in the intercellular substance .
“ Walkman phones are especially popular in Western Europe , ” Joy order “ And Walkman phones are priced from about $ 150 to $ 500 . ”
disregarding of what specific brands the iPhone takes on , it ’s clear that if Apple is to meet its express goal of selling 10 million headphone in the next 18 months , it will have to target the growing smartphone segment . And it ’s evenly clear from this bit of pre - release selling that Apple understands that .
