[Macworld]

Post your comments for Why the iPhone can't be killed here

[pkoebbe]

The article claims that one billion "different applications" have been sold through the App Store. Shouldn't that be there have been "one billion downloads"? There is quite a bit of difference between the two.

[ReeceTarbert]

This article starts with some fair criticism:
"Every few months, some new hopeful to the smartphone market will garner enough hype where various media outlets will dub it an iPhone killer."
but then goes on making exactly the same mistakes, even though putting things in the right perspective would be very easy:
1) The Palm Pre is NOT an iPhone killer;
2) Luckily for Palm, it doesn't have to be;
3) Palm need a good enough product to stay in business and the Palm Pre might be the right one;

Not too difficult, was it? ;)



RT.

[Gee4orce]

Also, the App Store went from 0 to 50,000 apps in 1 year, not two. The App Store was only available in 2008, a year after the iPhone launched.

[fhirsch]

And not only does the iPhone work with Macs, but it also works with Windows. And there's also MobileMe

[quakerotis]

Since a phone is not sentient, it cannot be "killed". None of these products is going away anytime soon. Viva La Difference.

[youthdude]

The biggest reason the iPhone cannot be killed always seems to get overlooked. That one reason is the iPod. People wanted an all-in-one device, and the number one music device was/is the iPod. No company has been able to dethrone the iPod, and, most likely, never will. The other phones will never be able to compete with the music/video part of the iPhone. Until some company can kill the iPod, the iPhone killer will never exist.

[newuser1980]

because of the app store, most of my friend spend more than $100 buying these apps each month, but endup they never use it, they just like to test the apps, what a waste of $$$.

[Philbert]

The reason there hasn't been an iPhone "killer" is exactly the same reason there hasn't been an iPod killer.
It's not the hardware that keeps Apple devices in the lead (lots of other devices have more features), nor is it the services Apple offers (there are services arguably better than iTunes) - it's how the two combine to make for a SUPERIOR USER EXPERIENCE.
That's what the other manufacturers don't get - focusing on the device alone is a strategy that will likely never work to topple Apple.
-phil

[cv]

This is correct.



When the iPhone debuted, it was viewed as an iPod with phone features. The game really didn't change until the App Store launched. One of the greatest advantages the iPhone has against its competitors is the iPod touch. At the end of last quarter, there might have been close to 30 million iPhones, but also nearly 20 million iPod touches out there.



Apple has repeatedly stated that the iTunes Store content (music, video, movie retails, apps) drives sales of its high-margin hardware. None of Apple's competitors do this. Apple has found a very strong business model and has executed very well. No one else has such a tightly controlled ecosystem for these handheld devices.

[adobephile]

I predicted this at the iPhone's introduction.
The key to the iPhone's success, past, present, and future is the synergy of: OS X with its power and elegant development system, and the Apple ecosystem of its overall product line integration, interoperability of applications, online store, extended warranties, online support, retail stores, as well as its veritable and stunning design innovation, and its tradition of simply "thinking different".
The lion's share of credit goes to Apple's founder and charismatic leader, Steve Jobs, who's creative and leadership skills have brought Apple from imminent disaster to screaming affluence over the long haul of more than two decades. Of course, none of this would have been possible without the brilliant and dedicated team of Apple employees and their families, to whom Steve has frequently given credit.
I am very gratified, every time I enter my Tampa Apple store, to see it so busy, and to see many veteran store employees still there after many years now since its opening as store #8.
I'm happy to have been with Apple as a customer for most of its existence, and to have been a proud full-time professional Macintosh user since 1984.
I have recently started upon a new journey through the Apple Universe as an iPhone Developer. I can't imagine doing such on any other platform, nor imagine being more excited over this new adventure.
I'm sure I'm not alone in realizing especially these new opportunities presented to us by the iPhone. It is indeed a new and vital platform.
All these factors and more are the actual reasons why the iPhone can't be killed.
Long live Steve Jobs and Apple!

[himbo]

ReeceTarbert said:

This article starts with some fair criticism:

"Every few months, some new hopeful to the smartphone market will garner enough hype where various media outlets will dub it an iPhone killer."

but then goes on making exactly the same mistakes, even though putting things in the right perspective would be very easy:

1) The Palm Pre is NOT an iPhone killer;

2) Luckily for Palm, it doesn't have to be;

3) Palm need a good enough product to stay in business and the Palm Pre might be the right one;


Not too difficult, was it? ;)





RT.

Palm didn't sell the Pre as a phone to keep them in business, they sold it as a superior phone. Blackberry did the same with the Storm, counting on their substantial current user base to boost its sales. They may not need their phones to be iPhone killers, but that's what they hyped them to be, and in doing so set themselves up for disappointment.

[leicaman]

Gee4orce said:

Also, the App Store went from 0 to 50,000 apps in 1 year, not two. The App Store was only available in 2008, a year after the iPhone launched.

Actually at the introduction of the app store, they had 552 apps, not 50,000. It took a while to get there.

[kimen]

Another overlooked point: Apple, although not perfect, is obsessed with the end customer experience. Their products are so much easier to use than the competition. More companies need to return to that kind of customer focus.