Too much hype and hysteria, IMO.
It's definitely an awesome phone, and it'll sell well, but it's mostly indirect competition for the Treo. The iPhone is a music phone.
For business users, the data entry is poor. Among the Treo's competitive advantages are one-handed operation and tactile feedback with one of the best keyboards on a smartphone. It's amazing how Steve can convince people that lack of a keyboard and stylus is a good thing. Note that in the keynote, Steve mentioned the calendar app as a key component, but skipped right past it in the demo. He only showed a quick screenshot. I wonder why? Imagine trying to enter appointments or take notes with the iPhone. Like a lot of devices with poor data entry, you'll be best off typing into your PC and syncing.
As for the consumer smartphone market, Palm's strategy is to reach the masses who want mobile email with lower-cost smartphones. Apple is not going to reach the same people. Journalists have speculated that Apple doesn't want carriers to subsidize the phone. I think the truth is that Cingular realizes that the masses are not going to sign up for the expensive data plans that help subsidize other smartphones. Most iPhone buyers will use it to just replace their iPod and cellphone with one device. And unless Cingular introduces a budget data plan for widgets and email only, the keyboard will primarily be limited to SMS.
I think Colligan had it right when he said that it's not easy getting smartphones right. The iPhone hit a home run as a music phone (and that market is huge), but as with all Apple products, it's not going to do great in the business market. My opinion.
It's definitely an awesome phone, and it'll sell well, but it's mostly indirect competition for the Treo. The iPhone is a music phone.
For business users, the data entry is poor. Among the Treo's competitive advantages are one-handed operation and tactile feedback with one of the best keyboards on a smartphone. It's amazing how Steve can convince people that lack of a keyboard and stylus is a good thing. Note that in the keynote, Steve mentioned the calendar app as a key component, but skipped right past it in the demo. He only showed a quick screenshot. I wonder why? Imagine trying to enter appointments or take notes with the iPhone. Like a lot of devices with poor data entry, you'll be best off typing into your PC and syncing.
As for the consumer smartphone market, Palm's strategy is to reach the masses who want mobile email with lower-cost smartphones. Apple is not going to reach the same people. Journalists have speculated that Apple doesn't want carriers to subsidize the phone. I think the truth is that Cingular realizes that the masses are not going to sign up for the expensive data plans that help subsidize other smartphones. Most iPhone buyers will use it to just replace their iPod and cellphone with one device. And unless Cingular introduces a budget data plan for widgets and email only, the keyboard will primarily be limited to SMS.
I think Colligan had it right when he said that it's not easy getting smartphones right. The iPhone hit a home run as a music phone (and that market is huge), but as with all Apple products, it's not going to do great in the business market. My opinion.