Apple's iPhone Counts on Being Cool
One button. For years, that's all Apple would allow on the mouse that accompanied its Macintosh pcs, arguing that more would complicate a system that stressed simplicity. Now it's one button on Apple's iPhone, a radical experiment in cellphones that has become a phenomenon before it has even been subjected to the ultimate test: consumers around the world.
It's unclear if the iPhone can meet Apple's ambitious goals, much less satisfy runaway expectations in an always hyped-up market. But there is no question that the iPhone, which is scheduled to be shipped to stores on June 29, has already had a tectonic impact. "You have to give them credit for shifting the way we even think about a phone," says Gerry Purdy, an analyst at the market research firm Frost & Sullivan.
Rivals are racing to match the device's new approach, which abandons traditional keys for a touchpad, opening space for a larger screen and elbow room for photos and video. Competitors hope to capture a slice of a market that until now has not even existed in the United States, where no one has ever sold a $500-and-up phone that is more about multimedia than about voice calls.
Not that others couldn't have. Most, if not all, of the gear that Apple has packaged into the iPhone is not unique, be it touch-screens, WiFi, Bluetooth, or a camera—even the iPhone's seeming magic in sensing if it's being held vertically or horizontally, shifting its screen appropriately. But that kitchen-sink approach is Apple's gamble: deftly packing oodles of capability into one sleek device and assuming Americans will pay for it (with no discount while being handcuffed to a two-year service plan).
Expectations. Apple is wagering that it can be first because of its superior fit and finish. The iPhone's raw technical specs left him cold, says Avi Greengart, recalling his initial reaction as Steve Jobs described the new product in a January speech. Then he got 15 minutes to try one, and his skepticism melted. "I realized it lives up to the hype," says Greengart, who has tested scores of hand-held devices for the market-tracking firm Current Analysis.
Apple understands that it's the software, stupid, and has written numerous nice touches into the system that runs all that gear. Some of them make the iPhone uniquely attractive: shadows behind objects, like a desktop computer, and fade transitions between screens. Flick the touch-screen and send a list scrolling, then watch it slow down as if on a physical spindle. Apple also manages to walk users through tasks like setting up a conference call—who can manage one of those on a cellphone?—without patronizing them with dumbed-down "wizards" or cutesy characters. "Many people hate, hate, hate their cellphones," Greengart says. "The iPhone doesn't make you feel stupid—it makes you feel cool."
There are things missing from the iPhone, including high-speed Internet, even though Jobs touted its Web browser. The phone won't tap the fastest data rates available from AT&T, with which Apple will sell the phone.
Then there is that missing keypad, which Apple replaces with a touch-screen version that is better than most. "The keyboard doesn't suck," Greengart says. But people like the tactile feedback of hard keys, which makes it easier to find and press the right one, and so far haven't embraced other phones without them. And getting the phone right is the most important thing, says Mike McGuire, an analyst at the market research firm Gartner. "It's first got to be a good voice box," he says. (More of the iPhone's pros and cons are at www.usnews.com/iphone.)
Branching out. Expectations—from consumers, investors, and industry analysts—are so high that if the phone is uncomfortable or the multimedia features beset with bugs, the hit to Apple's reputation could be severe.
It seems forever ago, but Apple has stumbled, including with the Cube desktop and the Newton hand-held computer. Even a bug-free phone that makes gadget geeks weep would be hard pressed to make Apple's goal of 10 million sold by the end of next year. That's only 1 percent of the world market, but most of the world is buying cheap phones for $50 or less.
One iPhone model in one market, even a market as big as the United States, won't do it, says Purdy at Frost & Sullivan. He says Apple will quickly need other versions to make its sales goal, perhaps even one with a keyboard that could appeal to corporate E-mail users.
The iPhone must also move quickly overseas. On the plus side, Europe and Asia already possess well-developed, high-end mobile-phone markets where consumers are more immune to sticker shock. Of course, that also means Europe and Asia have markets full of seasoned corporate competitors. Meanwhile, manufacturers like Samsung and Nokia are also readying new models for the U.S. market. Some may appear sooner than expected; Verizon, for one, is said to be planning a quick answer to the iPhone.
It's just part of a frenzy unleashed in recent months by the iPhone's pending arrival, a level of anticipation unmatched this summer, except perhaps for a story about a certain boy wizard. In thinking about the iPhone phenomenon, Jesse Drew, acting director of technocultural studies at the University of California–Davis, says he's reminded of his young son's fascination with Harry Potter and his longing for the ultimate in hand-helds. "Everybody," he says, "wants a magic wand."