Etoile Brilliant

iPhone Versus the Rest: More Evidence Smartphone Makers Are in Trouble

“I just switched from a Dell to an Apple laptop and love the Mac lifestyle,” says Sanghvi, 22, a recent graduate of New York University. “I never go anywhere without my iPod and cellphone. Now, I’ll only have to bring one device with me.”

This Apple Nut's next purchase reminds me of the Iridium Satellite Phone debacle of 1999. The story goes that the wife of a Motorola executive was sitting on a beach in the Carribbean trying to use her US mobile phone without success. She discussed this problem with her husband and the rest , they say, is history. No one at Motorola bothered to think about the existing technology that might have have solved the wife's problem. It was called GSM and it was in use at the same time by Europe and most of Latin America, Asia and Africa.

Why is this relevant? Well, if Sanghvi and the rest of the followers of Steve (Korash) Jobs at the House of Apple haven't realised, there's a wealth of telephones out in the market that can play music and receive calls. For instance, the SE Walkman models are currently selling at a faster rate than the Ipods did at their same time in the product cycle.

"Yes", people with buy the IPhone in their droves. But "No", there not going to be a mass exodus from other manufacturers (including BlackBerry). I suspect Apple will create rather than steal market share.

PS: Somebody should tell Sanghvi his Dell/Apple choice is a trite binary.