Are Cellphone Manufacturers Ready to Put up with Apple?
Apple has hit home runs with the iPhone in terms of design and functionality. It’s clear that Apple has set the bar in terms of what people expect in a cell phone. Cool design is a must, but functionality and services are also important.
Frankly I have not seen in the near future that any manufacturer would come up with anything that will offer a winning combination including the hardware, software, design, media player, content store, etc… to unseat Apple.
The New York Times points out in last Friday article “These days, designing a new mobile phone can seem like something out of an episode of “Dr. Phil.”
While Apple had forward thinking vision and deliver to consumers what they want even before they know they want it; The other manufacturers are still conducting consumer survey to ask that consumer wants? as shows with LG Electronics, the maker of the Chocolate and Voyager phones, begins by asking focus groups to keep a journal, jotting down feelings about features they like most. Participants can call a toll-free number to share their emotions about the phone they are testing. And sometimes they are asked to draw pictures that represent their mood when they hold the phone.
The marketshare for Business consumers has been strong with Windows Mobile and Blackberry. But it will be soon convoyed. Starting this Thursday, when Apple will announce some exciting Business features for the iPhone.
Personally, I would love to see Apple takes the Toyota-Lexus approach to distinguish consumer and pro line of product and creates another business iPhone with a real keypad for business minded consumer.
The Windows Mobile OS is clearly showing its age and without a clear roadmap. We starts seeing manufacturers using its OS to bail out as seen last weekend with i-Mate. The Symbian OS, while it has the most marketshare but is still struggling in US market and with the fact that Sony showing its intention to have WM in its high-end Xperia X1 product does not embolden well the future of Symbian. Blackberry has been a business oriented OS in people mind, it will be hard to go mainstream.
As I stated in the beginning of this post, Apple has set the bar to mobile design industry and I afraid the bar could be set too high!
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