It's not just a phone
This quote from a CP story underscores how many people, including iPhone 3G purchasers, don't understand the device:
"I feel kind of lame, but kind of awesome all at the same time,'' said Christian Meagher, who was the first to buy one of the $200 smart phones.
"I think it will be cool, but I think a lot of people are making a bigger deal than need be right now. It's just a phone, a cool phone, but just a phone.''
The iPhone 3G is a mobile computing platform that happens to include a phone, not the other way around. If you look at all of the features on it from GPS to e-mail, from weather and stocks to full web-browsing, from music and video to phone, it's clear the iPhone 3G is the world's most elegant, easy-to-use mobile computer.
That's why people are lining up for the iPhone.
Here's how the iPhone is going to change the world:
1) Long tail economics. The iPhone is the perfect platform for showing how simple, useful software with mass appeal that's priced at 99 cents or a few dollars can rake it more money over a longer period of time than over-priced bloatware that costs $100 a pop.
2) Next-generation advertising. Google already has a lucrative web-based advertising business. Imagine what would happen if it sold premium map placement or identification for a fee. For example, on the iPhone, if I use the map app and search for coffee shops, I get dozens of hits showing me nearby establishments. Imagine if somehow those that pay Google get a more prominent colour or some way of distinguishing a premium-paid site from ones who don't pay. Cha-ching.
3) Mobile gaming / casual gaming. The iPhone may turn out to be a goldmine for simple, casual games. Combined with an easy method of delivery (App Store) and innovative user controls (motion sensors, touch interface), the iPhone could be a serious money-maker for game developers. It's no surprise that big players like EA have jumped on the iPhone. But the amazing thing is with the iPhone SDK, it may be possible for smaller players to make major inroads as well.
4) Instantaneous news-flow. With the iPhone, average people can become mobile newsrooms, capable of sending photos and stories around the world in seconds. With video a sure thing for future iPhones, citizen journalism is about to gain significant ground.
