Focus on Mobile Platforms: iPhone
Introduced: 2007
History: As you will well know, the iPhone history is very short in comparison to its peers and is one that has blown all of the traditional methods of determining how successful a smartphone is out of the water.
From its launch to today, the iPhone has managed to keep itself in the headlines and every little change is greeted with lots of enthusiasm by people who seem a little too enthused by a piece of plastic. The thing is that the iPhone does bring out a passion in users that few other platforms can command and it is the way it works that stands out.
Apple broke the network operator monopoly by ensuring that it would take a larger than normal cut from sales and also ensured that only its preferred suppliers sold the iPhone i.e. AT&T in the US and O2 in the UK. This was not a good move for consumers, particularly in Europe, who are used to having lots of choice, but in hindsight it may have been a necessary evil with the data demands the iPhone and similar devices now put on the mobile networks. At least a provider can now gauge how much capacity they need and not have to worry about people using another network.
Jailbreaking has been a source of much contention and there have been many estimates as to how many users are using jailbroken phones, but there is certainly a sizable proportion out there.
Hardware partners: None
Notable devices: iPhone 2G, 3G, 3GS
Current Position: The iPhone was most recently positioned at 10.8% of the smartphone market which compares well with the 5.3% held the previous year. iPhone users tend to use mobile data more and most definitely use third-party applications more than on any other platform. With over 1 billion apps downloaded so far, the App Store is quickly becoming the number one reason to use the iPhone platform.
Apple as a company is doing very well and it seems that it has managed to brush some of its gold dust onto the iPhone as well, and at this time it is in a good place.
Likely users: Anyone- power users may not like.
Potential: All it needs is for Apple to pull another selection of tricks out of the bag, and to address the needs of power users who need good PIM and a hardware keyboard, and it will look set to truly dominate this market.
The market is volatile and Nokia has proved that no-one is immune to a downturn, but unless something drastic happens the iPhone should continue to grow at a fierce rate. The main risk for Apple is that Steve Jobs commands most of the major decisions and, even putting health issues aside, one person cannot be responsible for so much without a myriad of risks being considered.
