| Apple, the Mobile Industry and the Catch-Up Game |
| Written by Gyanee Dewnarain |
| Tuesday, 08 June 2010 09:53 |
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Apple launched its iPhone 4 amidst big fanfare and it truly lived up to expectations. In the words of Steve Jobs, the demarcation between technology and liberal arts is getting increasingly blurred. There are some truly innovative aspects to the iPhone 4 such as optically laminated glass for the screen, retina display with a 960 by 640 resolution, metal 5X stronger than steel for the edge (which also serves as the antenna), the A4 processor and more impressively, all this is packed into a form factor that is currently the thinnest smartphone on the market. Once again, it is not always about inventing new technology. Video mail, which is being touted as one of the most of impressive features of the new iPhone 4, has been around for years but now that Apple has repackaged it in a great format, do we have any doubts that it will be the latest craze that will take the world by storm? This then takes us to the next question – what does this mean for the mobile industry at large? Clearly, the customers are more than thrilled with the toys that Apple is coming up with but what about the other handset manufacturers. Why is there only one single company that can deliver such cutting –edge innovation and the rest of the players have to resign themselves to playing catch-up? Is it because the industry players have their focus completely wrong? Are there not enough resources being put into R&D and engineering amongst the leading handset manufacturers and operators as compared to more front end functions such as marketing? In the companies, where there is an impressive pool of engineers, the problem is then of a complete disconnect between the engineers that create technology and functionalities and the "artists" that understand user interface and user experience. If this situation is not already keeping the leaders of the mobile industry awake at night, it should. Otherwise, Richard Windsor’s prediction about the “iOS(iPhone OS) becoming the de facto standard and making a joke of openness” might well become true!
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