Apple
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Posted on 12/15/2017 8:51:03 AM PST by COBOL2Java
Ten years ago this week the Apple iPhone, described by Steve Jobs as a “revolutionary product” that “changes everything,” went on sale for the first time. A million flew off the shelves in just ten weeks and a decade later—with more than a billion sold worldwide—the iPhone has transformed the way we live, work and do business.
But even as the fanboys and girls were camping out to be at the front of the line, harsh critics queued. Columbia law professor Tim Wu denounced the iPhone as “anticompetitive.” Nested exclusively with AT&T and lurking in a “walled garden,” the iPhone rollout violated “network neutrality,” a term coined by Mr. Wu to describe his preferred platform for fixed and wireless communications.
With Apple imposing its verticals and masterminding the user experience, it extended the carriers’ practice, Mr. Wu argued, of “aggressively controlling product design and innovation in the equipment and application markets, to the detriment of consumers.” Once “Big Brother's foe,” Apple, he said when the iPhone was launched, is “now more like Little Brother, happy to sell cute little devices that are easy to use, make money, and spread false consciousness.” By March 2008, tech writer Timothy Lee applied the lesson, proclaiming: “Apple's walled garden will hurt iPhone innovation.”
Alas, Apple thoroughly vanquished the Old Guard. The fearsome mobile networks became Apple’s house pets, with iPhones everywhere and profits flowing to both Apple and the independent app developers it sponsored on its “non-neutral” platform. All while Nokia, Motorola, Palm and Blackberry—proud producers of the “dominant” smartphones of 2006—were left as smoking craters.
But did this spell the end of progress? No. The disruptive shift in technology flashed brilliantly, but Google was not blinded.
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearmarkets.com ...
bfl
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The worst thing for consumers is ponderous, inefficient, insensitive, bureaucratic, bloated and corrupt government regulation.
This story has a great narrative that fits perfectly in the good Professor’s book. The problem with great narratives is that the facts never fit perfectly into them. The first iPhone was an evolutionary product that borrowed a great deal from other devices that were previously conceived by others.
It had an improved touch screen that was a little better than other phones of its time period. But the only thing truly revolutionary about the first iPhone was Apple’s extraordinary marketing effort. This successful marketing effort led to previously unimaginable profits for electronic trinkets. The pursuit of profits altered the direction of cell phone development and research.
Here’s a truism that has been proven time and time again: Innovation depends on the ability to exploit uniqueness. Whether it’s an iPhone or a new drug, the enormous development and up-front design, tooling, testing, and certification costs have to paid for somehow of the company is to remain viable. The best way for manufacturers to do that is for the product to be so differentiated and unique that there is no competition, at least for a while. This is why patents exist, after all - to give the innovator an “unfair advantage” in order to receive a return on his investment and innovation.
Consumers love standards because they can pick and choose interoperable solutions. Manufacturers hate standards because it drives products toward commoditization, i.e. a race to the bottom. When the value of one product is no different than another, customers usually buy the cheapest one. Coke vs Pepsi is a good example where the differences are fiercely maintained in order to differentiate product that some people can’t tell apart based on taste. But they both maintain strong brands.
Apple deserves credit for threading this needle very successfully, their “Apple ecosystem” delivers value that their customers are willing...no, happy - to pay for.
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The vast improvement in Capacitance touch over Resistance Touch allows far more accuracy on the touch screen enabling MULTITOUCH, fireman15. That was a HUGE increase in capability, not a "little better than other phones of its time period." Nice try. No banana.
This is always
the story of history.
That which has been is that which will be,
And that which has been done is that which will be done.
So there is nothing new under the sun.- Ecclesiastes
(warning: unreconstructed humor follows)
Net Neutrality viiolated? She was askin' for it...
You appear to have couched your comments in vaguely negative terms.
But I don't see any problem with profit motive spurring investment in R&D, and marketing driving public desires. That's Free Market Capitalism at its finest. Right?
The New Normal is to retroactively apply modern rules to past situations where those rules were not applicable, or even not in existence.
"Net Neutrality" may not have existed in 2007, but today we can say the iPhone violated it because retroactive application of rules is How Things Work Today.
If you doubt it, ask all the men who dated women 40 years ago in accordance with the social conventions of 40 years ago, and who are being shamed, crushed, and destroyed by applying modern conventions to their decades-ago actions.
(That's not to excuse actual assaults, rapes, etc. But men are being destroyed for stealing a kiss, something that in the past was Part Of The Game of Love.)
The purpose of a man is to love a woman, And the purpose of a woman is to love a man, So come on baby let's start today, come on baby let's play The game of love, love, la la la la la love It started long ago in the Garden of Eden When Adam said to Eve, baby, you're for me So come on baby let's start today, come on baby let's play The game of love, love, la la la la la love Come on baby 'cause the time is right Love your daddy with all your might Put your arms around me, hold me tight Play the game of love
No way the homos will let them play that on the radio anymore.
What is this "radio" of which you speak?
Is it perhaps like an audio-only streaming video? /s
Not actually true. I am not trying to be negative here. I just prefer to keep the record straight. Apple's marketing success mostly with the iPhone series of devices transformed it into the most valuable corporate entity in human history.
But I don't see any problem with profit motive spurring investment in R&D, and marketing driving public desires. That's Free Market Capitalism at its finest. Right?
That is the way that it works! That is capitalism, the most successful means of advancing and enhancing the human condition and human aspirations.
My objection is to the mythology that has been created and facts that are ignored or altered to further a false narrative. I object to the true innovators being unappreciated and forgotten because a giant conglomerate and its followers wants to steal all of the glory for themselves.
Technologically, the first iPhone was an evolutionary development that “borrowed” its features from previous devices. It had a slightly larger and higher resolution screen and it had an incrementally better touch input system. In many other ways it was deficient when compared to other devices from the time period both functionally and based on its actual specifications.
The only thing that was truly “revolutionary” about the first iPhone was its marketing success and the way that Apple was able to keep building on that marketing success. In the technology sector and every other sector in our economy, ultimately successful marketing is the most important aspect of success. There are numerous examples of great products that have been forgotten. I own quite a few in my vast collection of vintage technological marvels. LOL
So no, I am not being negative about the first iPhone... I am merely trying to point out the reality vs. the myth. Because of its marketing success, billions of dollars have been spent improving later iPhones and their competitors in the phone market. So it is true that the first iPhone was incredibly important and ground breaking just not for the reasons that are commonly cited.
Those who argue otherwise here are generally deluding themselves, but they should not be concerned because as this article proves once again... they have won the battle of perception in our society. There are now just a handful of us crusty old tech curmudgeons left who remember a more accurate version of history. And despite this heresy to the tenants of the Church of Apple we will continue to speak out.
Here is a picture of the HTC Mogul PPC-6800 which came out before the first iphone. It was arguably far more capable than the first iPhone, most notably it had 3G internet connection speeds which were typically 20 times that of what the iPhone was capable of. It could also be easily tethered to a computer eliminating the need for a separate 3G PCMIA cellular card. It also had a very useful slideout keyboard which most people found to be much easier and quicker to use than the quirky onscreen keyboard on the first iPhone.
It had a 2 megapixel camera that would take video and stills. The phone was capable of displaying phots, playing music, and videos d photos encoded into dozens of different formats. The list of useful features and functions that it had compared to the first iPhone is long. The first iPhone was not as capable of a device as many others already on the market when it came out. Strangely enough it also had the familiar rectangular shape with rounded corners that Apple's attorneys claimed Samsung stole from them.
The phone was capable of displaying photos, playing music, and videos encoded into dozens of different formats.
Looks like it’s running MS Pocket PC.
As the meme goes: "It's a joke, son. Just laugh." No need to git yer feathers ruffled about it; I'm sure itsahoot is aware of what you pointed out.
I'm also sure there are are few die-hard delusional Apple fanbois who think that picture is complete and strictly factual. But we can ignore them. The folks on FR who've posted it all have a sense of humor, and know that while it's sort of generally true, there are numerous exceptions to the examples shown.
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