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Is any other company really learning from the iPhone ?!

D

Devil's Refugee

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 14, 2007
316
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I mean, take a look at this

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/08/28/htc_launches_tytn_2/

Yes, it's more 'feature rich' and business-based, but Christ on a bike, look how FAT it is !!!

When are phone manufacturers going to offer something different other than a slidey keyboard. The iPhone is so what this apathetic industry needs right now. I can't wait for it to hit the UK.....roll on Sept 5th and a sneaky carrier announcement :D
 
You can't expect other phone companies to just blatantly copy the iPhone, give it time and other companies will have to up their standards to compete but not right away.
 
Old hat business types (who the HTC generally goes to) like to have keyboards. They like something that they are already familiar with (Windows Mobile), they want to be able to open Word and Excel attachements. IT support like something they can push e-mail to in different ways (Exchange/GoodLink/blah). Different devices for different markets.
 
HTC don't learn from anything. They make the most boring, cheap-feeling, clumsy phones I have ever seen and owned. Sure, they've got their fans, but urgh - ming alert.

I'd imagine Nokia will step up its game with new NSeries models, and SE and Samsung continue to be interesting, but LG (who I personally can't stand) have some great new products. The Prada 2, for example, is loaded with features and looks good.

Still, I think we can safely say that the iPhone should get a warm reception when it arrives, providing customers can get reception on O2.
 
miniConvert said:
HTC don't learn from anything. They make the most boring, cheap-feeling, clumsy phones I have ever seen and owned. Sure, they've got their fans, but urgh - ming alert.

I'd imagine Nokia will step up its game with new NSeries models, and SE and Samsung continue to be interesting, but LG (who I personally can't stand) have some great new products. The Prada 2, for example, is loaded with features and looks good.

Still, I think we can safely say that the iPhone should get a warm reception when it arrives, providing customers can get reception on O2.
Click to expand...

o2 is ok for reception where I live but I found that Vodafone is shockingly good for reception I get full bars everywhere I go!
 
Yeah, I'm slightly concerned about having to leave Vodafone for O2 just to get my paws on the iPhone because of customer service and signal differences.
 
Devil's Refugee said:
Yeah, I'm slightly concerned about having to leave Vodafone for O2 just to get my paws on the iPhone because of customer service and signal differences.
Click to expand...
The iPhone has been unlocked, by the time the iPhone hits our shores the process will be a well established walk in the park. Who cares what provider they partner with.
 
Apple is a master, some would say the master at Design Thinking or Divergent Thinking (also this video from IDEO's Tim Brown) which is why their products are so hard to replicate or emulate. it is NOT just a cool looking device, etc... it as an entire way of looking at a product experience. other companies have an incredibly hard time doing it as well as Apple does.
 
Mac-Addict said:
You can't expect other phone companies to just blatantly copy the iPhone, give it time and other companies will have to up their standards to compete but not right away.
Click to expand...

well nokia sure is willing to do that
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/29/nokias-iphone-no-seriously/

nokia-iphone.jpg


edit: oops just saw mac-addict posted a vid
 
Most iPhone competitors will try to beat the iPhone on features (rather than with a better UI or more attractive design), which means you end up with a big, fat gadget.

Or they will do what Nokia appears to have done and simply copy the iPhone as closely as their lawyers think they can.
 
I think that while various concepts of the iPhone might be replicated in other devices, the Iphone as a whgole will not be successfully copied.

Why? Look at the iPod. While derided when it first came out, it's now recognized as THE portable music player. People don't listen to "MP3 players," they listen to "iPods" (just like office workers made "Xerox" copies, or people drink a "Coke"). iPods lead in digital player market share with 72.7% of sales... yet aside from cheap knockoffs on eBay, you're not seeing people replicating that interface much.
 
Much of the iPhone's UI concepts have been around for decades. Simple menus, page-flipping, scrolling, etc... it all has been done before.

Other manufacturers have even on occasion shown that kind of device off, as a concept. But never sold them, because there was no huge demand generated.

The major difference is, no one else had a salesperson like Jobs. He was smart to begin with, showing it off to a friendly crowd that had little or no experience with touch or smart phones. He says "no stylus", and the crowd naively thinks that's unique. He shows off Google maps, ditto. He simply did the best song and dance ever.

So it's not a matter of copying. The core concepts are common knowledge amongst engineers. But the PUBLIC hype is what makes the iPhone, the iPhone, more than anything else.

We also haven't seen a rush to copy it, because they don't see it as a major player. The iPhone is Apple's only phone. Other makers have dozens of models. I mean, Nokia sells 1.1 million phones a DAY.

The upshot is, there'll be similar phones and many not so similar phones. Just as always. But with luck, some of the ease of use will filter down even to cheap ones.

I am loving the idea of having more options. And still wondering what Google is up to.
 
Most phones are aimed at the business crowd, that's why they have the huge keyboard, contacts, and e-mail that sync with a corporate server.

Apple went after the non corporate crowd.

Look at the iPod, others have copied, most will say the clones are better. Yet people still buy the iPod. It will be the same with the iPhone. The others will come close, but not enough.
 
Devil's Refugee said:
When are phone manufacturers going to offer something different other than a slidey keyboard. The iPhone is so what this apathetic industry needs right now.
Click to expand...

When the BMW New Mini hit America, people swooned over it, stood in line to buy it. Every car should be like this, they cried out! So small, so sleek, so cute!

Yeah. Right. It's the same with phones. Lots of different kinds and prices and features.

Let's take the idea of touchscreen only, for instance. I like having both touch and button options myself. Especially in the winter.

Look at remote controls. Touchscreen only remotes are considered primitive. People want programmable buttons with touchscreen labels instead.

What red-blooded male in the world cannot pick up any of the remotes in his household in the dark, totally blind, and not be able to control the TV with it without looking? You can do that because it has real buttons. Same with most phones.

Again, there are all types of interfaces, and all will have a market.
 
Devil's Refugee said:
I mean, take a look at this

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/08/28/htc_launches_tytn_2/

Yes, it's more 'feature rich' and business-based, but Christ on a bike, look how FAT it is !!!

When are phone manufacturers going to offer something different other than a slidey keyboard. The iPhone is so what this apathetic industry needs right now. I can't wait for it to hit the UK.....roll on Sept 5th and a sneaky carrier announcement :D
Click to expand...

By that logic, when the iPhone is released in the UK, everyone who uses a phone should buy it? Because it's "so what this apathetic industry needs"? Sorry, but I don't think the other phone companies who have like 50 more models, with cameras with more than 2mp, and video, etc, will be learning soooooooo much from Apple.
 
Apple will do just fine with it's "few" models of the iPhone. Sure you can find a phone with a better this or a better that, but you won't find one that people want more. Check Apples position in the cell market this time next year. I'll lay odds that there is some serious concern on the part of it's competitors.

Someone says the competition isn't concerned about Apple. Wanna bet?:):)
 
kdarling said:
...The major difference is, no one else had a salesperson like Jobs. He was smart to begin with, showing it off to a friendly crowd that had little or no experience with touch or smart phones. He says "no stylus", and the crowd naively thinks that's unique. He shows off Google maps, ditto. He simply did the best song and dance ever.

So it's not a matter of copying. The core concepts are common knowledge amongst engineers. But the PUBLIC hype is what makes the iPhone, the iPhone, more than anything else...
Click to expand...

So, people bought the iPhone solely based on SJ's showmanship?

Right... It would be insulting, if it wasn't so ridiculous :rolleyes:

It's the same argument people make about the iPod... that people buy the iPod only because they don't know about the other players out there (with their sub-par interfaces).

The reason the iPhone is selling so well, DESPITE the relatively high cost, locking into AT&T, etc, is that the GUI is better than anything else out there right now!!!

Once again, IT'S THE INTEFACE!!!

I don't care if every single phone manufacturer understands the core concepts of the GUI (personally, I don't think they have a clue). They haven't bothered to put out anything even remotely close to the iPhone's GUI, in terms of usability. If they don't sell it, no one can buy it, and that's the bottom line. The "we know how to do that too, but we just haven't done it because..." line is total BS.

And btw, just how do you come to the conclusion that the MacWorld audience "had little or no experience with touch or smart phones"? So Mac users don't use BB or any other so-called Smart Phones? Give me a break!
 
Sorry, but I don't think the other phone companies who have like 50 more models, with cameras with more than 2mp, and video, etc, will be learning soooooooo much from Apple.
Click to expand...

Having 50 models with the same features in just a slightly different shell is progress. Riiiiiiiiiight :rolleyes:
 
Devil's Refugee said:
Having 50 models with the same features in just a slightly different shell is progress. Riiiiiiiiiight :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

It's not quite like that. Have you actually looked at the other phone companies?

I'll agree that some brands do tend to have many phones that just feel the same (like SE currently, most of their current line-ups are 2mp/1g storage/etc), but it's more versatile than you seem to appreciate. The versatility means that instead of having to settle for a non-3g phone with 2mp in either 4gb or 8gb, the user can go for a phone with a better camera, or less storage if they don't need it, and so on.

And yeah, I'd say it's progress, because the phones are doing really well in the UK.
 
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