January 10, 2008
iPhone changes the paradigm
Wired has the story behind the iPhone's amazing success, and how all consumers -- no matter which carrier they're using -- stand to benefit.
But as important as the iPhone has been to the fortunes of Apple and AT&T, its real impact is on the structure of the $11 billion-a-year US mobile phone industry.
For decades, wireless carriers have treated manufacturers like serfs, using access to their networks as leverage to dictate what phones will get made, how much they will cost, and what features will be available on them.
Handsets were viewed largely as cheap, disposable lures, massively subsidized to snare subscribers and lock them into using the carriers' proprietary services. But the iPhone upsets that balance of power. Carriers are learning that the right phone — even a pricey one — can win customers and bring in revenue.
Now, in the pursuit of an Apple-like contract, every manufacturer is racing to create a phone that consumers will love, instead of one that the carriers approve of. "The iPhone is already changing the way carriers and manufacturers behave," says Michael Olson, a securities analyst at Piper Jaffray.
If you're a techie -- or just interested in the story behind one of the biggest business successes in recent memory -- read the whole thing.
Posted by Mike Lief at January 10, 2008 09:57 PM
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Comments
Apple is absolutely the most innovative company of the last decade. Their products are consumer friendly, innovative, effective and beautiful to the eye. I love Apple.
Posted by: Thad at January 10, 2008 10:52 PM