Lessons for the telco industry: Apple and its iPhone

In early January, Steve Jobs unveiled a new Apple product called, contrary to all expectations and in line with all expectations, the “iPhone.” Apple shares immediately rose by three dollars, and commentators are falling over themselves to decide whether the slogan accompanying the Apple iPhone[, “]{dir=”rtl”}redefining mobile phones,” is exaggerated or insufficiently descriptive.

The iPhone is a revelation for the telecommunications industry. Whether it is apocalyptic or salvific depends on which side of the telecommunications barricade you stand on. Companies like Nokia will feel slightly queasy about the iPhone, and their shareholders will feel even more queasy. They have a number of good reasons for this, and reactions that could be described as hysterical have already appeared.

Mobile phone manufacturers have long believed that if you want to use mobile phones and modern telecommunications services, you should develop sufficient intelligence and effort to prove that you are worthy of them. Setting up a common telecommunications service such as MMS requires an outrageous amount of effort, and controlling a number of new services in particular is… well, awkward. Most users soon come to the conclusion that they don’t need text messaging. This, of course, annoys operators, who have invested a lot of money in supporting these services.

The iPhone cannot be described in terms commonly used for mobile phones. Simple specifications remain just that—specifications. The iPhone scores points for its masterful integration, because Apple does not believe that cramming all of today’s modern technologies into a single box will benefit the user. It believes that it is necessary to select the features that users need and to properly develop and integrate them, connecting them with each other.

To begin with, the entire device measures 115 x 61 x 11.6 mm and weighs 135 grams, which is not insignificant. But it’s important to remember that the iPhone is supposed to be a multimedia device, and such devices need a display. In this case, the display has a diagonal of 3.5 inches, so with the given dimensions, there is only room for a thin frame around the display and a centimeter or so at the top and bottom for the speaker and microphone. You can complain about the weight compared to phones that can do everything, but in the smartphone category, the iPhone is very comfortable. To cut a long story short, it’s a device that fits in your breast pocket, behind your belt, or on a lanyard around your neck.

Let’s take a look at the display. It is very high-contrast, very readable, with a resolution of 320 x 480 pixels and a fine dot grid, reported to be 160 dpi. The display is touch-sensitive, based on multi-touch technology, so it senses touches in multiple places (two in this case). This is a huge improvement over conventional single-touch displays, which only recognize one place where you touch it. Why? It has made it possible to completely innovate the way it is controlled, but more on that later.

Enough with the technical specifications. A dry description is irrelevant because, as with most technical gadgets, it’s not enough to know how many hertz and bits are under the hood, but how comfortable it is to work with such a device in the areas for which you purchased it.

So let’s take a look at a few important things you may not have read about yet. I must also admit that I am not impartial in this regard, as I have come into contact with some elements of the iPhone design more than other mortals have so far.

The media was quick to point out that similar phones to the iPhone already exist, citing the LG Prada model as proof. Yes, they are basically right, the LG Prada is very similar to the iPhone.

Image: LG Prada Caption: The LG Prada had a touchscreen, allowing users to type with their finger on the display, but also had a slide-out keyboard for added convenience. It was not particularly successful on the market.

However, there are significant differences. Although the display does not require a stylus, it only supports single-touch. This is a major drawback in terms of ease of use. Touch technology is the be-all and end-all of ease of use for phones that do not have a keyboard and therefore rely on the magic of touch.

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Lessons for the telco industry: Apple and its iPhone

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