18 Months of iPhone Joy, Where will It Bring Us Next

It has been roughly 18 months since the iPhone was introduced and NPD Group announced that the iPhone is now ranked #1 in consumer phone sales for 3^rd Quarter 2008. The iPhone surpassed the Motorola Razr, which had been ranked #1 for the previous 12 quarters.

When I read this a few things ran through my mind; the 1^st was surprise was that the Razr had held the #1 spot for the previous 12 quarters. I would never have guessed, as the Razr (although innovator in the industry) has since become the giveaway phone of choice for most US carriers.

Then, I let the last 18 months run through my head-although rather quickly. Let’s put this in perspective. The Presidential campaigns had been in full swing for a full 6 months already, gas went sky high and has since come down, the Patriots had the biggest letdown in sports history when they lost the Super Bowl to the heavy underdog New York Giants, the Red Sox won another World series (and that pains me to write), then the Phillies of all teams won theirs. Eighteen months ago there were virtually zero true touch screen phones now, just off the top of my head, I count 5, and finally the United States of America elected it’s first African-American president. Now if you predicted that all those things would happen in 18 months you would be one rich person.

Getting back on track; as an Apple and iPhone lover I was ecstatic to hear that the iPhone had become #1, but then after some thought I wondered aloud: “What the heck took so long?” I mean really, when examining the alternatives if you are in the market for a Smartphone style unit is there any other REAL choice? Well at least until the Blackberry Storm hits the shelves and with the recent announced release delay due to software issues; no one really knows when that will be. Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact that other manufacturers are getting into the game and following (copying) Apple’s lead: competition spurs innovation and that is good for all tech fans whether on the “Apple Fan boy” side of the spectrum or the “Apple Hater” side.

I can’t imagine going back to my Samsung Blackjack and I truly loved that phone while I was using it. However the iPhones ease of use, and at the risk of sounding somewhat strange, the pure joy of doing what you can do with the iPhone can’t be equaled.

Yes, there have been some growing pains. The sales integration between Apple & AT&T was a bit challenging, probably more so due to consumer confusion about the processes at each retailer, initial poor (and I’m being nice here) battery life, the Mobileme syncing fiasco was maddening at the time, some application crash issues were a minor annoyance, but all those things considered, if you speak to an iPhone owner today those problems are a distant memory. They are enjoying their iPhones and from the sales numbers converting their friends. In the last few months Apple has partnered with Best Buy to sell the iPhone and although I have yet to see any sales numbers from Best Buy this is a good thing for Apple. Apple has also announced that the iPhone will be available at Wal-Mart and come January 2009, Costco. Although Apple purists stick their nose up at this apparent “cheapening” of the brand it gives more people the opportunity to own the premiere mobile device on the market.

The most intriguing aspect of iPhone sales to me is the fact that it is popular with both high-end consumers as well as consumers on more fixed incomes. We know why people with disposable income would fancy the iPhone; besides the functionality it’s definitely a status symbol. However, from reports the iPhone is just as popular with lower income buyers mostly because of the functionality: phone, internet, email, games, music, movies, and other applications all on 1 device which is relatively inexpensive. Add up the cost of home phone line, internet connection, a game console, game discs, mp3 player and DVD player and you can see the value of having it in one small package.

So the past 18 months has been pure bliss for me following the evolution of the iPhone and the touch screen device genre in general. I am excited to see what the competition comes out with to compete with the iPhone and truly hope they are quality products so Apple will continue to innovate and push the technology envelope. Now if they can just figure out a way to prevent the Red Sox from making the playoff for the next 100 years I will have found my genie in a bottle.