Is the iPhone a threat to WM devices?

[windows]

As we all know Apple have just released the 2nd generation iPhone, with 3G, GPS, etc andof course all that eye candy from the original model.

Now as we are all informed non-biased PDA loving guys we know that a lot of the iPhones features are lacking (poor Exchange sync implementation, no multi-tasking), but .....

It scores highly on interface and application / OS integration.... so....

[Bassey]

I voted Maybe. It depends on the market segment. I can't imagine many serious PDA users getting (and keeping) an iPhone. It misses too many of the basics. Multi-tasking and even copy/paste are just essential on a modern PDA.

On the other hand, they aren't essential on a consumer oriented feature phone or "Multimedia Consuming Device" to use modern parlance. In this area the iPhone is king. It's also an area HTC are clearly targetting with some of the Touch devices.

So I think the iPhone will do a few things. It will bring more people into the High-end phone market. It will push HTC and Microsoft to improve the interface of their devices and it will take away customers who might otherwise have bought a Diamon.

But, overall, I think it's effect will be positive.

[neilm]

Maybe, from me as well.

In our Appearance is All world, the outward polish of the iphone impresses, but under the skin it's just a capable but bulky Smartphone.

Its success however, may actually drive more business to WM as users become more aware of the extended PDA concept.
Posted via Mobile Device

[waveydavey]

I've voted no, as all exchange admins I know will not be allowing it to connect to their environments.

[boz]

I also voted no, if you are easily swayed by the iPhones marketing then you will buy it, but if you have an understanding of both the Windows and iPhones core platform then you can see straight through the iPhones glossy interface and hyped up marketing to see that Windows devices are much more versatile and effective.

[fowljr]

I voted no, and as you know I have a fist generation iPhone, it's sitting idly in its cradle. Excellent toy, but not a serious smartphone from my perspective.

[JamesA]

Kinda related, did anyone read the PRPro review of the Diamond? They slated it basically saying it wasnt an iphone. Very annoying review i thought!

[cyclist]

I voted No, it will never meet Enterprise needs.
WM and the i-Phone have different core markets. WM is the techie's toy, and the serious business tool where there's a department to look after it. The i-Phone is flashy eye candy that works straight out of the box with minimal set up effort, so it will do well in the non-techie market. I can think of a couple of my girlfriends who will enjoy doing things with an i-Phone, but would run a mile from WM.

[neilm]

Originally Posted by JamesA

Kinda related, did anyone read the PRPro review of the Diamond? They slated it basically saying it wasnt an iphone. Very annoying review i thought!

We did comment in another topic and concluded that PC Pro, good though they are for business computing, have little unterstanding of the broad capabilities of the WM market.

If the review had been in Computer Shopper it may have been more justified. I suspect that with the lead times of these articles, they were probably supplied with a very early HTC release, and there is no doubt that T3D was almost unusable until V1.37

The same edition had a couple of other mobile computing based articles which no-one in editorial seemed to spot. First there awas a loud proclamation of some research which showed that web access via Mobile Phone browsers was falling, tending to reinforce PCP's previous assertis that mobile computing was on the way out.

Another article however stated that there was a fast moving tendency for buyers to move to 'Smartphones' from WM, Symbian and Apple. No-one joined the dots to say- of course, if there are more using smartphones, it may explain why there are less using WAP browsers?

The final anomaly came on Thursday when PC Pro published their online review of the iPhone2. The review was fair, and concluded that the iP2 was not really much of a progression from later/current iP1's, but then went on to awward 4 stars across the board.

PC Pro is a worthy mag, and I still subscribe, but these stances do leave me perplexed

[tonybro]

I voted YES - unless MS do something about the underlying OS and interface!

Reason: People are not as educated as we are here on site and that is clouding our judgements. In the cold light of day the iPhone has serious shortcomings and can never achieve the level of flexibility seen in Windows Mobile. The Public, however, is a different beast entirely and buys on looks and hype and 'wow'. The iPhone has this in spades over ALL WM devices including the new Diamond.

So people making the transition from standard type phones with WAP etc are going to go head over heels for an iPhone. The lack of customisability and third party apps is in some ways a plus point to this market as it reduces confusion.

Price now has to be considered with UK operators now allowed to subsidise sales. It's still more expensive than most WM devices but not by much.

I want to see the faces of all iPhone users when they fire up the GPS and find there's no Sat Nav software available!