The Iphone Essay -- Apple Cellular Cell Phone

When the word iPhone appears in Apple press releases, the word revolutionary is rarely far behind. But what counts as revolutionary? In Apples case, the prohibit is high. Since the 1970s, the firm has changed both the personal computer and music industries. Will the iPhone fundamentally alter the structure of the wireless world as well?Not yet. The iPhones bearing and user interface are pathbreaking, and (as the iPod proved) aesthetics do matter. But the iPhone isso farnot a product that will turn any fabrication inside out. Seen as a phone, the iPhone is striking. Seen as a small computer, its limited, and compromised by the existing business models of the wireless industry. Saying the iPhone is a pointless gadget is a bit too strong. But it isnt yet a revolutionary device.It is in some ways astonishing that AT&T and Apple are partners at all. AT&T is the oldest of the old schoolthe most ancient major high-tech firm in the United States, founded in 1878. Unfazed by spending the kick the bucket 23 years in suspended animation (after the great breakup of 1984), AT&T is back to its classic business model own the largest networks and everything on them. Apple, meanwhile, is the original hippie computer company, a child of the 1970s, not the 1870s. At least in its origins, Apple is an ideological foe of IBM and AT&T. (Remember that 1984 ad?) Considering that these firms were born(p) on the opposite sides of the tech Kulturkampf, the iPhone cannot help but be a little strange.Most obviously, the iPhone is locked, as is de rigueur in the wireless world. It will work but with one holder, AT&T. Judged by the standards of a personal computer or electronics, thats odd Imagine buying a Dell that worked only with Comcast Internet access or a ... ...ed in transforming industries. Once Big Brothers foe, its now more like Little Brother, happy to sell cute little devices that are effortless to use, make money, and spread false consciousness.If youre an optimist, the more intriguing possibility is that Apples iPhone is a Trojan Horse. The iPhone is fatally attractive to AT&T, since it gives the firm a chance to steal tens of thousands of new customers from rivals like Verizon. But Apple may be betting that, once it has its customers, theyll be more loyal to Apple than AT&T. With its foothold in the wireless world, Apple may be planning to slowly but inexorably demand more room. If iPhone 2.0 is a 3G phone that works with any carrier and supports third-party apps, then industry power will begin to move away from the carrier oligopoly and toward Apple and other Silicon Valley firms. Now, that would be a revolution.