WSJ: Why Some Apple Fans won't buy iPhone?
It has been said that most people who bought iPhone are Apple/Mac fans (not sure if this is true though). Today's WSJ runs a story talking about why some Apple fans won't buy iPhone.
Here are the things they want Apple to change (this means they are happy with other stuff like the browser, multi-touch, maps, UI, etc):
- High price
- AT&T Edge only (soon to be solved)
- Small storage
- No adobe flash support in Safari on iPhone
They are waiting for iPhone 2.0 to solve these problems.
I think Windows Mobile has a great advantage over iPhone: OEMs can use the platform to build a variety of models for different user groups. You don't care playing music on your phone? Just make a phone + Internet device. You type and email a lot on your phone? How about a full-keyboard pocket pc phone? You want to develop a mobile app for your business? Yes you can install it on your phone. In other words, ins tread of providing a single model for all, create components platform where OEMs can slice and dice, and ISVs can access. --this is the Windows Mobile ecosystem.
Granted, Windows Mobile needs to improve at least the following items before it can be as competitive as iPhone to ordinary consumers who grow up with the Web:
- Pocket IE: the single most important app on a smart phone
- Mapping software (Windows Live Maps Mobile with voice recognition and navigation)
- UI that is NOT cloned from Windows desktop: rethink human-mobile interaction (HMI), which is totally different from human-computer interaction.
The game in the mobile landscape is getting really interesting now. Billions of dollars of venture capital are pouring into this market. In terms of market share, Symbian's lose (if any) is not necessarily Windows Mobile's gain, and vice versa. We will see ...
