The iPhone in perspective

The iPhone is neither "revolutionary" nor "magical", says Arthur Goldstuck, MD of World Wide Worx.

Goldstuck attended the MacWorld and Consumer Electronics Show last week in Las Vegas, where Apple's wonder phone was unveiled to the world.

ITWeb asked him to put the iPhone into context for South African cellphone users.

Goldstuck: The phone does raise the bar in cellphone design. We have many phones with MP3 players built-in, but none with the ease of use and music synchronisation and organisation of the iPhone. We have many phones with built-in e-mail and Web browsing, but few as simple and clear as the iPhone.

Goldstuck: Yes and no. For the iPod generation, it's a great device. If you were the target market for the likes of the Sony Ericsson MP3 phone, the iPhone is a far more natural option; then you will be missing out. But if you want to keep your talking separate from your entertainment, you aren't going to miss this. The consumer looking for an all-in-one device is usually looking for PDA functions added to a phone, not music.

Goldstuck: No, there is nothing revolutionary about the iPhone, aside from its marketing positioning. Revolutions happened in the 1990s with the advance of digital mobile phones and in the early 2000s with the rise of the iPod.

Goldstuck: There is nothing new at all about combining consumer devices. The changes we are seeing in handheld technology are now evolutionary. What we are seeing is termed "placeshifting" - where you can move from any environment, through any environment and into any environment without being cut off from your communications, entertainment, business or financial activities. The technologies supporting this are the synchronisation of PCs, laptops and cellular phones, and the integration of home entertainment with the Internet.

Goldstuck: The drawback for SA is the general lack of Internet access and bandwidth.