The Jeff Pulver Blog: Is the Apple iPhone Evolutionary or Revolutionary?

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January 10, 2007

Is the Apple iPhone Evolutionary or Revolutionary?

Yes, Steve Jobs has delivered the consumer electronics device of 2007 at MacWorld. And from the reaction of Wall Street analysts and the business media, the launch of the Apple iPhone has been very well received.

On the surface, the Apple iPhone is a great-looking phone, and the user interface will no doubt revolutionize the way all of the leading wireless phone vendors around the world approach the market.

But, when I look at the Apple iPhone, I expected more. Maybe I was looking for a PDA that was also an iPod and a phone. Apple has a great opportunity to not only revolutionize the mobile phone industry, but to also embrace the world of "disruptive communications," but could Jobs have pushed even further? I wanted to see Apple announced their default SIP and/or Asterisk client for the iPhone.

I have to ask, why not announce the Apple iPhone as an "open" device which happens to be available today to Cingular customers? It was a great move on their behalf to make sure the iPhone was a dual-mode WiFi/GSM phone, as to launch a phone in 2007 that is NOT a dual mode phone would have been a fundamental mistake.

Steve Jobs has the power to disrupt an industry. Outside of the world of computing, during the past few years, he has challenged the status quo in both the Music industry and in Hollywood. And yesterday, he decided to take on the wireless world. But in the world of mobile phones, only time will tell if Jobs has chosen evolution over revolution.

Tags: Steve Jobs, Apple, iPhoe, Jeff Pulver voip

Posted by jeff on January 10, 2007 03:15 PM | Permalink

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Comments

'I wanted to see Apple announced their default SIP and/or Asterisk client for the iPhone.' Me too. I also want them to build Asterisk into the Leopard vesion of OS X Server, with a snazzy GUI. That would give them a full comms package to sell into SMEs

Posted by: slabman at January 29, 2007 06:37 AM

iPhone is available with Cingular ONLY!? And what if I am stuck under contract with a carrier OTHER than Cingular but still want a iPhone?
Well, the only solution I could fine was http://www.Cellswapper.com - they get you out of any cell phone contract!

Posted by: Roger Smith at January 17, 2007 05:35 AM

Posted by: Roger Smith at January 16, 2007 10:45 AM

Remember a key point of the keynote - this is entirely a software phone. That gives Apple the flexibility to change, alter, and even throw out iPhone entirely and reload it with new features as they become business-ready. iPhone is driven by iTunes, so as long as it's software you can load up through iTunes, the phone's ability to change over time should only improve.

Posted by: Christopher Penn, Financial Aid Podcast at January 10, 2007 09:49 PM

Great point my man. I say the same thing about a lot of things. Only time will tell.

Posted by: Clintus at January 10, 2007 09:44 PM

At least the phone is running an OS robust & (we hope) enough that it should be able to support a SIP/IAX client developed by a third party. I expect it will not be long until a VoIP endpoint is available for this device. I agree Apple could have done more, though I think revolutions don't always happen til after a few iterations have occured. This is the first salvo, much like the first iPod in 2001. Maybe by 2013 Apple will have done for IP communications what they have done for music today -- only hopefully it will not be DRM'd/restricted like iTunes.

Posted by: Dave Troy at January 10, 2007 08:10 PM

I think it'd be neat to see a phone that had the capacity to handle more than one SIM card.

Posted by: Schuyler Deerman at January 10, 2007 05:18 PM

I'm not entirely sure it it either - It isn't a 3G phone, and if like some are suggesting Mac OS X on the iPhone is what Windows CE is to the various PDA's out there, it doesn't move the world one bit.

I'm torn, I see the good, I see the prospects, but on the other hand, combined with the contract and the price of the machine, I see real potential for this to fail.

Posted by: Tyler Calrissian at January 10, 2007 05:10 PM