Ever since the release of the first Mac, Apple had this reputation of being the renegade in the industry. The way Apple did it, quickly became the standards-leading way for everyone else making computers, operating systems and programs. Every comfort you enjoy today, about the Internet, about computers and operating systems, has its roots at Apple. The company has had a catalyst effect for years, with industry-changing ideas.
For some period of time, shortly before Steve Jobs returned to the company, Apple had lost this power and its focus. They had become followers instead of leaders. In this hostile atmosphere of shareholders in doubt, users annoyed and the media bashing Apple, some industry leading celebrities demanded Apple should be sold to someone. They called it doomed.
In a surprising strike of destiny, everything came differently. Apple reinvented itself. With Jobs returning, a new advertising campaign demonstrated how Apple had found back to its roots. “Think different” wasn’t just a credo, or a reminder of the good old days at Apple. Thinking differently was what they actually did: First, the iMac came out, then the iPod, and the rest is history. We live in a different world today. Together with iTunes, the iPod didn’t only have an influence on our lifestyles, it also changed the entire media industry.
The next big thing
Apple is fully aware of what they have done. They know you can’t pull off tricks like that very often. But they also know they don’t want to stand still here. So what is the next big thing?
A lot of people have computers at home and carry laptops to work. On any car of a commuter train you will find two or more pairs of white headphones, signifying iPod users. But which device do you use on a daily basis, even more than your computer? It was just a matter of time, until Apple would have a look at cell phones.
Being Apple, the company knows what is on stake. Unlike the market of mp3 players in 2001, the cell phone markets world wide are well established, but extremely scattered. Consumers are increasingly confused and annoyed, by different carriers, different pricing plans and -concepts, limiting network standards, and atop of it all, every cell phone manufacturer tries to impose new features nobody really asked for. Worse, they make promises and don’t fulfill them, like real web-surfing, or email on the go. You find those features only in the more expensive smart phone-models, and even with these, the operating systems are hard to use and unreliable.
SMS text-messaging is almost as big as email in Europe, and if you take a look at Japan, people are making video calls like as if there had never been another way to call someone. It’s not only an established market scene, hard to oversee and grasp, it’s also fighted over as if there was no tomorrow. Entering this market means you have to be loaded with funds, some good plans, and carry a very decent product. You should be knowing what you’re doing.
Not enough, you’ll say. If you are Apple, you need to do more than just that. Your phone needs to be the best there is.
Making a phone work like a Mac
I believe this is the main reason why Apple has not released a phone, yet. They will though, and apparently this isn’t a rumor anymore. The iPhone seems to be real from what you read all over the web. The reasons why Apple didn’t come out earlier are clear to me. They don’t want to fail. They want to come out with a product that will blow everyone away. So they are preparing for what could be regarded as their one time shot, their biggest chance, ever since the introduction of the iPod.
If I was Steve Jobs, my feature list for the developers team of the new Apple phone would look a little bit like this:
- I’ve got my MacBook with me sometimes, my iPod often, and my cell phone always. All cell phone interfaces we know are hard to use. Why does the interface of the device that I carry with me all the time suck the most? Fix that! Put something like OS X on my phone, so I can actually use it.
- The american cell phone market is scattered by carrier models. Make the iPhone carrier-independent.
- Internet connectivity that actually works. I need this on my phone. Web, email, and iChat.
- This means not only bluetooth, but Airport too. My phone should know wifi networks in the area and connect automatically, smoothly. I just want to be online when I need it, and I don’t want to pick a network first.
- Emails and iChat mean I need to be able to type. And I mean type, not press number keys repeatedly until the right letter appears. Give me a keyboard layout that works.
- I hate it when my battery power drowns. What if I want to listen to a pod cast and still be able to make phone calls? Make battery life last longer.
- If I want to make a phone call, I want to do it quickly, without thinking. Let me type the first letters of my contact name, and like in Spotlight, it’ll show the first numbers. Make this work like a Mac.
- Make it synch with the Mac. With Addressbook, Safari bookmarks, .mac.
- Look into a touch screen. We’re working on this for the iPod video already. It would make it easier to access the phone’s interface and we don’t have to deal with a dozen buttons on the outside. This will help us a great deal to make the interface user-friendlier.
- I can’t stand tiny screens. Make it reasonably big, so I can actually read my emails and RSS feeds.
- If we’re adding camera to the phone, then we should be using it with iChat. Make video teleophony happen.
- Make it a line of products, like the iPod, the Nano and so on. We want to show people how easy a phone can be, and get them hooked on the iPhone experience.
- You thought the iPod was big. We all think it rocks. Now, let’s make a phone that rocks!
I know this sounds like an awfully demanding list. But I’m Steve Jobs! You know how I am. I want things to be designed to work right!
Kidding aside, I think these specs are close to what might have been cycling among marketing- and developer teams at Apple. Not every point might have been addressed with this first release of the phone, but we’ll see what they made out of it. According to some news sources, it could be announced as early as January 2007.
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