Building A Better Iceberg

Welcome, one and all, to the iChallengers! This new column will take a hard look at the iPhone, Apple's golden child of the smartphone world and it's ongoing battle for the hearts, minds and wallets of the phone-carrying masses. What you read here will be fueled by a decade's experience with phones, handheld computers and PDAs, mixed liberally with the obsession of a gadget lover who's bound and determined to get the most out of the best of breed phone available today...yes, the one with the Apple on the back. I'm a late convert to iPhone. I sing it's praises, but I'm no kool-aid drinking member of the cult of Mac! In fact, I spent a year trashing the iPhone for missing this bell or that whistle, before spending a week using one. Once I did I never looked back, but I'll admit it: if anybody gets it righter than Apple, I'll switch--but my standards are high, and I really don't think anyone will capture lightning in a bottle the way the iPhone and the ecosystem that supports it has, any time soon. But I'm watching, oh yes I am. I demand the best phone I can get: it's my lifeline to the internet, and the tool I use to steer my life. Here in the iChallengers column, I'll be poking and prodding what iPhone does best, what it needs to do better. I've got my eyes on Nokia, BlackBerry and some other Big Names, and I'll be reporting back to you on every victory and miss-step made by Apple and all challengers! Before I get started with this inaugural column, let me give you my 'iceberg' view of the iPhone - by that I mean, much more of what makes it a success lies hidden away from what you carry in the palm of your hand. You also have to consider the level of integration with the carrier, accessory and 3rd party software developers, and of course the 'secret sauce that makes iPhone work so well for so many: iTunes, and especially the App Store. Content drives every PC and game console and it's no different here: Apple carefully develops iPhone's OS and hardware to provide a highly polished 'base level' user experience, but it's the 1 billion downloads of over 15,000 apps that have allowed every user to personalize their phone experience. Let's have those numbers again: 1 Billion downloads! 15,000+ applications! The iTunes app store is an unparallelled success in the world application purchasing for cellular-enabled smartphones. And all Apple's competitors are racing to recreate its success, from the ground up. This is no small feat. In the last couple of years, the expression 'iPhone killer' has become common rhetoric among phone reviewers, but I submit to you, Apple iPhone Apps reader, that no piece of hardware can ever compete with the success of the iPhone. To do that, someone needs to build a better iceberg. I'll delve further into the specifics of the iTunes App Store in the future. Today we'll look at what the iCompetitors are rolling out. These so called competitors will have to try and match the volume of software and easy use of iTunes, as well as attempt to instill the same confidence and loyalty, that Apple has engineered. When gauging the success of the App Store you have to ask the question: Who is Apple trying to please? The obvious answer is the customer who bought the phone, but any company's version of the App store has to give strong consideration to the person who made that phone affordable for the end user to buy. That's right, the big, bad phone company that holds your contract! Does that surprise you? Why do you think Skype for iPhone can only work like your desktop Skype over WiFi, not over your cellular internet connection? Thank your phone company for their 'input' into that decision. With that out of the way, let's take a look at how the iCompetitors are doing, starting with the most promising challenger: BlackBerry. BlackBerry has enough pull to show a little independance, both in the software their new app store offers, and how users can buy. Instead of tying their app store concept to a Provider's bill or a credit card, RIM is betting they can drive adoption of the new 'BlackBerry App World' by offering purchasing through -wait for it- Paypal! Regarding the app itself: BlackBerry World launched with a couple of hundred apps, but it's not as smooth nor aesthetically pleasing as the iTunes interface. And, yes, those are very important considerations, in fact Apple's made their reputation on the seamless beauty of their products - it's simple and reliable. BlackBerry handhelds have to download the BlackBerry World app, and users need to create an account and tie it to PayPal, but then it's a breeze to get to a lot of the same apps that have gained popularity on iPhone and iPod Touch, and some BlackBerry classics. Bottom line: one stop shopping for BlackBerry is now up and running. Moving on, Nokia also sells to hundreds of carriers, and they too are trying to flex their independance: their Ovi application store, launching in May, is trying to lure software developers who will create innovative software, which will appeal to ALL their customers. Their solution is to offer higher shares of download revenue if developers accept credit card payments, over the also-offered option of tying their software into users' monthly cellphone bill. If they're successful they will motivate programmers to create great apps that reduce Dick and Jane Nokia's reliance on their carrier. Frankly, those are the only two players even close to being competitors to iTunes App store right now, but there are two more declared players I'd better cover before the hate mail starts pouring in. Google Android garners a lot of commentary but it's Marketplace is more of an ice cube than an iceberg at this point. To be fair, that's due in part to the small volume people who use Google's G1 phone, which translates into less interest by developers to invest in he platform, which means fewer apps. But this is Google we're talking about, so I don't count them out. Also, they're promoting the value of open access to software, and claim to respect users more than the App Store has by allowing software developers greater access to Android OS architecture. Unfortunately, so far this is another negative, as the iPhone's locked down architecture results in some bad press, but far more reliable, crash-free applications. Try telling the open source faithful that there is any upside to a locked platform is a zero sum game. Waiting in the wings are two giants. I have no idea what to expect from them, but I have hope they can offer some competition factor. In the final analysis the iPhone will get better and faster unless someone can muster at least a halfway competent app store. First, Microsoft is promising a bold reimagining of both Windows Mobile (7) and along with it an app store of its own, dubbed SkyMarket. Let's hope both the OS and the store turn out better than Holllywood's reimaginings. I actually like HTC hardware quite a lot and wonder what their phones could do with a single quality catalog of easy to use and guaranteed-stable software. Last and far from least is Palm. No, they're not dead yet! Palm's new Pre handheld and WebOS operating system will arrive later this year with its own built-in 'App catalog'. I'm sure I'll have lots to say about the Pre soon enough, but for now it's just a name on a page. Granted, with Palm's pedigree, it's a name to watch! And there you have the only players I think worth mentioning as App Store and iPhone challengers. If you think I'm missing something, in this column and all that come after, please tell me. I welcome all feedback, and will include good emails (johnmierau@gmail.com) and tweets (@johnmierau) here. So please help me make this the bes resource examining iPhone and it's competitors around! Frankly, there aren't any lessons for Apple here -yet- just more proof that Apple's creation of a unified software purchasing and downloading system was a game changer. I think the best any of these App Store challengers can do is limit the thinning of their ranks by offering as best they can some duplication of iTune's App Store strength -- without diluting their own strengths. I don't believe the industry would have shifted so thorougly to backing the App Store market if iPhone hadn't hit it out of the park with iTunes, and I don't believe any other company in the (smart)phone space to get it right without a few kicks at the can. Apple succeeded with iTunes because it enjoyed a massive user base with credit cards already signed up to the most successful online music purchasing operations in the world. Just one more example of how Apple was as lucky as it was smart in capitalizing in the perfect storm that is the iPhone platform. In the final analysis, BlackBerry and Nokia are iCompetitors with proven phone market smarts, and they are the ones to watch and might have what it takes to surpass the App Store. They might also have the other parts of the puzzle necessary to convince you to stuff one of their phones in your pants. Google's a giant on the Internet, but it's got much to learn about phones and coexisting with the Telco Giants... and Microsoft... well, insert your own joke here. Maybe the seventh time WILL be the charm for Windows Mobile (grin). I'm happy to be here, and welcome all comments, contributions and cries for my head! Stay tuned to the iCompetitors for facts, opinion and general snark as the challenge heats up from the names honored here, and others. Enjoy your iPhone! [Android Image via Cnet]