All the latest UK technology news, reviews and analysis

Experts warn Apple iPhone is 'no smartphone'

by Robert Jaques

26 Jan 2007

Comments: 13

  • Tweet this
Apple iPhone
Users will not buy a second-rate cellphone just to have superior music, say analysts

Industry experts have warned that Apple's iPhone is "no smartphone" and is not as technologically advanced as many reports would suggest.

Senior ABI Research analysts Stuart Carlaw, wireless research director, and Philip Solis, principal mobile broadband analyst, pointed out that, while the iPhone is "undoubtedly clever and capable, it is not actually a smartphone".

"Consumers will not be willing to settle for a second-rate cellphone just to have superior music," said Carlaw.

"Apple must get the phone engineering part of the equation right, and it is difficult to see how it will accomplish this with no track record in the industry.

"Even though it is working with some prominent suppliers, the task of putting all the building blocks together cannot be underestimated."

ABI Research defines a smartphone as a cellular handset using an open, commercial operating system that supports third-party applications.

Apple's iPhone runs the Mac OS X operating system, so at first glance it would seem to fall into the smartphone category which might help to justify its $500+ price tag. 

But Solis pointed out that the device will be closed to third-party applications. "Therefore we must conclude at this point that, based on our current definition, the iPhone is not a smartphone: it is a very high-end feature phone," he said.

Solis went on to explain that feature phone functionality is dictated by the software which controls the hardware.

Such devices are closed and controlled by an operator or device manufacturer, whereas smartphones are supported by a third-party ecosystem in which independent software vendors compete to create commercially successful apps.

"Feature phones have third-party applications too, but these are relatively weak and limited applications that work with the middleware such as Java and Brew," explained Solis.

"Applications designed for smartphones can be written to access core functionality from the operating system itself, and are therefore usually more powerful and efficient.

"The competition in an open environment also yields more cutting-edge, rich applications."

Do you agree?

 

Add your comment

We won't publish your address
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms & Conditions. Your comment will be moderated before publication.

Poll

The workplace of the future poll - in association with IBM

What will be the biggest change to corporate technology in the future?

89%

6%

1%

3%

1%

Connect with V3.co.uk

Sign up to our daily or weekly newsletters

Riso

Colour printing: why the bill keeps outstripping the budget

The wrong printers, for the wrong tasks on the wrong contracts

Qlikview

Magic quadrant for business intelligence platforms

Who leads the BI pack and who should we be watching out for?

PHP developer - CSS, HTML, Javascript, MySQL, Linux

PHP developer - CSS, HTML, Javascript, MySQL, Linux...

Senior BPM Developer

Senior BPM Developer (Java, J2EE, Agile, Spring, Struts...

Business Analyst

As a Business Analyst you will play a key role in understanding...

C#/ASP.NET Team Lead - Gloucester

C#/ASP.NET Team - Gloucester - My client has an urgent...

Keep up to date with the latest products, services and technologies from the world's leading IT companies. IThound.com brings you over 2,000 white papers, case studies and analyst reports.

To send to more than one email address, simply separate each address with a comma.