Comments on: The Apple iPhone: Britain’s Youth Speak

By: Samuel Cotterall

Samuel Cotterall — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 18:20:44 +0000

That’s a really interesting insight – I’m a twenty-one year old Mac user and even I am struggling to justify the phone to myself.

Currently, you can get the ‘technically superior’ Nokia N95 for half the price with a �35/m contract, but I think it’s the combination of it being an Apple product and the unlimited data that’s driving me towards the iPhone.

By: mark

mark — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:13:40 +0000

its very slow on some things as well – maybe nokia etc should just make one phone instead of all these differnt versions then what would happen?

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 15:29:15 +0000

I’d think that the iPhone has a much higher standing in the public view than the N95 does. I haven’t heard John Humphreys on R4 fondling an N95 (or any other mobile, for that matter). It already is an icon of design, partly because it obeys some fundamental design rules (as do most Apple products) but also because it redefines what you can do on a phone. If the N95 had the multi-touch UI and tight YouTube integration we’d be saying ‘iWhat?’. But it didn’t, Nokia missed a trick, and will catch up because they need to catch up.

I’m considering buying one and burying it for 20 years. Imagine what a BNIB 1st-release Apple, Sinclair ZX or Atari would fetch now. (except GSM/EDGE may not be there in 20 years. WiFi maybe….er, probably not.)

I reckon the iPhone will be looked back on as the device that (re)set the mobile benchmark, a new paradigm, etc etc. It didn’t bring internet to the mobile, it made the internet mobile. And there’s a world of difference. Some video format issues aside, almost all web pages just appear the way they should, with no need for reformatting. Not what mobile opimisation designers/coders want to hear, but hey.

The previous efforts got a C- from the masses, and even the beloved Opera Mini only resonated with the geekerati. But the iPhone…put it in anyone’s hands and see them have a good time. Not because they want to test it, form an opinion of it, compare it to other mobiles,etc…but because the OS and UI GTF out of the way and let you enjoy the content. Fun because the OS is not a barrier, instead of mediocrity because the OS is the barrier.

Oh, and good point above Simon. If it was a �269 iThing without the phoney bits I bet it would sell like the proverbial.

Oh, hang on…;-)

By: psionandy

psionandy — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 12:48:13 +0000

If its a ‘Christmas’ Push they are going for then they’ll have a problem.

Ipods will sell at Christmas, PAYG phones will be given, even PDAs/Laptops. However iPhones come with contracts, and relatively few people will give someone an 18 month credit agreement as a present

By: GaZZ

GaZZ — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:26:29 +0000

People in the UK have been used to getting free upgrades and have been able to shop around for contracts with amazing amounts of minutes and texts for a couple of years now. O2 and Apple needed to push this phone for christmas, they failed ! Most people who I spoke to when the iphone was launched just wanted to know how much the N95 is now, and didn’t really know what Iphone was.

By: Simon

Simon — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 09:00:30 +0000

“Ok so thos of us in he UK might have noticed the lack of advertising for the iPhone.”

Really? I lost count of the amount I saw on TV.

I reckon it’s down to how people perceive gadgets – they’ll pay a lot for their iPod, but expect their phone to come free on a contract. It’s as if people see the iPhone as a phone primarily, but with an MP3 player added on.

By: Brett

Brett — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 05:22:29 +0000

It’s obvious than many of these opinions are of those who’ve not yet handled an iPhone themselves. It would be interesting to re-interview the same group after giving them a go at an iPhone.

By: John

John — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 02:11:16 +0000

“I think the iPhone is to sensitive, making phone calls are a nightmare. Also, when the stylus is lost the phone is useless.” Eh?

Ok so thos of us in he UK might have noticed the lack of advertising for the iPhone. I bought one in the US and got it shipped over as to avoid the dreaded 1.1.2 firmware. I have to say, I love it, ive had quite a few phones in the past ranging from QWERTY keyboards to MOTO RAZRs (awful btw), but the iPhone (so far) is the best I have ever had!

Using it out and about in the UK its really surprising to me how many people have never heard of it! They dont know it by name and they dont know what it looks like. I blame this mostly on the marketing.
The Carphone Warehouse have never put it in their catalogues, I assumed this was becuse they were expecting it to sell on its own. Same with O2, just a few posters the week before, again I assume they thought it would sell its self.

As a result, in my opinion, I think the iPhone has flopped in the UK. Partly due to bad maketing but also because people dont get it. �270 with no 3G or video recording. Consumers in the UK have become used to free phones that do everything. So paying for a phone AND getting a contract is a very alien thing. So better marketing and lower prices or the iPhone could be dead in the water by 2008.