Summary
I personally think AT&T Wireless will eventually make the cut and come out unscaped in this iPhone war although the latest results from Verizon does make one think twice. Smartphones will be the way to go in a couple of years from now and Apple iPhone and the RIMM have led this endeavor.
Analysis
Steve Jobs is very pragmatic in his approach, especially with new products like the Video IPod and the iPhone. Steve is very particular on how his products look and feel and even goes to the extreme, like in the case of the Video iPod, which he made in two flavors, one with all the bells and whistles and the other a vanilla one. When the iPhone came out back in June 2007, there were so many pros and cons mentioned but eventually the iPhone was a big hit.
Ever since the release of the 3G iPhone with the reduced price, one cannot get hold of one of these phones. They are so popular with almost all age groups. I personally think Apple’s business model is a better one than Verizon. Even though the price of the phone went down, this is all borne by the carrier and Apple is not hurt by this reduction. The user experience on the iPhone has gone from good to fantastic. To name a few, we have the the iTunes music, video watching on Youtube and web surfing using Safari. The iPhone has gone 2-3 steps beyond the RIMM in offering many more useful applications than just the corporate email that RIMM offered.
In some ways, the iPhone does have minimal impact on Verizon but that is because Verizon has other revenue generation areas like wireless, FIOS, etc.
Bottom line, Steve has and will continue to be an innovator. He has done a fantastic job with the initial iPhone release and now the 3G model. He has truly converted the marketplace from a drab place to an exciting one with smartphones that are just getting better. I think both Verizon and AT&T Wireless will co-exist and profit from their respective ventures.
