In 2007, Apple introduced the iPhone, which instantly became one of
the most talked-about consumer products ever. Thousands of customers
lined up to be the first to buy the phones, which featured computing and
Wi-Fi capabilities, along with a crisp, computer-like display on an
innovative touch screen. Rivals, including Google, rushed phones with similar features onto the market.
In October 2011, the company unveiled an eagerly awaited new version of the device, the iPhone 4S, that included a “virtual assistant,” Siri, that recognized voice commands by users to schedule appointments, dictate text messages and conduct Web searches.
Although the new phone was virtually indistinguishable on the outside from its predecessor, the iPhone 4, it was packed with better technical innards, including a more advanced camera. The phone also included a more powerful chip known as the A5, the same microprocessor that acts as the brains inside the iPad.
Though many Apple fans expressed disappointment about the lack of a design change, consumers reacted very differently. Apple said it sold more than four million iPhone 4S’s during the device’s first weekend on sale.
In June 2012, Apple introduced a new version of its mobile operating system for iPhones and iPads that brings a host of new features, including three-dimensional maps that let users zoom over an image of a city. The new maps software replaces Google Maps with Apple’s own mapping system.
Also, while Siri initially worked with a limited set of Internet services — allowing users to, say, search for restaurants through Yelp — the new operating system will let users use natural voice commands to search for sports statistics, make restaurant reservations using OpenTable and look up showtimes for movies.
In October 2011, the company unveiled an eagerly awaited new version of the device, the iPhone 4S, that included a “virtual assistant,” Siri, that recognized voice commands by users to schedule appointments, dictate text messages and conduct Web searches.
Although the new phone was virtually indistinguishable on the outside from its predecessor, the iPhone 4, it was packed with better technical innards, including a more advanced camera. The phone also included a more powerful chip known as the A5, the same microprocessor that acts as the brains inside the iPad.
Though many Apple fans expressed disappointment about the lack of a design change, consumers reacted very differently. Apple said it sold more than four million iPhone 4S’s during the device’s first weekend on sale.
In June 2012, Apple introduced a new version of its mobile operating system for iPhones and iPads that brings a host of new features, including three-dimensional maps that let users zoom over an image of a city. The new maps software replaces Google Maps with Apple’s own mapping system.
Also, while Siri initially worked with a limited set of Internet services — allowing users to, say, search for restaurants through Yelp — the new operating system will let users use natural voice commands to search for sports statistics, make restaurant reservations using OpenTable and look up showtimes for movies.
Siri also has a new function, Eyes Free, that will allow car drivers
to communicate with the voice assistant by pushing a button on their
steering wheels. General Motors, BMW and Toyota are among the auto
manufacturers who have agreed to put such a button in their vehicles.
Apple also said it reached an agreement with Facebook that more deeply weaves the social network into Apple’s devices, allowing people to share photos to Facebook, for example, without having to open a separate Facebook app. The new features in the operating system will become available for iPhones, iPads and the iPod Touch when iOS 6 is released in fall 2012.
Blockbuster Sales
In January 2012, after a blockbuster fourth quarter, Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, said the iPhone 4S accounted for the majority of iPhone sales. This statement took on added significance considering that at the time, the iPhone 3GS was free with a two-year contract, and the iPhone 4 cost $100. Even in a down economy and with a free iPhone in its portfolio, Apple still managed to sell the expensive, newer 4S to most of its customers.
Yet the free and reduced-price iPhones were still important to the company’s business. Tero Kuittinen, a senior analyst at MGI Research, said the free iPhone 3GS gave Apple the opportunity to expand aggressively into markets where smartphones were not as popular yet, like China and Africa.
App Developers Stay Loyal to Apple
Smartphones running Google’s Android operating system outsell iPhones more than two to one. And yet, even as Google’s system has gobbled up market share, Apple has held onto one critical advantage — the loyalty of mobile app developers.
Many developers have continued to make applications first, and sometimes only, for iPhones. They find it easier to create software for Apple devices than for ones running Android, or it may be more lucrative. Their allegiance to Apple has helped make its devices the powerhouses they are for the company.
Apps are among the strongest weapons Apple and Google have for marketing their mobile technologies to consumers. The bounty of software available for Android and iOS, as varied as racing games and apps for managing recordings on cable boxes, is a chief reason the mobile phone market has settled into a two-horse race.
The Race With Android
While Google’s Android phones are No. 1 worldwide and in the United States in terms of smartphone market share, statistics suggest that the almighty robot has been losing steam in this country.
Analyst Horace Dediu published a blog post in June 2012 with charts illustrating a slowdown of Android’s growth in the United States, citing numbers from ComScore, the market research firm.
Also, a survey by the information technology firm Good Technology found that iPhone usage was increasing in the workplace, while Android phones have seen a significant dip in 2012.
An Issue of Control
Apple likes to maintain tight control over what programs can appear on the iPhone — a task that became a little bit harder in July 2010, when the Library of Congress, which has the power to define exceptions to an important copyright law, said that it was legal to bypass a phone’s controls on what software it will run to get “lawfully obtained” programs to work.
The issue has been a topic of debate between Apple, which says it has the right to control the software on its devices, and technically adept users who want to customize their phones as they see fit.
Apple has also said that altering the phones encouraged the pirating of applications, exposed iPhones to security risks and taxed the company’s customer support staff. But iPhone hobbyists say they simply want to have free range to use certain features and programs on their phones that Apple has limited or failed to offer.
Can Apple win in an intensely competitive market against rivals that are openly licensing their software to scores of companies? It faces that challenge not only in phones, but also in the market for tablet computers, where the iPad is about to take on a similar set of rivals.
Apple also said it reached an agreement with Facebook that more deeply weaves the social network into Apple’s devices, allowing people to share photos to Facebook, for example, without having to open a separate Facebook app. The new features in the operating system will become available for iPhones, iPads and the iPod Touch when iOS 6 is released in fall 2012.
Blockbuster Sales
In January 2012, after a blockbuster fourth quarter, Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, said the iPhone 4S accounted for the majority of iPhone sales. This statement took on added significance considering that at the time, the iPhone 3GS was free with a two-year contract, and the iPhone 4 cost $100. Even in a down economy and with a free iPhone in its portfolio, Apple still managed to sell the expensive, newer 4S to most of its customers.
Yet the free and reduced-price iPhones were still important to the company’s business. Tero Kuittinen, a senior analyst at MGI Research, said the free iPhone 3GS gave Apple the opportunity to expand aggressively into markets where smartphones were not as popular yet, like China and Africa.
App Developers Stay Loyal to Apple
Smartphones running Google’s Android operating system outsell iPhones more than two to one. And yet, even as Google’s system has gobbled up market share, Apple has held onto one critical advantage — the loyalty of mobile app developers.
Many developers have continued to make applications first, and sometimes only, for iPhones. They find it easier to create software for Apple devices than for ones running Android, or it may be more lucrative. Their allegiance to Apple has helped make its devices the powerhouses they are for the company.
Apps are among the strongest weapons Apple and Google have for marketing their mobile technologies to consumers. The bounty of software available for Android and iOS, as varied as racing games and apps for managing recordings on cable boxes, is a chief reason the mobile phone market has settled into a two-horse race.
The Race With Android
While Google’s Android phones are No. 1 worldwide and in the United States in terms of smartphone market share, statistics suggest that the almighty robot has been losing steam in this country.
Analyst Horace Dediu published a blog post in June 2012 with charts illustrating a slowdown of Android’s growth in the United States, citing numbers from ComScore, the market research firm.
Also, a survey by the information technology firm Good Technology found that iPhone usage was increasing in the workplace, while Android phones have seen a significant dip in 2012.
An Issue of Control
Apple likes to maintain tight control over what programs can appear on the iPhone — a task that became a little bit harder in July 2010, when the Library of Congress, which has the power to define exceptions to an important copyright law, said that it was legal to bypass a phone’s controls on what software it will run to get “lawfully obtained” programs to work.
The issue has been a topic of debate between Apple, which says it has the right to control the software on its devices, and technically adept users who want to customize their phones as they see fit.
Apple has also said that altering the phones encouraged the pirating of applications, exposed iPhones to security risks and taxed the company’s customer support staff. But iPhone hobbyists say they simply want to have free range to use certain features and programs on their phones that Apple has limited or failed to offer.
Can Apple win in an intensely competitive market against rivals that are openly licensing their software to scores of companies? It faces that challenge not only in phones, but also in the market for tablet computers, where the iPad is about to take on a similar set of rivals.
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