iPhone: The New Personal Computer
When Apple first announced the launch of its iPhone platform, we wrote here that it is a game changer. Even the core of iPhone is a major advance in mobile computing, but with the platform iPhone becomes the new personal computer. The desktop from now on will be for professional and business work. Laptops aren't going away, but will get increasingly less personal use. The reason is that iPhone with its application platform is a better personal computer and it's widely accessible.
At Your Fingertips. Fast.
Every major service, Amazon, Netflx, Twitter, Digg, Flickr, Facebook, is already available, or will soon be, on iPhone. Either the companies or third parties will deliver these applications. The result is, you have the world in your pocket; anytime, anywhere you can access what you need.
This is powerful and unprecedented. For a while now, we've been seeing desktop and web converging, with increasingly more desktop apps leveraging the web. iPhone places this convergence into the spotlight. Smart little apps with fluid Apple design are now leveraging the vast amounts of information available on the web.
Location Awareness
Another leap is location awareness. Apps are now smarter because they understand an important part of your context. Want nearby movies, restaurants or maps? Applications automatically leverage your current location.
And we're now seeing a true blend of physical and digital. When you're at a restaurant, see what your friends thought about it. When in a bookstore, look up reviews on Amazon. If in Paris, access an instant map. Sure, you could do this before, but this iPhone platform takes the experience to a new level. It takes it to the mainstream.
The New Personal Computer
There's an irony in Steve Jobs' recent move to drop the word computer from the company name. Arguably, this iPhone is the first really personal computer. True, the PC was called that first, but from today's view PC is for heavy tasks while iPhone is small, smart and portable.
iPhone comes with a pack of applications perfect for today's consumers. Like iMac 10 years ago, this device focuses on essentials. It has all the necassary communications: phone, email, text messaging. It has a camera and a way to manage photos. It's the best smart phone to play video. And its music support rocks.
Even the original iPhone was great at finding information: maps and Safari made the web instantly accessible. Now with the application platform open-ended, all other non-Apple essentials become available. Each of us can download the apps for services we use and make iPhone personalized and personal.
Want a new iPhone? You'd better be patient - or live on one of the coasts. Apple has run out of the new machines at 117 of its 188 stores.
As of 6:00 a.m. EDT Tuesday, all three models (8GB black, 16 GB black or white) of the hot-selling device were sold out in 21 states, according to Jim Neal, a retired PR man living near Kansas City who took the time to check each of Apple’s 188 U.S. retail stores using the company’s iPhone availability widgets.
“All told,” he writes, “117 Apple stores reported having sold out of all models and only 27 stores indicated they had all three models in stock.”
The states reporting no stock on hand were Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin.
Apple (AAPL) advises shoppers to check availability after 9:00 p.m. the night before they visit an Apple retail store – and, if necessary, get up at the crack of dawn.
Next question: If you can get your hands on a new phone, who's the activation process? We haven't heard the same kind of panic and hysteria we were seeing on Friday, which leads us to believe that Apple and AT&T have figured out how to solve the problem. Meanwhile, somebody thinks the (mini) fiasco is good for Synchronoss Technolgies (SNCR), the company that used to help Apple with iPhone activation but doesn't anymore. Shares spiked on Friday, and are up nearly 20% in the last week.Pre Order Now