by Noah Kravitz, Reviews Editor

21 November 2006

Apple to Cellular Carriers: Thinking Different on Mobile Phones

If You Build It, They Will Come
Writing about Macs has taught me that Apple fans are about as loyal and enthusiastic a bunch as you'll find anywhere or assembled behind any cause. Writing about mobile phones has taught me that most cell phone junkies actually couldn't care too much less about the never-ending "iPhone" rumors that Apple fans are (once again) all riled up about. But that's only because they don't know what Apple could do to make mobile handsets exponentially more useable. Writing about both markets at the same time has taught me one more thing: Mobile phones are where cutting edge consumer technology is at these days, and there couldn't be a better market for Apple to get its hands in now that the iPod has just about saturated everyone's musical taste buds.

I count myself as both an Apple fan (my constant threats to "get a Dell because it'll do what I need for cheap" notwithstanding) and a newly minted cell phone junkie. As such I feel as qualified as any so-called analyst to restate the obvious: If Apple does it right, they could make a killing on an iPod-iPhone Frankenstein device. The question is, How to do it right?

The iPod, obviously, has been a huge success. Ditto for the cell phone. So why haven't mp3 phones taken the market by storm, as well? There are three parts to this answer: First, Cellular service providers in the US have a nasty habit of crippling manufacturers' feature sets on new phones, if not flat out destroying the user interface as well. Verizon justifies this in the name of "not confusing" customers who want to switch phones without having to learn a new UI. Ever used a Verizon phone? The UI is kind of confusing. Honestly.

Second, nobody's made a really good music phone yet. Sony Ericsson's come the closest - their Walkman line of mobile phones (I own and use a w800i) features iPod-esque sound quality and the most intiutitive browsing interface out there. Actually, the Walkman phones sound better than iPods out of the box, thanks to superior earbuds and a customizable graphic EQ. Still, they're a far cry from the overall iPod experience. And Cingular finally brought a decent Walkman phone to the States - about six months after it went out of fashion amongst cell phone geeks. Their version of the w810 even doesn't even include a memory card, anyway; from their website: " Enjoy the 128MB memory-enough for approximately 25 songs." 25 songs. Great. That's a whole quarter of a shuffle!

Third, most cellular customers in the US have never heard of an unlocked phone. So far as we're all concerned, the only phone options are the ones in the Verizon and T-Mobile stores, and the only way to get them is to sign a two-year contract. Then we're stuck with the same phone until that contract runs out, unless we want to sign up for two more years in exchange for the privledge of overpaying for another crippled phone.

Think I'm being an overdramatic crank? Go spend some time on Howard Forums or one of the other mobile enthusiasts' hangouts and see what the world of mobile technology is really all about. It goes way beyond what's on offer at the Sprint store. Yes, you can order a N80 direct from Nokia's website for delivery and use in the United States. But how many Cingular users actually think about that as a viable option?

So if Apple found a way to give the people want we really want - namely, another iPod option combined with a strikingly fresh cell phone experience - I think people would line up to buy it. I mean, people already line up to hear Steve Jobs speak and apparently they shoot one another for PlayStation 3s, so why wouldn't they shell out for an iPod cell phone that actually was an iPod and a cell phone all rolled into one?

How to Build it and Where to Sell it
The thing everyone's speculating on now isn't if Apple's prepping a foray into the cell phone market, but rather how and when they're planning to dive in. There are rumors about an iPhone, two iPhones, and an order for 12 million iPhones. To me it's simple: Add a decent mobile phone to the iPod nano and you're all set. Sure, there's talk of a pared-down version of OS X for iPhone and an iPhone II based around iChat (Instant Messaging) and that's all great. It would be great to see what Apple could do to reinvent the mobile phone, because frankly mobiles have become too complicated while somehow still lacking in useful features - beyond the ability to place and receive phone calls, that is - and nobody's better at making useful easy than Apple.

But honestly, iChat Mobile and OS X Lite ain't where the action is. People outside the insular little Mac community might care about such things once they exist, but they sure don't now. What would make the iPhone a splash is a true iPod feature set: Scroll wheel, clean UI, iTunes syncing on PC/Mac, and 8GB of flash memory built-in (I'd settle for 4GB, but eight would kill). Throw a good quality 2MP or better camera in there because everybody expects one in their phone nowadays. The rest is gravy. Honestly.

Except that there's gotta be a way for Apple to make money off the thing after the sale's over. And that's where the network comes in.

Read Part II: iTunes Music Store, Coming Soon to a Cellular Network Near You

* * * *

Get the best price for your new iPod at PCPrices/iPod