Zakeh Blog
How the iPhone 3G is changing the wireless game
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When Apple CEO Steve Jobs took the wraps off of the iPhone 18 months ago, the wireless establishment offered a smug response. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, a Nokia executive sniffed that Apple’s new gadget merely validated his company’s strategy, and voiced his surprise to journalists that the iPhone didn’t use the latest 3G networks for fast data connections. “Overall, it’s very exciting for us,” he said, implying the mighty Nokia had nothing to worry about.
A year and a half later, as the iPhone 3G arrives, Apple’s (AAPL) rivals look a lot more flummoxed. The little gadget has catalyzed the wireless industry, boosting earnings for Apple and U.S. partner AT&T (T), and inspiring an avalanche of copycat touchscreen devices. Samsung has the Instinct, a chunkier, less elegant knockoff. Research in Motion (RIMM) is readying the BlackBerry Thunder. LG has the Dare and Nokia (NOK) the dubiously codenamed “Tube” phone. Each claims to best the iPhone in some feature or other – a better camera, say, or touch-feedback.