Can Apple’s iPhone Best the Competition?

By NewsFactor Network | January 14, 2007

Following last week’s splashy Macworld keynote delivered by Apple CEO Steve Jobs, the Internet is awash not only with images of Jobs being dwarfed by a gigantic iPhone replica, but also with speculation about how Apple might change the world of handhelds and smartphones.

After months of rumors, Jobs unveiled the iPhone, promising a device that brings iPod music capabilities together with Mac software and mobile-phone features. Also announced was Apple TV, a set-top box that will allow users to push content, such as movies and photos, from their computers to their television sets.

In launching major initiatives in these two areas, Apple is looking to change the digital media landscape, one of the reasons the company has abandoned the moniker “Apple Computer” and rebranded itself “Apple Inc.”

Can You Hear Them Now?

But Apple is likely to encounter much more competition in these areas than it has in the digital music market, and what remains to be seen is whether the company has more to offer than merely snazzy tech.

Apple’s iPhone is a mobile phone that combines the wizardry of smartphones with the music- and movie-playing features of the iPod. It offers a large, 3.5-inch touchscreen, a 2-megapixel camera, and integration with Apple’s iTunes music store. It’s less than half an inch thick, works on a pared-down version of Apple’s OS X, sports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and EDGE (a type of cellular broadband), and runs on Cingular’s network.

By entering the crowded mobile-phone market, even with such an ambitious set of features, some analysts think Apple could be facing its toughest competition yet. The handheld market is already saturated with almost countless models; and there are few consumers who have been craving a smartphone without buying one.

Also, Apple’s phone will only work with Cingular’s network — at least for the time being — and users…

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