> > So I will give props to Apple for the iphone....it does make you wonder > though why these other handset makers are having such a hard time making an > Iphone "clone"....I mean it can't be that hard, can it?
I think its a few issues. One is that they are unloading phones that were already mass produced or far along in the prototype/manufacturing phases. Discarding all of that would have been wasteful. The iPhone was a game changer. But since it was tethered to AT&T for 3 years, this gave the rest of the market some breathing room to catch up. Now some phones came out to make you think that they were "like the iPhone" but those were cheap imitations that dont come close. But for marketing reasons, they had to release some stuff while they do serious R&D on the actual devices that would compete with the iPhone. Some companies just wont be able to play this game.... not enough resources to properly commit to being the next best phone. But Nokia is certainly able to compete and it seems that this new Maemo5 OS and n900 device are worthy of cross-comparisons with Apple's offerings. The other issue is the tech and brand adoption. Apple iPhone is not without its flaws. I actually shouldn't speak to this too much since I don't own one. But I am aware of various hardware and software problems.... even with the latest 3.1 OS release. But it's Apple and in order to tarnish that brand, they would need to have a bunch of phones that explode and injure people. Nothing short of that will damage their reputation. The App Store is also a very solid market place since the phone is very popular. And Apple marketing is focusing on that big time - "There's an app for that." - This messages tells people that the iPhone can do everything you want and is simple to use. Both basically true facts. At the same time, shit like this bugs me to no end - http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/apple_rejects_politically_charged_iphone_app.php Sull [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
