Will the iPhone Change the Smartphone Market?

Everybody wants an iPhone. When it was released last June 29, 2007 in the United States from Apple Retail Stores, consumers have been buying it left and right, wanting to get the latest gadget from Apple. Reports of iPhone shipment volumes in the first weekend have ranged from 140 thousand units to 500 thousand units. Meanwhile, ABI Research forecasts that the smartphone market segment will grow from 218 million units in 2007 to 426 million units in 2012.

There are several people who would dare ask whether the iPhone can indeed change the smartphone market. With the smartphone market dominated by big fishes like Nokia and Samsung, only time (and sales) will tell if the speculations are true.

However, according to Stuart Carlaw, wireless research director at ABI Research, the answer is a qualified “yes.”

“The iPhone will not revolutionize the smartphone market,” he says, “but it is a significant evolutionary step forward. As was pointed out once its specifications were made public, the iPhone is not cutting-edge telecommunications. Where it is radical – in its user-interface and functionality – it will certainly change forever the way handset manufacturers think about their design philosophies. And from the commercial point of view, it is significant in the way it assembles its offerings in a completely integrated, brand-heavy package.”