You can’t get away from news about the iPhone 3G these days. Whether it is reading about the long lines people stood in to get one, the wait for Apple and AT&T to fix sign up snafus, the short battery life at optimal settings, or other bits of news, it is out there to be waded through in a hunt for facts.

So what gems are buried under the heap of trash talking? One of the biggest is the iPhone Apps Store. Launching with over 550 Apps from day one, this is the first time mobile phones have been a real contender against online social networks and social apps.

Sure, some will say that mobile phones have had applications built for them for several years now. We can certainly point to several mobile networks that have launched in recent months geared toward taking the online social networking base off the web and onto their phone. The difference this time is Apple itself.

Long known for making hardware and software that is above all else intuitive and easy to use, Apple has made no exception with the iPhone 3G and its related Apps Store. Until now users have had to slog through the pain of Windows Mobile phones or JavaApps for the mobile market in order to do anything on their phones at all. This has meant many have shunned mobile social networks.

Apple has wisely made the iPhone and all of the third party applications built with the iPhone SDK in mind easy to get and easy to learn. This means that people who were intimidated by using a phone for fun before can now join the party, and that will give existing social networks a run for their money. Sure, there has always been the early adopter crowd, slinging their Crackberries and HTC smart phones from hip holsters. What Apple has done is manage to include the average, everyday phone user in its plans, and that will make all the difference.

Still, this sea change isn’t going to happen overnight. Apple hobbled it self by choosing AT&T as an exclusive carrier (though if Venture BEat can be believed they may be trying for some wiggle room there) when they should have gone with Verizon or just opened it up to and GSM carrier, like T-Mobile. Apple also has to address issues with the battery (not replaceable) and the lack of video (reprehensible in this age of the N95 and N82 by Nokia, as well as others). Assuming these issues get addressed, look for the iPhone market to have unprecedented impact on the social web.

Related:

Entry was posted on Thursday, July 10th, 2008 at 11:35 pm under Apple, iPhone.  Print This Post

Read more entries by Leslie Poston.
Stumble It!