ON WHAT MAKES AN iPHONE TICK

BLIND QUEST

Hilarious piece from the EETimes about a panel of experts at the big mobile conference going on in Barcelona, Spain, trying to figure out what makes the iPhone a success:

"A blue-ribbon panel of human behavior and technology experts at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain agreed that the best recent advance in the mobile telecommunications user space came not from a mobile telecom company but from Apple Inc. — the iPhone..."

"The panel, whose title was It's the User Experience, Stupid  agreed that iPhone represents a model for mobile operators to follow, but they reached little agreement on how to follow."

The rest of the article is about the panelists trying to dissect elements of the iPhone experience (hardware, software, user experience, specific features, etc.), to try and explain why the iPhone has over 75% of users in recent surveys saying that they're "very satisfied" with the product.

I know personally, every time I use the iPhone, I get a still get a thrill out of the experience.  And I've had one since it first launched June 29, 2007. 

My satisfaction is so darn high with the iPhone, I feel an urge to buy another one every time I pass an Apple store.  (Don't worry, I won't...good self-control...barely).

And here's a hint to the panel.  I almost never use the iPhone as a phone, since I carry around a Blackberry Pearl for that mundane task (and for the business-scale email).

I love the iPhone for it's full-blown internet access, even though it's on the relatively slow AT&T Edge network.

And others agree, as this piece from Appleinsider illustrates today:

"Google on Wednesday said it has seen 50 times more search requests coming from Apple iPhones than any other mobile handset -- a revelation so astonishing that the company originally suspected it had made an error culling its own data..."

Should other companies follow in Apple's footsteps by making web access commonplace on their mobile handsets, Gundotra believes the number of mobile searches could outpace fixed internet search "within the next several years."

I know anecdotally there have been many times when I've had the choice between walking up to a PC in the house or office and my iPhone to look up something, I just use the iPhone.

But here's the line from the article on the mobile panel, commenting on current cell phones, that had me rolling in the aisles:

" Panelists cautiously agreed that the current user experience — at least compared to the iPhone — is not very good."

You think?

Note to self:  Buy more Apple...with a dash more Google.

Comments

[Alex Tolley]

I have only recently bought an iPhone, but I agree it is a radically different tool. The mapping with current location via cell towers is very useful and search, although slow, is just what I need when mobile. I've said it before, but these are the functions that Kindle should be focused on, not just reading books. Itt is quite clear that even with the size of the iPhone screen, it would be way better with a screen about as large as a ppb book, and when we get flexible OLED screens, then as large as A4 or better.

A device that allows mapping and navigation, search and good quality reading of documents is when these devices will need to go. The phone, with attendant texting, will just be a minor part of the mix.

[Crawford]

I'll second, third and fourth that. I'm a Touch user by choice, since I was locked into a family phone plan that I didn't want to break. But I use it extensively as a pocket computer/browser. And now with the January upgrade pack, it's even more delightful an experience. Enjoy!

[Crawford]

Oh, and Alex, you might be interested to experience the iPhone or Touch accessing documents via Google Docs on the Pink Cloud. It's a lovely thing. And it works.