iPhone OS Displaces Windows Mobile Ranking But...

First, let me say I love my first gen iPhone.  Second, I am trying to like my G1 but in my previous posts, I think Google and T-Mobile suckered us into their beta program.  Third, more than anything, I'm a big mobile fan.

So, it's great to see that iPhone has indeed gain a lot of traction among mobile warriors.  Ten to twelve million (depending on how you figure - actual activations, users, or simply pushed into stores).  Very impressive no matter how you want to account for the number.

Still, I want to mention a couple of things before a long-term victory is declared by the Apple camp.  The mobile market is very fluid.  It doesn't change from day to day but quarter to quarter.  The iPhone 3G came at a time when there was not a lot of new competitors on the market.  A lot of the products from RIM, Nokia, or Microsoft were already a bit dated.  And for a time, there was no competition to speak of if you want to talk about touch-screen devices.  And to dte, there is no multi-touch devices like the iPhone out there.

Also, Windows Mobile 7 is still MIA.  I would love to see the iPhone go toe-to-toe with WM7, Storm, and Nokia's N97.  Perhaps we may still.  N97 will be out likely in June of 2009.  There could be a new iPhone by then as well.  Perhaps even Storm 2.  And WM7 should be just around the corner.

Then we'll truly see a slug-fest.  Just the same, the iPhone, as a new comer, is kicking a lot of sand in the eyes of the old guards, changing rules of the game, and really running ahead of competing products on the market.

Nokia still rank first 42.4% of the smartphone market.  Coming in next is RIM with almost 16%.  Apple is third with about 13%.  Only Nokia suffered a bit of a drop from 49% a year ago.

So, new innovative product.  Timing.  And missteps by competitors.  All helped to make the iPhone 3G a success.  What do you think?  How will the game be played out?

Source:  Cult of Mac, MacDailyNews

Impact:  Well, Apple's success in the mobile market has caught people by surprise.  Even more, the extent of Cupertino's reach is all the more daunting.  We'll see smaller launch windows between product refreshes, increase research and development for those who can afford it (Palm and Motorola doesn't seem capable of that now), and lower pricing.  Great for all mobile users.  My only fear is that we may also get a lot of crap as a result.