iPhone 5 – LIfe before the iPhone

By Jim Lundy

The iPhone 5 will be announced this week in San Francisco. The flurry of activity leading up to it is palpable and  many Apple competitors have been trying (and failing) to steal the limelight from the next generation iPhone.

Over the weekend, while I read about Nokia’s new Lumina, and Samsung and Microsoft trying to grab some headlines, I was also surprised to watch a few movies that were made before the iPhone shipped. Those movies, as recent as 2006 and 2007, now look dated, partially because the focus of a few of the movie scenes was on the phone, not the story. It made me think about what life was like before the iPhone.

Just five short years ago, Nokia and RIM ruled the mobile device world. Tablets, except for a few Windows devices, were non-existent. Tablets were not recognized as a category. Now, when I see someone with a Blackberry case tethered to their belt or purse, I often ask them if they also have an iPhone or Android. Many say they do. How the world has changed over the last five years. Expect it to change more on Wednesday as more users will flock to get their own iPhone 5.

One thing is very clear. People depend on their mobile devices like never before. and today they are using them more as computers and less as phones.  As Mobile Operating Systems continue to evolve, expect the human dependence on computers to increase. The era of the computer interacting with you the way that Tony Stark’s computer Jarvis does in the Movie Iron Man is not that far off.

In the meantime, we will continue to discuss the factors that make devices like the iPhone successful. Ecosystems rule and right now Apple is the reigning champ, with Google  having done a lot recently to up its game (see related First Cut: Google Fortifies its Ecosystem, Prepares for Tablet Wars)

The buzz this week will be on the iPhone 5. It is a major event, mainly because so many existing iPhone users are ready to upgrade. Apple has tied its announcements to its almost immediate product availability and they have turned this into a weapon that so far no competitor has matched. Even shipping companies like FedEx are ready for the shipping surge that will be caused by the  iPhone 5.

Later this week, we will have analysis on iOS 6 and some of the subtleties that will help enterprises, particularly with regard to electronic content (see our First Cut from June: iOS 6: Siri’s Voice Gets Louder).

Speaking of Siri, we expect that Apple will have more to say about Siri at their announcement on Wednesday. For example, one little detail that many users have just discovered, is that Siri can tell if your iPhone is tethered via Bluetooth, such as when you are in your car. They have configured Siri so that it actually reads texts to you instead of just displaying them. That will certainly help people that want to multi-task when driving, but it also points out the incredible attention to detail that Apple invests in all of its applications. This sets a high bar for others to match.

The great news for enterprises today is that competition helps to drive innovation and with it choices in selection of products and services. In Workplace computing, we are now clearly in the Tablet Era and one in which computers will start to talk and interact with people more. Before 2007, no one would have imagined this was possible. With the iPhone 5 and iOS 6, talking to your Smartphone is an experience that even a 5 year old can master.