NEW DELHI: Apple revolutionized the mobile landscape in 2007 with the launch of the original iPhone. However, a former Apple executive who was part of the team that worked on the first iPhone has apologized to users over the device.
Bob Borchers, the former director of product marketing at Apple, said the first iPhone was only an "okay" phone, rather than the game-changing product it has been called. At the ongoing Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, he said that the Apple team had its priority wrong and focused on user interface instead of technologies.
Borchers said, "What was interesting at Apple is that technology took a back seat to user interface. If you look at the iPhone as a technological element, everything had been done before; it was about bringing all that together into an experience that was compelling and then communicating it as an experience not as a technology."
He explained that instead of making a touchscreen phone or the best-ever iPod, Apple should have focused upon the 'internet-in-your-pocket' factor. He stated, "There were three value propositions in order of importance: a revolutionary phone, the best iPod ever and the internet in your pocket, but in fact it should have been the reverse. Having the internet in your pocket was the most important."
The original iPhone did not work on 3G networks, and could only access data via 2G and Wi-Fi; on the other hand, rival mobile phones at the time already had 3G access on-the-go.
Borchers credited faster internet access and app ecosystem for the smartphone revolution. He said, "It was a great iPod, but it was the connection to the internet and the app community that made the difference."
However, he acknowledged that the emphasis on user experience, rather than tech jargon, is among the key reasons behind the success of the iPhone line.
Bob Borchers, the former director of product marketing at Apple, said the first iPhone was only an "okay" phone, rather than the game-changing product it has been called. At the ongoing Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, he said that the Apple team had its priority wrong and focused on user interface instead of technologies.
Borchers said, "What was interesting at Apple is that technology took a back seat to user interface. If you look at the iPhone as a technological element, everything had been done before; it was about bringing all that together into an experience that was compelling and then communicating it as an experience not as a technology."
He explained that instead of making a touchscreen phone or the best-ever iPod, Apple should have focused upon the 'internet-in-your-pocket' factor. He stated, "There were three value propositions in order of importance: a revolutionary phone, the best iPod ever and the internet in your pocket, but in fact it should have been the reverse. Having the internet in your pocket was the most important."
The original iPhone did not work on 3G networks, and could only access data via 2G and Wi-Fi; on the other hand, rival mobile phones at the time already had 3G access on-the-go.
Borchers credited faster internet access and app ecosystem for the smartphone revolution. He said, "It was a great iPod, but it was the connection to the internet and the app community that made the difference."
However, he acknowledged that the emphasis on user experience, rather than tech jargon, is among the key reasons behind the success of the iPhone line.
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