A colleague of mine over at PocketPCThoughs.com has freaked out about Microsoft’s recent announcement stating that it may create iPhone applications in the future. Wooh; the Windows Mobile is in Danger. Wooh, my turf is in danger. Wooh Wooh!
Unless Darius Rey, I do think that Windows Mobile and the iPhone devices can and will coexist - after all, Windows and Mac OS have coexistied peacefully for some time. The reason (or rather, the reasons) for this is(are) simple:
The platforms target different audiences
Darius probably never really used an iPhone. Trust me, I did(and I own an iPod touch) - and I can tell you that a stylus interface is SUPERIOR to a finger-based system whenever small controls come to play. Excel sheets. Word-by-word editing. Transport Tycoon(yes - there is a port): these apps are impossible to do pointfully on a device without a stylus.
The iPhone is a very mediacentric device. It is not a workhorse…
Apple
Being completely honest: I do not feel that the folks at Apple’s have the potential to be market leaders. As bold as it may sound, but their revenue model and company culture is based upon NOT being the market leader. OK; they lead the MP3 player market to some extent - but in the end, their products are way to expensive to really hit the masses.
Also, Apple is one company. Windows Mobile is endorsed by hundreds. There is superiority in numbers…
I personally predict that Microsoft will make some money selling iPhone apps - and that the two platforms will coexist peacefully. I know, that doesn’t sound dramatic(and doesnt make good headlines) - but it’s what I think that we’ll see!
