Evidence of absence is not absence of evidence. Despite Apple’s non-attendance at last week’s Mobile World Congress, the event made clear that the introduction of the iPhone has had a wide-ranging effect on the industry. There’s no way that I’d say that the iPhone “dominated MWC09“, but the difference this year is that there seem to be some considered responses. Thinking 5 years from now, will Apple be considered a company that kick-started a new wave of smartphones and user experience, but ultimately got left behind?
What a difference a year makes. Last year the big news was the Sony Xperia X1, which has been a damp squib. But this year, there were four big types of announcements in my opinion, all of which will impact on Apple in 2009:
- Symbian
- Featuregasm
- Touchscreens
- App Stores
1) Symbian
For operating systems, it really was all about Symbian last week. It seemed that an increased number of companies were showcasing devices, including a slew of superb looking Nokia phones (Want. N97. Now). The commitment that companies are showing to this OS confirmed to me that this is the dominant smartphone platform, with additional innovations such as Nokia integrating presence into the Address Book using Skype. Right now, it’s the most fully-featured mobile environment. Speaking of features…
2) Featuregasm
5MP camera? So 2008. Several 8MP cameraphones were announced, as was the stunning-looking 12MP SonyEricsson Idou. Not to mention the 720p-recording Omnia HD. Even a phone with a built-in projector. Without running through all the new kit, the hardware baseline has shifted up once again.
3) Touchscreens
There were plenty of new touchscreen devices and new touchscreen user interfaces demonstrated, from the likes of HTC, Acer, Nokia, and Palm. As I’ve said before, 2009 is the year of touch.
4) App Stores
And to the big one. Nokia announced the Ovi Store, which has several significant additions compared to Apple’s App Store. Recommendations and location awareness are very interesting. But far more important for me are the fact that:
- the store will encompass “…games, music, videos, podcasts, themes, wallpapers and ringtones”. It’s the App Store + iTunes + more.
- it’s not just for future devices, nor just S60. Existing phones, including Series 40, are included. That is millions of existing Nokia owners.
Even though concept does not equal execution, the world’s biggest mobile manufacturer has just dropped a bomb. Tzer2 has written a great article on this at All About Symbian, going into detail on why this was the biggest announcement of MWC09. We’ll have to wait until May to see how the Ovi Store works in practice.
Microsoft also announced SkyMarket, its store for Windows Mobile 6.5 devices only, which seems quite operator-friendly. A transparent policy for accepting apps is to be applauded.
The rest
– Palm Pre
The demos looked great. Seems like a real contender, but more details are needed. The one thing for sure is that they get it.
– Windows Mobile 6.5
The one thing for sure is that they don’t get it. Engadget has rightly nailed its shortcomings, plus it’s not even due to ship until the end of the year. Too little too late? Oh and a honeycomb grid menu? WTF?
– Android
Didn’t see much happening apart from news of the HTC Magic on Vodafone and Huawei’s device. But the OS is gaining both mindshare, and traction with developers, and more devices are coming in 2009.
MWC09. The last show where Microsoft have any kind of relevancy. Next year will be nothing but SF [Symbian Foundation] and Android.
I largely agree, with the probable inclusion of Palm. And without being there, I’m sure there will a small announcement somewhere that I missed that will also have a big impact.
The new smartphone context
So in the coming year, more manufacturers will be selling more Symbian devices. Android and Palm will beging to make an impact. That means more smartphones with eye-catching, usable interfaces.
These will be based on an ever-increasing hardware baseline. As Tzer2 pointed out on AAS:
The Omnia HD’s main feature is its ability to shoot high definition video.
The iPhone can’t even shoot video.
Although Apple can include a video camera in software, will such a hardware gulf begin to show?
Furthermore, touchscreens are going to be everywhere, and app stores will show that the capabilities of other smartphones can be expanded by the user.
One advantage Apple has is the singularity of its mobile operating system – they don’t have to produce countless operator-specific customisations, which may or may get rolled out the customer. Everyone who has an iPhone has the same software. You know what you’re getting.
But even so, the recent developments at MWC09 mean Apple will have to come up with something new to wow us with. We don’t know what they’re working on for June, but I hope it isn’t just another incremental upgrade. Will Apple just compete in the hardware stakes, or will we see something unexpected that will once again take the mobile industry in a new direction?