The Untold Story: How the iPhone Blew Up the Wireless Industry | Hacker News Reader

The Untold Story: How the iPhone Blew Up the Wireless Industry

wired.com

46 pointsdcurtis22 comments

Lots of work is done behind the scenes at Apple/Wired to make articles like this happen. I read recently an article in Wired about MS's Channel 9, where the reporter found out that MS had been researching and courting him and Wired for a long time to assure the article was written and published. They had pages of notes and documents relating to the reporter and has staffed peopled to assure everything went smoothly.

/Pay no attention to the PR people behind the curtain

The wireless industry doesn't look very blown up to me; in fact, the iPhone appears to be a step back since it is only available on one carrier, while most other phones are non-exclusive.

it's only on one carrier now, because this is apple's first foray into the wireless world. but the repercussions are already being felt. after its initial success in the u.s., all the carriers in europe fell all over themselves trying to get the iphone. when at&t's exclusive deal is up in five years, it will be a very different ballgame.

Yes: as consumers, we're still captive to the wireless carriers. The difference is that now we're captive to the wireless carriers on Apple's terms. That change might seem insignificant for consumers. ("Le Roi est mort. Vive le Roi!")

But the article isn't (directly) about consumers; it's about the power relationship between wireless carriers and device manufacturers. The wireless industry is "blown up" in the sense that it lost a power struggle with the manufacturers.

Remember: five years of exclusivity is virtually the only thing Apple had to offer Cingular. (Plus a tiny slice of phone and music sales, but that's not huge.) Contrary to the old system, Apple retained full control over the development and marketing of the iPhone.

Interesting story, but it also reads as a 4 pages long advertisement. I wonder if that's because Apple paid them, or if they are simply affected by the Apple hype in the US.

I imagine there has been some amazing work put in behind the scenes here and to keep it as secret as they did is fantastic. Whilst I don't always agree with Apple policies what they have created here is a dramatic leap that will hopefully get the rest of this industry to start being future-thinking and creative.

I'd like to hear if Verizon or other carriers regret their inability to get the iPhone. It's still only the 4th best selling phone in the U.S., and seems to be fairing even worse in the rest of the world. The only thing game changing about it so far has been the hype.

"only the 4th best selling phone in the U.S."....

Because going from zero to #4 in an industry where there are literally thousands of options and most of them are free isn't impressive? I'd like to know what you think is...

The iPhone has already over-taken all of Windows Mobile in the U.S. How much better do you want this thing to do?

Not to mention the fact that the profit Apple is making on these devices almost certainly exceeds that of any other phone...

It's not unimpressive that it jumped to #4, but it's certainly not a sea change either. Not enough that I, were I a carrier, would be jumping through hoops to get it. The deal Apple made with Cingular seems to be far too advantageous for Apple.

4th is impressive considering how expensive the iPhone is. It would be even more popular if it were cheaper. And since Apple will probably push down the price, a great deal more market share is theirs for the taking when they choose to.

Maybe. I'm unconvinced they can do so well while tethered to one carrier. The number one selling phone (RAZR V3) has sold over 50 million units. AT&T has 63 million total subscribers.

I hate wireless carriers. Their worst nightmare is likable phones??? They can go to hell.

Is there a way to get PR articles out of hacker news? And how did this get 25 upvotes?

It cracks me up how Newsy readers keep trying to "keep x story out of hacker news". The whole point is that PEOPLE VOTE ON THE STORIES! If a story is at the top of the pile then enough people care about it to put it there. Stop whining and just skip the stories you don't like.

Not that I think this isn't a story that belongs here, but I really can't blame people for trying to keep certain stories out of Hacker News. Reddit and Digg both are communities with voting stories to the top, and I think most of the people here agree we don't need another Reddit or Digg. Popularity doesn't necessarily equate to being applicable.

Everyone wants to be an editor.

It actually has some interesting new information about the development of the iphone that hasn't been discussed elsewhere.

The iPhone has 5 percent more functionality than an old rotary phone.

Rotary phone, haha! Actually a neat idea for an iPhone application.

I thought it would be cute if the iPod's funny dial thing could mimic a rotor.

citation needed

... in the US.

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