Potential Apple Mobile Device Not To Be Designed For Professional Use

February 13, 2006

Do I believe that Apple is working on and will release a cell phone within the next 12 months? Yes. Will I hold off and purchase that phone (and whatever service will be required to make it fully functional)? No. Read on to hear why.

I think that Apple is surely up to something in the mobile arena. With all of the varying reports of iPhones, tablets, wireless iPods, etc... there is no reason to think they are not planning their moves in order to cash in on this billion dollar industry. I do not, however, think that the first phone (or wireless device) that they release will be aimed at the professional or even prosumer. I believe that the first device will feature an iPod like interface and Bluetooth. I think that this first foray into the mobile world will be a glorified iPod, potentially with GSM phone capabilities (in order to piggyback onto Cingular or TMobile networks) but also require a new style plan (most likely offered straight from Apple) in order to access the ITMS. I also believe that the phone itself will be tightly integrated with .Mac and it's accompyning services (mail, groups, iDisk, etc...).

I will not purchase this device though. The lack of a QWERTY keyboard, Airport Extreme (802.11g), various peripheral ports (USB, FW, etc...) and even a slick version of OS X scaled down to fit the processor and screen will leave a lackluster device for the business professional. Do I blame Apple for this approach? No. They are slowly gaining ground in the business sector I'm sure, but this is not their target market. For Apple to release a device aimed at the business professional glorifying it's "connectivity" through marketing, they risk alienating their bread and butter market, the iPod generation. Has your younger sibling ever complained about the lack of WiFi on the Treo 650? Exactly.

So in conclusion, I will not hold out for an Apple mobile device as there is no sign of one coming over the next few months and even if it does, I don't believe it will be aimed at professionals.