iPhone, Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
They said, the iPhone would change the mobile game and raise the bar for rest of the industry. I completely agree with that assessment and have commented on it myself. I was expecting the rest of the mobile manufacturers would get down in the trenches and start putting out devices, which could trump the iPhone. I mean, some of these guys have been in the Phone business for more than a decade. They surely know some things better than Apple. Sure they haven’t released anything that exciting in the past due to cost reasons or whatever. However the gates are widen open now and the market is very receptive.
Having said that, I never quite imagined that everyone else would blatantly start copying Apple and start offering almost similar designs to its consumers. No, I am not talking about fake iPhones, which are rampant on the streets of China. I am talking about other prominent players in the mobile industry. Let’s look at some of them who have completely surrendered and following Apple blatantly.
Nokia
Yes I was amazed too. Given all their N series, one would be surprised to see them copy Apple. Seriously I dont know how those PHDs up in Helsinki let this happen. Here is their latest device. Aside from the logo one cannot differentiate this from the iPhone. Image courtesy Engadget, read the whole story there.
LG
These guys were the first ones to jump into the game. They launched their PRADA (warning: Browser resizing code at work) even before iPhone hit the market. Even though the form factor looks nice, they didn’t really do a great job with the details. Read the entire review.
HTC
I like these guys and have owned their devices in the past. They have launched good phones in the past, but have really been followers than leaders. Continuing the trend they launched the HTC Touch. Check out the product specs here. Check out the comparison here.
Meizu
Yeah they aren’t that well known around here. However I felt like including them in this list as they were one of the firsts and the most blatant (after Nokia) rip-off of the iPhone. They launched the M8 early this year. Take a look at Gizmodo’s analysis (image courtesy Gizmodo).
Samsung
Yeah them too. They also launched their iPhone Killer F700, which again looks very similar. I must say that these guys have the most difference compared to all of the above, like sliding keyboard and 5 Megapixel camera. Checkout the review (image courtesy TechEBlog).
All I can say, I am somewhat disappointed. When iPhone raised the bar, I was hoping people would go above and beyond that. However these are guys are content with having a comparable product (that too somewhat). I dont think any one of them even comes close to the iPhone feature-set.
I am sure Mr. Jobs is loving this and I am sure the lawyers at Apple are also drooling about this. I guess, imitation is the best form of flattery.
Let me know what do you all think.
[…] say imitation if the highest form of flattery and Abishek presents a couple of manufacturers who revealed iPhone imitators. It will definitely be interesting to see what comes out in 2008 and […]
“I dont think any one of them even comes close to the iPhone feature-set.”
Most of those phones discussed above blow the iphone feature set to smitthereens. Iphone, in the smartphone market, is about the dumbest smartphone around when it comes to “what can it actually do after you get past the glitzy interface”. Apple fans who pretend that there is no other world out there besides Apple really need to take their heads out of the sand (not saying you, just fans in general).
The feature set of the iphone were all available in phones 2 years ago. Nothing new and all pretty old. It’s newest tech is the touchscreen which again has been around for hald a decade already in mobile devices from phones to PDAs. Apple just made a multi-touch version, of which, beyond the flashy interface, doesn’t really do much of anything.
For apple to catch up to LG or Nokia or SE in terms of what it’s phone can actually do will take another 2 years unless they really partner up with somebody big & influential. Apple are not known for their hardware. They are known for their great software. Unfortunately in the mobile world, great software won’t matter much without great hardware.
For instance, I have a SE p1i and a Nokia E90. Both of which blows the iphone out of the water for sheer amount of features and ability-to-do.
IPhone’s saving grace is it’s user interface and nothing else. Even saying that, it’s interface necessarily requires you to use 2hands effectively. While 1hand operation can be done, it’s neither efficient, fast or efficient. This point is especially important and belies the inexperience of the USA market and Applesown inexperience with mobile technology and usage. I won’t go into this as just this one point will take up a whole essay.
As for copying, I think you’re looking at it from too much of an apple fan’s approach. Iphone is a direct copy of the LG Prada and not the other way around. LG Prada won a design award 6 months before iphone was even announced. That basic rectangle is exactly that, the best shape to fit a touchscreen. Look at all the previous touchscreen PDA’s. All roughly a rectangle with rounded edges, in a variety of colors/cladding. Iphone is not new to this concept. Just because some people not in the know suddenly see the iphone doesn’t mean it wasn’t done before and faded to obscurity. In fact my Clie looked similar to the iphone with a full touchscreen and phone module. Nothing new.
So it’s best to be a little careful when bringing up the he/she/they copied apple thing.
What Nokia is going to copy is the fluidity of the iPhone UI, as we can see in the pic above (the major handselt manufacturers hardware is far superior to apples hardware). But even saying that, it will be marketed out to a very specific group of people and not as a general device. Believe it or not, touchscreens aren’t for everybody. It has it’s own drawbacks that have been well documented well before iphone used it. It’s also not suited well for a truly mobile device as it necessarily requires a person to be in a specific environment/situation before full use can be extracted from the device. What I call, stop & drop (anything you may be holding) before you can effectively use the device to full. Nokia will aim their device at the same market as Iphone; A youth driven, media and music specific audience. LG Prada is aimed very much at only high fashion-brand conscious individuals. Samsung is aimed squarely at business users and not the same market as iPhone.
The first thign we have to understand about the mobile world is that there is no single device that is applicable to everyone. This is somethign most iPhone enthusiasts don’t understand. We have moved away from convergence and segmented the market with specific devices aimed at solving specific requirements years ago and apple is only now getting into the convergence game. True convergence doesn’t work. Only a collection of feature sets that fullfill a certain market requirement.
Case in point being the Nokia E90. The most powerful mobile communicator on the face of the planet. It can do everything and do it quite well. When I say everything, I mean everything the iphone can do plus everything iphone cannot do (and that’s a lot of stuff). Yet it will only sell to the high end business market (CEO,VP, COO etc) and costs well above $1000. I bought mine @ $1600 incl tax. And it’s well known that Nokia actually loses money building these devices no matter how many they sell they are the most popular smartphones, outselling both PDA and smartphones combine since it’s inception). Concergence is a dead concept revived again to woo and wow the unkowing american audience. Just the sad truth there.
Ounkeo,
First of all thanks for taking the time to express your opinions in detail. At a high level I do agree with you about Apple needing to learn a lot about the mobile space from others. Also I do agree with the fact that it is not an all in one device. I myself have not bought it for various reasons.
However I must say that it is their ingenuity to deliver a mix of various elements is what makes them better. User interface is a large part of it. Frankly most of the devices out their suck at this and havent done a good job. Neither any device has done a decent job of integrating the phone and a music player. I still have to carry my iPod and my Blackberry when I travel.
I do agree that Apple has some ways to go. However I am happy about the fact that they have raised the bar significantly. Before iPhone most of the phone manufacturers werent even trying. MOTO had the RAZR, which was cool for 2 seconds. Either the form factor was good or the software was okay. No one delivered the right mix. Apple did that and everyone noticed.
Now everyone is scrambling. Everyone is trying to come up with the “iPhone Killer”. I just hope that they dont just try to reach the bar and instead they go above and beyond. It would certainly make me very happy to see someone deliver a better device which does things better.
Finally regarding your point around convergence. I understand the need for a business device versus an entertainment centric device. You can buy either one but not both. But, do realize that a person is all these at the same time. I do love my blackberry but really hope that it would carry my music, videos and my photos. I end up carrying multiple devices. What we need is something which delivers them togther and does it well. There have been way too many failures and I think Apple is trying to crack that nut. They are not there yet, but as we know Apple, they will get there soon.
PS — I am not so much of a Apple fanboy. I love their products but only the ones they end doing right. That is why I dont have the iPhone and Apple TV yet. I know I will buy them next year, by when they will be much more mature.
I have never owned an apple product and thats simply because i put features before style, the mainstream market rarely do this so apple are quids in.
Hi Abhishek,
I completely agree with you. If there’s one thing Apple has done it’s actually made the manufacturers sit up and take notice. I can’t say I’m completely happy with the current gen of interfaces. Previously when the feature set was much smaller,Nokia’s interface was the bomb! Simple, elegant, easy to use, straight to the point. As feature sets grew though, it just got so convoluted.
There is someone that hasn’t sat down on their laurels and that is Sony Ericsson. Highly innotive in the mobile phone market. It seems they actually dare to try new things. What we have for interface now for their newest handsets (UIQ3) is pretty good. It’s not there yet but in so many ways it is getting there where other manufacturers are just going the wrong direction or not going at all.
Also, personally, I’m a fan of convergence. Hence my purchase of the ridiculously priced Nokia E90. At $1600 inc tax, it’s no small joke, but has relieved me of my “extra gadgets” burden. But we convergence people are only a small bunch of people. Vast majority of the market has been shown to not favor convergence. They favor featuresets that fullfill their personal requirements/needs. I remember, when I was still working in the telco/internet industry, when convergence was the hot catch phrase. Everyone was trying to do it. Unfortunately the extra featuresets perceived to be of no use to people threw them off the purchase.
If we look at Sony Ericsson again, we can see that their newer handsets are truly converged devices. In fact, apart from the facia/design, their phones are essentially all the same. What really differentiates their phones from each other is really the software and featureset that the software allows to be used easily. Hence they can sell the same phones to completely different segments. The Walkman will have a stronger focus on access to the music functions as well as a more feature rich media software package, but still really have the overall same functionality if the user so chose to actually delve into it more. SE brings forward different sets of features from essentially the same hardware and featuresets to appeal to differring audiences and it seems to have worked extremely well for them.
My point is that converged devices really only appeal to people like us who bother or care about such things…which is why Nokia will sell their N90 and E90 to a smaller group of people while the rest of their 100 million handsets sold per year will be the midrange/lower range phones that fullfill very specific requirements.
Yeah its somewhat disappointing that converged devices haven’t garnered much success. Most of it has been with early adopters and power users like us.
However I do attribute it to lack of design and inefficient usability. Us power users do overlook those aspects as we are too familiar with devices. However the mainstream doesn’t have the same outlook.
I bet if Apple tried a converged device to attract business users, there will certainly be some noise and uptake.
dear Abhishek,
a bit late i stumbled on this post. Pls let me correct you when you claim that you are not an Apple fanboy (”PS — I am not so much of a Apple fanboy”) in one of your comments above. I think that you are one of many secret/subconcious admireres of Apple, after all, you “love their products”, but most tellingly, you “know” that you “will buy them next year”…
I am definitely NOT an Apple fanboy, I will not be seen dead with some thing that EVERYBODY thinks is “cool” (cos then it is not cool), but I have to admit that Apple has religious-like following even inside its competitors and it does look like Apple will become bogger than Microsoft (despite what Apple believers try to paint about MS (to justify their worship), MS is “soft” compared to the predatory animal that is Apple even if it (Apple) likes to present itself as an underdog.