The iPhone Is Breakthrough Handheld Computer
One of the most important trends in personal technology over the past few years has been the evolution of the humble cellphone into a true handheld computer, a device able to replicate many of the key functions of a laptop.
Context & Ripple Effects
The Wall Street Journal's verdict lands four days before the June 29, 2007 launch, at the peak of a coordinated first-look wave: the New York Times says the phone matches most of its hype, USA Today calls it worthy if imperfect, and Newsweek publishes a test-drive — unusual saturation for any single device.
Apple and AT&T have spent the week clearing the practical hurdles the reviews probe: service plans priced through AT&T, iTunes-based activation and sync replacing in-store provisioning, and — per Microsoft-watch coverage — Exchange compatibility answering the biggest enterprise objection. The question the WSJ answers is whether the hype survives contact.
First-order effects
- AT&T locks in an exclusive launch window with iTunes-handled activation, cutting store staffing costs while pushing every buyer onto a two-year contract — Consumerist is already circulating guides on how to cancel rival phones to switch.
- Exchange support, confirmed rather than rumored ahead of launch, removes the stated reason corporate IT would bar the device, widening the buyer pool beyond consumers.
Second-order effects
- Rivals shipping keyboard-and-stylus smartphones — Palm, BlackBerry makers, Windows Mobile licensees — now face comparison against a full-screen device whose review consensus treats laptop-style functions as table stakes, pressuring their next product cycles.
- Apple's iTunes sync model sidelines the carrier's walled-garden content storefronts; AT&T accepted the trade-off for exclusivity, setting a precedent other carriers will be pressed to match or resist.
Third-order effects
- If the handset-as-computer framing holds, industry value migrates from voice minutes to data plans and device software, weakening carrier control over what runs on the phone and forcing a renegotiation of who owns the mobile customer relationship.
The trend: The cellphone is completing its evolution into a general-purpose handheld computer, with Apple using carrier exclusivity plus PC-side software to shift power from network operators to device makers.