Editorial Articles

The rise and rise of Apple's iPhone is often proclaimed as a prime example of a real 'game-changing' technology. But the game that's really changed is the consumer's relationship with what used to be called the 'telephone'

I've got one. And everyone in my studio has one. And my wife's got one. And my teenagers are clamouring for one each. The high street seems to have run out of them. What am I talking about? The iPhone.

It's been three years since the launch of Apple's ubiquitous device in the UK. It was clear from the outset that this was no ordinary phone, and, although I regard iPhone 4's reception issues as a storm in a teacup, the very fact that the story became a global media sensation demonstrated the peerless esteem in which the iPhone had previously been held.

To date, around 3 million iPhones have been sold in Britain - a phenomenal figure for a single device. Today iPhone accounts for around 40 per cent of Apple's total revenue. Why? It's clearly fun, extremely cleverly integrated and user-friendly. Then there's the Apple 'halo effect' that's been building with every successive iPod generation. A halo effect occurs when success in one product line builds the entire brand, rubbing-off beneficially on other, sometimes unrelated, products.

But there's something else, which has little to do with the product itself – and that's what might loosely be called 'content support'. Think of the booming market for apps (200,000 and counting) as the equivalent of VHS videos back in the 1980s. It was the significantly greater availability of movie titles on VHS that helped it see off the challenge of Betamax.

Finally there's 'convergence' and its impact on us consumers and how we behave. Suddenly, the phone is no longer a phone. Digital savants have been waiting for this for years. Why carry a diary and a camera and a games console when you can carry an all-in-one device? Apple's is one such device that just happens to have a phone in it.

Of course, there are worthy competitors. If you'd like to ski off-piste (and perhaps more cheaply) then take a look at what HTC and Samsung have to offer. For years, the rest lagged behind. But now, there's a palpable sense of catch-up in the industry, particularly when it comes to the real driver - the touch screen.

In Dubai, the location of our Middle East studio, it seems you can't get an iPhone for love nor money which is saying something in a place where money can buy you pretty much anything. There were tales of a thriving black market in imported iPhone 4s before the official launch in September. Of course, Blackberry's recent loss has been the iPhone's gain, even though the legendary Blackberry 'ban' was no such thing. However it didn't stop savvy telecoms brands targeting Dubai's army of Blackberry users with cheap deals to switch allegiance.

But, in truth, the devices have clearly different audiences, as they both do very different things in very different ways. Want an app-rich, lifestyle device that even your mum could use? Then choose the iPhone. Need a more serious business tool that makes mobile email a reality and really scores when it comes to Messenger? Then go for a Blackberry. Want the best of both? Ah. That'll take a little while, and, like me, you might just need to own both, for now at least.

But hang on, isn't the whole point of convergence that we'll need fewer devices, not more? Answers - on a postcard - please.

Neil Svensen, CEO, Rufus Leonard