Arrival of the iPhone

Steve Jobs has finally announced the arrival of the long awaited iPhone, the world's worst kept secret. Will it transform the mobile phone market in the same way that the iPod transformed the music industry? I'm sure its going to be the hottest topic of discussion at my workshops and classes over the next few months.

Initial reactions have been very positive. It certainly looks fantastic with a really cool touch screen interface and great features. Apple lovers are overjoyed, the share price has surged and Jobs claims that it is 5 years ahead of the industry.

However I think it will tough for it to make a huge impact - at least in the short term. It will retail at $499 - not cheap, particularly for the hyper price sensitive US market. The global mobile phone market is massive. The 10 million sales target will be a drop in the ocean. It won't be available outside of the USA until the end of 2007 and I'm sure that in the meantime the other mobile manufacturers will have got their act together with their own innovations.

Most importantly, no-one's had a chance to play with it yet. Will the early adopter techno-geeks give it the thumbs up? If they do, then it will be the top of everyone's Christmas 2007 list.