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New Phones Compete With Software, Not Hardware

Applications and entertainment options more important than iPhone's aesthetics

By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff

Posted Mar 31, 2008 4:07 PM CDT

(Newser) – The iPhone may have buzz, Wired writes, but the smartphone market is deviating from the model of Apple’s “Jesus phone,” particularly in the software area. Wary of Apple’s restrictive software development policies, Wired pegs the Nokia N95, with an open source application platform, as more influential in the development of future handsets. That’s not to say that the N95 doesn’t somewhat resemble the iPhone externally.

It has the requisite tall, rectangular screen and high-end camera, as do many touch-screen wannabes on display this week at the annual CTIA Wireless conference. But handset makers will primarily compete with a plethora of seamlessly integrated applications and entertainment offerings, an area where the iPhone, locked in the walled garden of the Apple experience, falls short.

OSCAR Voting on an iPhone is demonstrated in this undated file photo.
OSCAR Voting on an iPhone is demonstrated in this undated file photo.   (AP Photo)
A Nokia N95 multimedia phone is seen at the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in this Jan. 11, 2007 file photo.
A Nokia N95 multimedia phone is seen at the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in this Jan. 11, 2007 file photo.   (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, file)
Nokia%u2019s top-of-the-line N95, on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2007 in New York, costs $750, and packs a high-resolution camera, Wi-Fi antenna and a satellite GPS receiver.
Nokia%u2019s top-of-the-line N95, on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2007 in New York, costs $750, and packs a high-resolution camera, Wi-Fi antenna and a satellite GPS receiver.   (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
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