After several years as a loyal Blackberry user, I finally made the switch to iPhone this past weekend. Although I swore I wouldn’t make the switch (primarily because of the keyboard), every weekend I found myself swiping my wife’s iPhone. I finally gave it a shot when my ‘berry died. I am totally blown away by the iPhone, and I believe it is just about the greatest gadget ever invented. And no, I do not work for Apple.
Apple continues do to something better than anyone: they OWN the consumer experience. iPhone does what you need it to do, but it is a joy to use. I can’t put it down! I admit I’m spending a bit of time on fun stuff such as Tap Tap and Topple. But more than that, there are genuine tools that help me get things done better than the Berry did.
I say all of this because although I would never bet against Google (they too get the importance of customer experience), I do not believe they are taking the right path by knocking iPhone. People have tried this before and failed. Apple users are extremely loyal and passionate-they’re “raving fans”. Google won’t convert iPhone users.
They may however convert current Blackberry customers thinking about switching to iPhone. My biggest reservation was not the keyboard, it was AT&T. So far so good, but I was nervous about that switch. I have friends in the telecom business who feel the Android will eventually outsell the iPhone. Perhaps they are right. I do believe Android will be a huge hit. But from marketing terms, taking direct aim at a single competitor kind of corners you into being compared to that brand. I think Android would be better served establishing itself as a stand alone superstar, not as an alternate to the iPhone. iPhone has an amazing head start, loyal fans and thousands of aps. Why compare yourself to iPhone? There’s plenty of room at the table for Android to succeed on its own.