iPhone and iPod success genes

iPhone – Apple’s newest flagship product is set to debut soon. After the phenomenal success with iPod, Apple is prepared to venture into the mobile space.

The iPod and iPhone share not only similar features but ‘genes’ as well. They were designed by people who truly understand consumer needs and placed emphasis on design rather than just technology.

This ‘thinking’ and approach is probably the main factors that fuelled iPod to such greatness and why competition lagged behind. Many others simply went out bought high capacity hard drives or Flash memory, engaged a low cost design firm in China and produced MP3 players. However, though many of these MP3 players had more sophisticated features, it failed to compete with iPod.

iPod succeeded because it provided more than just a player. It integrated hardware, software and content. It essentially had its own eco-system.

The iPhone is likely to embark on a journey. Apple is building strong connections with network operators to build a sustainable ecosystem. However, operators and content providers are independent and thus Apple will not have full control. This is one of the reasons why Apple took such long time before entering the mobile phone market. They needed to ensure that all parties in the eco-system could provide the require backbone to support its phone features.

The iPod story is a key lesson for all current and aspiring Apple competitors. Do not simple launch a fully featured or touch screen phone, it will not be able to compete with iPhone.

The iPod and iPhone are like myths and it will go down in history for good reasons.