Apple’s announcement of a series of iPhone products and
services attached to the launch of the device’s 2.0 update has seen a lot of
analysis in the past 24 hours. Most seem to agree that the latest iPhone
offerings are right on target.Apple has licensed the Active Sync Exchange protocol from
Microsoft which will bring the iPhone’s messaging capabilities in line with
Windows Mobile and Blackberry devices. It’s a big step toward removing barriers
to corporate adoption.
In addition to push email support Apple announced the
release of an iPhone SDK and outlined a distribution and monetization model for
third-party applications. The plan is for a 70 - 30% rev-share deal with
developers. Distribution is to be handled through iTunes giving Apple control
over the types of applications available.
If they aren’t already, advertisers and marketers should be
paying close attention to the iPhone developer community over the next few
months. The breadth and sophistication of third-party apps at launch will
likely foreshadow iPhone market share for Q2 and Q3, and potentially into next
year. Not only is there potential for development of branded applications, but
because Safari handles HTML so well, wider acceptance of the iPhone has the
potential to shape the direction of mobile web development well beyond
2008.
The device’s 2.0 firmware update is scheduled for release
this June. It will include the application loader software that is to provide
access to native application downloads. Mark your calendar.
Dan Neumann
Strategists & Planners