iPhone 2 - Apple's entry into the console market

Well, maybe not so much the console market as the console business model.

The $200 price tag has been thrown around a lot.

Can the device be this cheap to make? Maybe, but I doubt it matters.

It seems Apple is going for the two-headed revenue model of Xbox.

1) Get a slice off the service. Assuming the existing deal sticks around with AT&T and is copied in other countries, Apple gets a cut of the monthly phone service plan. ($18/month currently.) This is an even better deal for Apple than Xbox Live is for Microsoft. MS has to deal with the infrastructure and up time for their for-profit service. Apple leaves all of that grunt work to the carriers and still walks away with a fat check every month.

2) Charge app authors. There will be a flood of apps for iPhone 2. Apple gets 30% of the sale of all applications--similar to fees changes for XBox and PS. If initial excitement around iPhone apps holds up--even if it's just for games--Apple stands to make a lot of money.

Apples doesn't even have to break even on the hardware to come out ahead. That puts Steve Jobs in an amazing advantage over Blackberry and others who have to make their hardware generate profit from sales alone.

Brilliant.

In the end, I don't care. I'm happy with the money I've thrown down so far.

One request: add over-the-air calendar/contacts sync with Google.

I'll be the happiest man alive.

iPhone makes me a better person

...or at least it makes me feel that way.

Let's rewind.

When I moved to Seattle in 2002, I had a simple, "candy bar" Nokia phone. I could barely text message with it, but it worked.

My first Windows Mobile phone was the Audiovox SMT5600--a fancy name for the HTC Typhoon. I could sync calendar and contacts over the air with Exchange. I could T9 through my address book.

I felt like I jumped 18 months into the future. I got the upgraded version of the Typhoon (with the weird bump on the top). It ran a newer version of Windows Mobile. It had a prettier screen. Let's say I jumped forward another 6 months.

Then I went BlackJack. Bigger screen. Keyboard. A reasonable browsing experience, at least for GMail. Maybe a jump of a year into the future.

After a brief stint, I managed to loose my BlackJack, and went to BlackJack 2. Slicker look. Newer version of Windows Mobile. Maybe a 6 month jump.

Fast-forward to Sunday. I was snowboarding with some friends. My phone was in my pocket. My pocket was open. I was in the terrain park. I lot my phone.

Damn.

So I go back to the AT&T store. And the iPhone stand starts calling to me.

I have many friends with iPhone.

Both of my brothers have one.

I get one.

It's been less than a week.

Easily a 5 year jump. I feel like I'm living in the future. The thing freakin' rocks. It makes the BlackJack2 look like a joke.

Not only have I ditched Windows Mobile, I've ditched Zune. I've gone to buying MP3s from Amazon's store. Instant gratification. No expiration. No DRM.

This is the future.

It flawlessly syncs with Outlook on my desktop. (I have a friend who's been trying to get it to work with her BlackJack for months.) The experience with iTunes is great. Maps, Email, SMS, all clean and beautiful.

With the announcement of the SDK and Enterprise support (over-the air sync with Exchange, etc) I can't imagine a better setup for a phone.

I'm sure Google will have a cool offer with Android. I'm sure MS is sweating bullets and cranking on some interesting stuff. At least I hope so.

In the end, the bar has been raised--by a lot. All mobile users will benefit in the long-run by the existence of iPhone.

Especially those that have one.

I couldn't imagine going back.

Let me say it again: wow.