Comments on: iPhone couldn't be created just anywhere

CNET News.com's Charles Cooper rankled readers for suggesting that Silicon Valley is the only logical origin for the iPhone. The debate rages on.

[lixpaulian]

Of course

First of all, full disclosure: I'm an European. That being said, yes,
the iPhone could have been invented elsewhere. As the author
noted, Motorola was not able to pull it. People tend to forget
why Nokia reached over 35% of the cell phone market: because
back in the middle of the nineties the user interface of those
phones was absolutely awful (Motorola was a classic example of
bad UI). Enters Nokia with a very simple and logical UI, at a time
when nobody knew who Nokia is. Now the time has come for
Apple to usurp Nokia's place (they will, if Nokia does not react
properly).

I believe that most of the credit goes to Steve Jobs, not only
because he is a genius in realizing what the consumers want,
but also because he has a talent to get the right people around
him, able to translate his ideas in practice.

And "one more thing": the GSM standard was "invented" in
Europe.

[jasonmck]

Software development highly misunderstood - this article is right on

Fantastic article, and by the way, I am an immigrant to the US myself. I think the production and distribution of software and hardware is highly misunderstood relative to the production and distribution of non-technology goods. Everyone gets that Toyota "designs" cars in Japan but manufactures them in California for sale in the US. Everyone gets that clothes might get designed in Europe but produced somewhere in Asia for resale throughout the world. The basis of this article is not to suggest that we do not live in a global economy, but rather to suggest that even in the global economy, different geographies have developed competitive advantage relative to certain competencies.

For $50B so being outsourced to India and China, have we seen an actual innovation come out of either country? Have we seen two PhDs noodle on a problem of fundamental science or problem of human interface, crack the code on something that generates discontinuous improvement, and invents a whole new industry? No, and there are many factors that lead to this phenomenon that are cultural, economic, political, social, etc.

One needs to understand the difference between software analysis, design, development, and distribution. Analysis is having rich understanding of customer needs, Design is having rich understanding of unique solution methods, Development is implementation and architecture, and Distribution is sales and marketing. I'll agree wholeheartedly that India has create competitive advantage around software development, but I can't think of any place in the world, even within the United States, where technology analysis and design thrive as competencies, in a manner that is replicated, taught, acknowledged, valued, and funded like Silicon Valley. Try as the world may, and I mean this with respect to the Japans, Chinas, Indias, Finlands of the world, no other region can systematically and perpetually generate technology analysis and design like Silicon Valley.

[Len Bullard]

A Faster Horse

As commented elsewhere. Henry Ford said, "If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said, 'a faster horse'". It isn't enough to be customer-focused, or listening to the market. That is how you write last year's summer hit. You have to look at all of that and ask 'can I do that better?' and if the answer comes back 'build a faster horse' then the reality of learning to think outside the box comes directly home. It takes incredible amounts of initiative or dumb luck to go from a horse to an auto and it is seldom done in one motion. Henry Ford did not invent automobiles and Steve Jobs did not invent cell phones.

At the moment, the hype cloud covers the facts. When the smoke clears, we'll see if the iPhone is a new class of communication device or a faster horse.

[pugscanfly]

Great Take Len

The iPhone is something, if not bigger, profoundly different than
all the Inquirer-esque reporting that has accompanied it's
arrival.

It marks a profound shift in how something orninary is done.

Apple is very good at giving people what they want but never
imagined they did.

What if Microsoft, with all it's massive clout, had this kind of
imagination...

[verdicts]

Iphone iphone iphone...nothing new?

yes there is. Asian market is always ahead in mobile techonology.

LG Prada was there even before iphone came to market.

[Chanmh]

obviously not used an iPhone

Try posting to talkback using a Prada.

The point is not what technolgy was implemented first, but how
well it was implemented and how it impacted people. The part in
the article that rings true is let the iPhone loose in a room of
naysayers and stand back and watch what happens.

Submitted from an iPhone on gsm

[Newspeak finder]

Jingoistic rubbish

The reason there was an angry response was because the article
was, and the latest excuses remain, jingoistic nonsense.

[globalVariable]

Hype couldn't be created just anywhere

Its only in the US (particularly at CNet) that people all are obsessed about iPhone, apple, and Steve Jobs (even a fake one). If I am not mistaken, there has already been an article with a similar title by another editor on CNet. Get over it guys !

Find some new stories ... how about back to the obsession of Green Tech / Global Warming ?

[CeeAyy]

Only in the US?

You are wrong. It's not just the US that is interested in this phone.
As for calling it hype, why do you hate this phone so much? It's just
a phone.

Also, if you are tired of reading articles on the iPhone, guess what,
stop reading them! Lol. It's not that hard. Articles have titles, read
those and move on if it doesn't suit your taste. Stop whining.

[Penguinisto]

Why does/should location matter anyway?

"[i]So why should we be shocked if one day, the next software super-hit comes with a foreign accent?[/i]"

...you mean like Linux?

Actually, Linux is the perfect example of a true global product; it has no physical home. Sure, OSDL/Linux Foundation is located within spitting distance of where I am (it's located in Beaverton, Oregon), but all of the work and effort has been performed and coordinated world-wide, across continents, and over the Internet. Linus Torvalds was a University student in Finland when it began. Early collaborators lived in England, Germany, The United States, you name it. The current contributors' list for the 2.6.x kernel series is near-perfect in its global reach.

I grok what you're getting at in that Silly Valley was/is a nexus and engine for creativity and innovation. OTOH, software and hardware have long since evolved beyond any physical location. The days of one-location innovation are IMHO dead.

/P

[qwerty75]

How about the world wide web?

Granted it is built on the internet, but it is the work of Europeans that allowed the monumental growth of the internet.

Without the WWW, the internet would still be the domain of nerds and researchers.

Open Source is another great example. Most if not all the major projects are multinational.

Any company or group of people with a working knowledge of the Gestalt principles and engineering could have put this together. Apple is a great example of fantastic design, but they are not the only ones.

Without a large company to back it up, would an iPhone built by a smaller company do as well or better? A smaller company probably would not have locked themselves into 1 service provider. So maybe it would have been even more successful.

[wylbur]

But is the iPhone really great?

It is just odd to pick such a flawed device as an example for this
type of piece. I know all of the reviews have been great, but
those come from tech reviewers who need access to the apple
pipeline. Michelle Slatalla's column in the NYT presents the take
of a write who doesn't care whether Steve Jobs blacklists her
(though I'm sure she had David Pogue screaming in her cubicle
this morning):

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/05/fashion/05Cyber.html

It is quite amusing, who knew that the way to delete a photo on
your phone is to sync it with iPhoto, delete it in iPhoto, and re-
sync your phone. ugggh. Perhaps that can only be designed in
Silicon Valley because of our failing education system, techies
who enjoy complication for the sake of complication, and a
penchant for hype and smoke and mirrors that the rest of the
world does not share!

[across04]

Deleting photos

You can delete any photos originally taken on the Iphone.

You can't delete photos sync'd with your iphoto library. This is done in Iphoto, where you create your photo albums and in Itunes where you decide which photo albums to sync to the phone.

This is no different than how music is managed and I don't see this as a drawback.

[CeeAyy]

You'll never know

Apparently you have never used a Mac and are very unfamiliar
with Ipod's with video. Also, you misquoted the woman in the
article. You don't sync the iPhone TWICE in order to get rid of a
photo. That's not what she wrote and that's not how it works.

A flawed device... you missed the point of the iPhone.

As for the woman in the article, its obvious that she doesn't have
much of a clue when it comes to tech. She would have the same
problems if not more regardless of the phone she used.

[ira fogel]

iphone, whyphone

Having once lived in Silicon Valley, but now in a "far corner" of the world, the world of electronic and communication technology leaves me mystified and intrigued. Where I live, some relatively simple communication technology is still not available, making my "far corner" look almost medieval. Locally, there are many highly-educated citizens, but, even in relatively simple endeavors, the "technicals", government, and monoplistic companies cannot reach the critical mass necessary to even emulate what is and has happened in India, China, Korea, let alone the innovative cultures of the so-called "first world." In short, I have come to appreciate, not just academically, by emotionally, the very important role of culture and cultural values, as well as long-term economic and historical factors that lead to innovation or the lack thereof. In summary, maybe the iPhone, whatever that is, could have been developed in another location, but this ignores the multitude of factors that created geographical centers of innovation. In historical terms, these centers are the spawning ground of technological revolutions and they keep their cutting edge for a long time. Do I miss living in Silicon Valley? Yes!!!

[davidwfox]

Yes - the iPhone is great

I left the Apple fanboy camp 10 years ago, but I'm back there with this device. Yes it has its typical apple shortcomings, but I've never seen such a well recognised device. Its the first "viral" gadget. People everywhere want a closer look and everyone likes it. Sure it will be better in a year. But I'll have extracted sufficient value by then to upgrade.

[wylbur]

form over substance

Yeah, I guess it is great to look beautiful while doing a lousy job!
Everyone likes it at first glance, but let's see how people feel in
two weeks.

Other than a cumbersome on-screen keyboard, lack of cut-and-
paste, and an irksome reliance on iSync to handle the most basic
functions like deleting a picture, I don't see any of the
innovation anyone else claims to see.

I agree the original iPod was a wonderfully innovative interface
for quickly finding what you are looking for amongst a long list
(cable box designers have never taken note, but if I could find a
show in less than 20 minutes, you'd sell a lot more pay-per-view
movies), but the iPhone really seems to be a jack of all trades
master of none that other than its pretty face is distinctly un-
apple.

[mckoder]

Wrong question!

The right question is, could anyone other than Steve Jobs have created the iPhone? The answer is no.

Being in silicon valley, or being an American company is not what let Apple create the iPhone. Being headed by Jobs is.

[cook54po]

iPhone

iPhone is a revolutionary new mobile phone that allows you to make a call by simply pointing your finger at a name or number in your address book, a favorites list, or a call log

www.mp4-converter.net/iphone-converter/iphone-video-converter/

[GreyClaw]

Gee that's funny...

...I just took my friend's Treo (palm ver.)and whenever I clicked on a contact name or viable tel number(in the call log or in contacts) I too am given the option to dial or not to dial right there!
...oh wait... was that "pointing at it without touching the phone? or was that using your finger like a thicker, oiler stylus? cuz if you could just point? like from across the room, then yeah iPhone is truly uhm.. revolutionary ...or something.

[DrtyDogg]

point

I can just say the name of someone I want to call and the phone just calls it. It's truely revolutionary.

[Stating]

Apple Followed B&O Styling

China produces some of the crappiest products in the world, and when there are failures the managers cover it up or they get executed. The iPhone sure as hell couldn't have been produced there.

As for Apple's product design, the iPod styling reminded me of what Bang and Olufsen produced over 15 years ago. Maybe Jobs owned a B&O stereo and liked what he saw.

[hal Summers]

Designed by Apple in CALIFORNIA...

Could the iPhone have been created anywhere else? Obviously
the answer is NO because if it could have been it would have
been, but it wasn't.

There are a lot of cultures around the world which have great
ideas, histories and creative people. All of those cultures meet
in California more than any place else in the world with the
possible exception of New York. And the one advantage a place
like California has over other places is that no one culture rules
another. A Californian may speak English (or not), live in a town
with a Spanish name, eat Sushi for dinner and drive a German
car. This is considered normal here and there is no other place
on earth where this melding of cultural ideas comes together so
fluidly.
What other culture around the world would even have a Steve
Jobs? After his departure from Apple as an abject failure he
would never have been allowed to save face in many cultures.
Failure and humiliation is final in some parts of the world. In the
US, it's considered a"learning experience". This is why the US
have a higher percentage of entrepreneurs than other countries.
Failure is an accepted part of success, not the end of the road.

There are many great companies all over the world creating
many great products but none of them could have created the
iPhone. All the can do now is try to copy it.

[cyclelogicpress.com]

Created anywhere else?

Nope. Apple?s hardware, software, and product design
combination are unparalleled.

[kathakalimask]

Obviously.....

.... you have not used an iPhone.

The way you delete a photo on iPhone is to touch the photo, and
press 'delete.'