Analyst Calls for New iPhone Roadmap
12:39 pm, August 18th, 2008, Lonnie Lazar
Gerry Purdy, a veteran mobile analyst with Frost & Sullivan says the next generation or two of Apple iPhones will have to adapt to different user requirements as Apple builds the franchise to address its growing audience. In a recent report to clients, he cites the many shifts Apple made in the iPod family to cater to different users, saying we can expect it will do the same with the iPhone.
Specifically, Purdy sees the phone being spun into separate consumer and enterprise models, with the consumer device focused on multimedia and ease-of-use features, while enterprise customers will get a phone that offers more ways to work with data and interact with enterprise services.
In all models, Purdy recommends that Apple add a small infrared (IR) transmitter so that future iPhones can be used as a universal remote in the home, a micro scanner so that all 1-D and 2-D bar codes can be easily read (useful for both consumers and enterprise customers), and a Near Field Communications (NFC) chip so that all iPhones can be used at retail to ‘swipe’ by credit card payment terminals. He agrees software would be necessary to make these three additions work properly, but sees the App Store and Apple’s iPhone development partners provide multiple solutions to those problems.
Another recommendation he has for all models is that Apple ‘open up’ the iPhone by adding a microSD slot that would allow users to add peripherals or more storage.
Purdy would like to see an iPhone “nano” that retails for $99 and an “extreme” version of the phone with an 8 megapixel camera and 32GB of storage for $499.
“What’s fun about doing a product roadmap for another company is being able to pretend that you’re working for them and that you’re in charge of Product Marketing,” Purdy says, adding, “of course, Apple’s Product Marketing team might feel differently about what they believe customers want and what they plan and will offer over the next year or two.”
Posted by Lonnie Lazar in iPhone | Comment on this article
MYek~!
macxprt, on August 18th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
His fantasies are so mediocre.
IR transmitter? Not going to happen. The iPhone already has wifi and Bluetooth which can be used as a remote. Apple already is using wifi as a remote.
Barcode transmitter? Not going to happen. Sure it would be great, but its more likely that someone like Delicious Monster will bring their iSight barcode scanning software to the iPhone.
Micro SD slot? Not going to happen. Why waste space on this slot when the phone already has a minimum of 8gb? This is Apple we are talking about, not Dell.
10 Key Pad? On iPhone? Seriously?
Now, the ability to use the iPhone as a credit card would be awesome. That’s a more realistic fantasy.
A more fantastic idea would be to use it as an encrypted key device, so you can use it to input your access PIN to start your car or open the door to your house like James Bond in Tomorrow Never Dies. Then your iPhone would be the only thing you would need to carry in your pocket.
theguycalledtom, on August 18th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
in a word. gross.
1. i don’t see them ever having a slide out/flip out keyboard.
2. eventually when flash is cheap enough we will have 32 Gigs has the baseline. patience folks
3. why use IR when there is wifi and bluetooth.
4. who needs a barcode scanner when there is, or at least what, a program in the apps store that uses the camera as such and works with a POS from the same company
5. the only thing that does make a little sense about this ‘roadmap’ is the notion of a dock connecting CC swiper. then the phone could be used with a desktop as the base unit. with enough memory it might even be possible to store the info during an off-site event and then sync it into the base when things were over. that’s really the only unique business use I can see for the phone. other than that, it’s email, making calls etc. same as regular folks
charlituna, on August 20th, 2008 at 7:06 am
This is the worst feature set proposal I have ever seen. Apple’s strength has always lied in its ability to focus on a core set of features, and implement them brilliantly. An SD card slot? seriously?
remeika, on August 23rd, 2008 at 6:01 pm
“IR transmitter? Not going to happen. The iPhone already has wifi and Bluetooth which can be used as a remote. Apple already is using wifi as a remote.”
“why use IR when there is wifi and bluetooth.”
Because TVs, Videos, DVD players, Sky Boxes etc all use IR for remote control.
Sei, on August 28th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Does Apple care about TVs that don’t have an AppleTV attached to it? The Macbook Air only has one usb port, do you think they are going to try and find room for an ir port on an iPhone?
theguycalledtom, on September 3rd, 2008 at 7:11 am