I recently wrote a piece for the TechDirt Insight Community about the impact of the iPhone and how the other carriers and device manufacturers can respond to the iPhone. I've come to realize that the iPhone has indeed changed the game, but maybe not for the obvious reasons. Yes, the iPhone is "making it okay to experiment with new ideas, and throw out previously taboo notions." It will probably lead to innovation with touch interfaces, and will probably shake up the way we purchase and activate phones. Ultimately, though, those aren't why the iPhone is important.
The iPhone is important because it's the first smartphone that appeal to the general public.
For example, Tara had heard all the hype but had no interest in the iPhone, nor does she have any interest in a BlackBerry or the Samsung Blackjack. Then she saw this David Pogue video, to which she responded "whoa - that thing is sweet! I had no idea it was that cool".
According to Charlie's informal survey of 16 random non-techie friends, absolutely none said they would be likely to purchase the phone in the next three months. It's easy for non-techies to dismiss the hype around the iPhone because it sounds like something they don't need. No matter how cool we techies think it is, it's just another smartphone and no smartphone ever appealed to them before. However, as these non-techies see the phone in person or videos online, I think they might come to the realization that the iPhone is, indeed, for them - and, perhaps ironically, not for the techies like me or the early adopters like Alex. Alex says the iPhone is too simplistic, but maybe that's the point.
The iPhone is the smartphone for the average user. As much as Scoble loves his Nokia N95, he came to the same conclusion as well. This is the first phone that "the other 98%" would even consider paying $300 for, let alone $600.
Now, let's revisit what this means for the rest of the market.
If the mobile phone is truly to be more than a commodity, other manufacturers will have to reduce the number of models and focus more on building individual, strong brands based around a handful of SKUs. This is something that Apple has traditionally done well - offering very few models and in most cases the choice was between one or two capacities and perhaps a few different colors. The sheer volume of devices that many other manufacturers put out can be create the - perception that any one device is not that important, and thus dilutes the strength of the device brand.
In other words, I think you're going to start to see smartphones from other manufacturers that concentrate less on "features" and more on experience and simplifying the way people interact with their phones.