Apple sucks!

[shams]

People don't understand the mobile market - Apple and the iPhone are doing really, really GREAT - and its scaring the other companies.

It doesn't matter what TOTAL mobile market share they have - its completely irrelevant. All mobiles are different, 90%-95% of them out there are "ancient" and can't be used for the types of applications that the iPhone can.

What matters is how many iPhone/iTouch devices Apple do get into the market - and the market % they take, based on CURRENT sales.

The main reason is the AppStore. Other mobiles simply can't do this sort of stuff - its actually IMPOSSIBLE - and that's without mentioning iTunes.

If left unchecked, Apple WILL dominate the mobile market within 5 years - that is why Nokia (and other companies) are "panicking".

Everything is moving away from the carriers - who have managed to block applications like the AppStore in the past on mobiles - because of readily available WiFi points (mobile VoIP, etc). Revenue is now all about service streams + data revenue (and with free WiFi, there is NO data revenue!).

Java, BREW + Symbian have effectively been rendered useless (or obsolete) - the ease of which people can create excellent applications for the AppStore, and the rate that new applications are being added is just scary. My wife recently got a iTouch (which I do consider a phone competitor - she also has a Nokia E65), and uses it for everything. The type of applications she has on the iTouch (and she has paid for lots) would *never* have made it out for a phone (things like an app for our the schedule for our local train services). Development of these apps in Java is easy enough - but its the distribution which is impossible.

Apple has solved this, and its going to take a mighty effort from the other players to stop them dominating the market. Good riddance to the carriers I say, they have brought this on themselves.

Once a iTouch with VoIP is officially released, it will be THE mobile of the future. Free data, free calls, free apps - movies, games, music - bring it on.

(I think Ninty see this BTW, which is why the new DS will start overlapping with some of these features - and hopefully some form of VoIP :>).