The Verizon CEO says he’s not worried about the iPhone. I think he should be because while he’s correct that Verizon has phones that will offer more in services and functionality than the iPhone, which isn’t even 3G yet, a features checklist will not win the battle for cell phone customers. In Asia, it is already quite clear that your cell phone is as much about fashion as functionality, perhaps more so. From what I’ve heard, people in places like Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea change phones and service providers as often as some people change their socks! And there seem to be signs that the cell phone is becoming a fashion accessory in the US as well. With this in mind, I think Verizon should be worried that the hot sexy new iPhone will win out over something less sexy with more functions. Afterall, there are plenty of digital music players with more features than any iPod, but I don’t see anyone deserting the iPod, which remains the number one digital music player despite its higher cost relative to other players with similar features.
As a techie, I used to believe that the best tech would always win. But personal observation has shown me otherwise. Sexy/hip/cool devices with good marketing will beat better technology almost every time. The only wildcard I see in the iPhone equation is just how much of a brake on sales the high price will be. Unless there are major quality issues the iPhone should do very well. If I were Verizon, I’d be trying to get some sexy new phones to market as soon as possible.