Telestra warns against Apple's iPhone

Australian-based telco Telstra has offered a word of warning about Apple's iPhone, and is likely to bring some significant operational challenges when it makes its Australian debut some time next year. "There's an old saying - stick to your knitting - and Apple is not a mobile phone manufacturer, that's not their knitting," said Greg Winn, a big product decision maker for Telstra. "You can pretty much be assured that Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and ZTE and others will be coming out with devices that have similar functionality." Winn also believes that the iPhone's touch-screen technology does not make the device truly revolutionary, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. "I think people overreacted to it - there was not a lot of tremendously new stuff if you think about it," Winn said of the iPhone. "It was maybe kind of cool on the touchscreen technology but touchscreen technology is another domain, so it's only a matter of time before it went to the device."

The Telstra decision-maker also believes Apple failed to realize several marketing factors, such as the iPhone name which provoked a hasty response from Cisco -- a large-scale network equipment manufacturer that registered "iPhone" as its own trademark -- ultimately resulting in a lawsuit against the Cupertino-based company. Winn also pointed to Apple's decision to adopt Cingular as its exclusive U.S. mobile carrier.

"They did an exclusive with Cingular and they talked about a global rollout - well, Cingular is not a global company," he said.

Winn cited the non-replaceable battery as a potential pitfall with consumers, but admitted that the iPhone will likely leave a mark in mobile design despite it's uncertain commercial success.

"I am absolutely sure that device will be successful initially," Winn said. "What I'm not sure of is how much money are they willing to devote to all of the life cycle management and upgrades."

Filed under: Apple