It’s simple – just look at the stats.
After just 5 months on the US market, the iPhone browser is showing a 0.09% browser traffic share. (and that’s with 2.5G not 2G)
Compare that with Windows Mobile devices – rating 0.06% of the market, with about 14 times the number of handsets out there.
Why?
Simple. or more to the point Simplicity.
The iPhone is easy to use – you turn it on and go.
The iPhone includes free data, so you don’t have to worry about usage.
The iPhone has a larger screen, and a great browser, so browsing is actually useful.
Other phones (and my Nokia E90 is included) are hard to figure out, both for individuals and for telcos.
For example, my E90 is still, after months here, unable to connect to the Vodafone network in Australia. The problem is on the VF end, and any number of trips to the very helpful local store have made no difference.
More importantly, pre-pay phones in Oz and in NZ are not web-data connected, denying the web to over half of the market. And that half of the market is probably the most web-savvy.
Meanwhile, data charges for traditional telcos and phones are not just sky-high, they have the ability to go super-stratospheric. Start traveling and browsing overseas, and wait for the extra two or three zeros on the bill when you get home.
Lance Wiggs 