Apple Inc. first entered the smartphone market back in 2007 with the release of the iPhone (2G), later superseded by the cheaper iPhone 3G in 2008, which was available in more countries, offered users faster data services via UMTS/HSDPA and included satellite navigation capabilities.

In the design of the iPhone 3G, Apple Inc. did not stick to the usual recipe of what consumers expect to see when they buy a mobile device like a mobile phone or a smartphone. Compared to previous perceptions of a smartphone, such as the BlackBerry Curve 8310 or the Samsung i780, which incorporated a display, and/or a touch screen and a QWERTY keypad, the iPhone 3G had something different; a fully functional multi-touch screen (Sangani, 2008). It has not been designed as a mobile phone with data service capabilities, but more of a mobile data device with the ability to behave like a mobile phone.

The success of the iPhone 3G is down to its simplicity and ease of use, in my mind the 2 key product design principles that have been applied to the manufacture of the product are the minimization of information content and the delay of product customization steps.

Its simplicity comes from the minimal amount of hardware in which the product contains, the majority of functionality implemented in software. The device only contains 15 separate pieces of hardware, each with a specific functionality, the largest and most costly being the touch screen and display, costing approximately $20 each. The overall estimated BOM and manufacturing only costing $173 (Sangani, 2008) meaning that the device can be marketed at a lower cost, the quality coming from the software flexibility and functionality.

Through the notion of minimal hardware, Apple Inc. has been able to minimize the information content of the design. The device only has 5 buttons, a touch screen and two connectors (Apple Inc, n.d.). Once the user has located the on button on top of the device, the touch screen comes to life, after that the user just has to be able to read. Software applications appear as little cubes on the screen, by touching the relevant one that application is run, when a user wants to return to the home screen, the big home button on the front of the device can be pressed. The age range of users that the iPhone 3G (and the more simpler iPod Touch) has being targeted at is huge; applications can be downloaded for learning to read, providing real-time stock quotes and playing games (Apple Inc, n.d.). The complexity of operation depends on the targeted audience of the application.

The product customization steps have been delayed by giving consumers a base platform (a 3G device with WiFi and GPS capability), from which they can add their own custom applications from Apple’s App Store. This effectively makes the iPhone a mobile media device rather than just a mobile phone. Having such a large proportion of software and adopting the worldwide 3G cellular communications standard allows the same basic device to be shipped worldwide, the only difference being the default selected language, keyboard layout and USB charging adapter supplied with the device. The iPhone 3G is currently available in 88 countries (Apple Inc, n.d.). Adopting this delayed approach makes the device cheaper for the consumer in the long run. If software faults (bugs) are found within the software from the time of manufacture, the user only needs to download the latest software update rather than having the buy a new release of the product

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References

Sangani, K. (2008, May 24). Smartphone round-up. Engineering & technology. Retrieved April 29, 2009, from http://kn.theiet.org/magazine/reports/smartphones/smartphone-round-up.cfm
Sangani, k. (2008, June 26). 3G iPhone will be cheaper to produce than predecessor. Retrieved April 27, 2009, from IET Knowledge Network: http://kn.theiet.org/news/jun08/iphone-cheaper.cfm
Apple Inc. (n.d). iPhone 3G - Technical Specifications. Retrieved May 1, 2009, from Apple Inc: http://www.apple.com/iphone/specs.html
Apple Inc. (n.d). iPhone 3G - App Store. Retrieved May 1, 2009, from Apple Inc: http://www.apple.com/iphone/appstore/
Apple INc. (n.d). iPhone 3G - Countries. Retrieved May 1, 2009, from Apple Inc: http://www.apple.com/iphone/countries/