When you really examine it, the iPhone is the crowning achievement of human existence (so far).
It's obviously not the first "palm" device, or cell phone, or personal assistant, navigator, etc., but as an all-in-one pocket pc, it's something right out of Star Trek. You literally have the world at your fingertips -- a mobile connection to all of mankind's accumulated knowledge -- with a bunch of games to boot.
That said, its breakthrough accomplishment is its one major drawback -- it's really, really small. But like it or not, with 40 million users (and counting), it's now a part of the cultural landscape and represents a paradigm shift in how to approach marketing communications.
With more and more people using their iPhones (and other mobile devices) more and more each day; consumers are spending less time reading printed materials and browsing the internet with desktop computers. So, just when you thought you figured out how to position your company with a web presence, and adjusted your print ad budget to take into account new media, everything has changed (again). And to make things worse, the recent obsession with social networking is stealing all of the internet traffic -- greatly reducing the number of potential visitors to commercial websites. Additionally, people with disposable income are spending it on iPhone apps, videos, music, and other technologies that insulate and anesthesize them from real world of business, politics, healthcare, the economy and science.
What does all this mean for businesses? Basically, you've got to re-evaluate your current marketing strategy and re-adjust for 2010 and beyond. It's going to be nothing like anything you've experienced before. And, if you think you're wasting money on newspaper or internet banners now, you'll be throwing away your cash next year.
Is there any hope? Definitely. Not only is it possible to navigate through this technological revolution, but you can ride the wave to profitability if you open your mind to a new way of thinking, and stop listening to media sales people, selling you 20th Century ideas.
(below) Example of website built for the iPhone