The moment of truth, a portrait of the iPhone from 2009

Much has been said and written about the iPhone, but even before its initial launch, Strand Consult was very critical – a criticism that was based on our experience and analyses. On the other hand we are the first to admit that there are many that disagree with our statements and the conclusions that have come out of our analyses.

However we do not believe that people that read our analyses should judge us on what we predict will happen, but instead on what we previously predicted would happen today. Unlike many of those that sell information about the mobile future, we are not financially dependent on technology providers, phone manufacturers or infrastructure providers. We make a living from advising mobile operators on how to achieve success and make a profit for their shareholders.

We do this by telling mobile operators how the market is developing and what the future market will look like. Our business is to deliver objective information – and we have been very successful at doing just that for the past 18 years to over 170 mobile operators around the world.

Unlike many of those that sell information about the mobile future, we are not financially dependent on technology providers, phone manufacturers or infrastructure providers. We make a living from advising mobile operators on how to achieve success and make a profit for their shareholders – and we are very good at what we do.

In the report The moment of truth, a portrait of the iPhone, from 2009 we take a closer look at the iPhone, the iPhone effect and whether a mobile operator can actually measure the iPhone effect, or whether there are other areas or mobile handsets that an operator would do better focusing on?

Simply put, many of the conclusions that the media have published about the significance of the iPhone for mobile operators are not documented in the operators’ key figures. We can also conclude that the closer a relationship is between an operator and Apple, the larger negative influence it has on the operator’s overall business case, from a shareholder’s viewpoint. In the report we take a close look at the 10 largest myths about the iPhone:

1. The iPhone drives data traffic into mobile operators networks
2. The iPhone helps operators attract new customers
3. The iPhone is good business for mobile operators
4. The iPhone is dominating the mobile services market
5. App store is a huge success that has revolutionised the services market
6. There is money to be made by developing applications for the iPhone
7. It is iPhone customers that are generating the majority of online mobile surfing traffic
8. The iPhone has a large market share
9. The iPhone was the first mobile phone with a touchscreen
10. The iPhone is a technologically advanced mobile phone

We believe that when you are trying to do business by selling knowledge about the mobile future, it is important to be independent of the technology providers. This is one of the reasons why we – unlike many others in this business – do not sell our services to technology providers by receiving money to publish white papers about certain products. This is also why we do not allow analyses from our reports to be used for the marketing of telco products. We hope that our report The moment of truth, a portrait of the iPhone from 2009 will give you an exciting insight and inspiration for your daily work. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call or write to us.