The Real Significance of the iPhone Wed 04 Jul 07

Now that we've seemingly survived iPhone Friday I thought it would be useful to take a closer look at the iPhone in terms of its real significance.  As I said earlier"

It really doesn't provide new functionality.  Existing phones provide email, Internet access, movies, music and you can even make phone calls on them.  The iPhone as best I can tell doesn't add anything to this.  What it does add is what appears to be a much better interface in that it is easier to use.  If this new interface lives up to the hype this could be a big step forward.

So while the iPhone is basically a phone (admittedly a very cool one) the interface is a very interesting new wrinkle.  The interface has had some criticism ranging from the touch keyboard is too small and cumbersome (and here too) to Microsoft's Steve Ballmer's comments on the lack of a regular keyboard make it impractical for business customer wanting to use it for email.  The criticism may be valid but I suspect the touchscreen concept will be improved and overcome these problems.  For me it represents the first real widespread practical roll out of this technology and that is what I think is the most important significance of the iPhone.

For a good demonstration of where this could eventually lead take a look at Microsoft's Center for Information Work.

And also an amazing display of technology with surface computing:

While the technologies and possibilities of what Microsoft is doing is truly amazing it obviously isn't ready for every day use yet (there are 2 Center for Information Work desks).  The iPhone is now in wide spread use and shows we are making a move in this direction.

Our interfacing with computers has gone through an interesting evolution:

1. Keyboards with an indirect interface.  We used a keyboard to create punch cards to program a computer.
2. Keyboards eventually became our direct interface as we entered data into a computer.
3. The mouse coupled with GUI (graphical user interface screens has become our main interface.  While we still use a keyboard I'm sure if you take a look a how you use your computer you'll find that often (but not always) the keyboard is the secondary interface point.

Will touchscreen and voice replace the mouse and perhaps even the keyboard?  I think it will but don't ask me when.  What I see in the iPhone is the first phase in the next evolutionary step of the way we interface with computers.

What do you think of the iPhones interface?  Is it a sign of things to come or just another passing fad? 

"Apple iPhone" photo by markhillary

If this topic was of interest, you might also like these:

• "iPhone interface analysis from an actual usability expert. Gasp!"  by Jacqui Cheng at ars technica
• "The iPhone User Experience: A First Look" by Bruce "Tog" Tognazzini at NN/g
• Should Corporate IT Be Afraid of the iPhone?
• Realizing the Impact of Technology
• Another Perspective on Second Life
• Looking Back - Lessons of the Antikythera Mechanism
• Or the posts in the "Technology" category