More iPhone rumours but Blackberry killer? Hardly

By Stan Beer
Saturday, 02 December 2006 19:47

Technology

It's always intriguing to hear the latest iPhone rumour. This time it revolves around an Associated Press report about a patent filing that was made last August but was made public last week. What's intriguing, however, is not the patent filing itself but the comparisons being made with smartphones.

There has been a tendency for some reason for sections of the media, such as AP, to compare the rumoured iPhone with devices such as the Blackberry and the Treo.

From whence these comparisons emanate, however, is a little perplexing. Both the Blackberry and the Treo are devices popular with business users because of their obvious capabilities to take the office on the road and strong messaging features, inluding mobile email. The iPod is an entertainment device and an iPhone, presumably, would also focus on the entertainment market as well of course adding mobile voice and data connectivity.

I fail to see why a Blackberry office user would want swap that popular business mobility device for an iPhone deisgned to broaden the entertainment mobility. However, perhaps I'm missing something.

If I'm off the mark, someone please enlighten me but if a cool looking iPhone is to make an appearance, and let us stress that so it still lies in the realms of speculation, even though the rumours grow louder, it is highly unlikely to be a threat to Blackberry or Treo. Rather expect it to take on the likes of Nokia and Motorola, which are both continue to relase mobiles with music player capabilities - although they plae in comparison to the iPod.