…if it had a microphone, that is.

Last month the iPhone dominated the news, but now that the ipodtouch is hitting the stores later this month, Apple’s two-pronged strategy is becoming clear. In a surprising move that will have put frowns on the faces of AT&T’s board of directors, Apple is making the new touch available including wifi capabilities, and with the possibility to download songs directly from iTunes onto the iPod. AT&T will be none too pleased about this: a shrewd bit of strategic maneuvering had Apple out-witting them. On CNN Money, Stephanie Mehta points out:

The Wi-Fi capabilities built into the touch – and other devices such as Nokia’s N95, Samsung’s T409 and a number of Windows mobile devices  - in the long run could end up by-passing wireless phone networks altogether. How? If a user downloads ringtones or searches the web on a Wi-Fi network, he or she is not consuming minutes on the carriers’ data networks, which phone companies are spending billions to build.

Elsewhere I’ve been saying that a wider availability of Wifi enabled devices coupled with VOIP services will be a substantial kick in the behind of Mobile Operators. It’s easy to see why AT&T disabled VOIP on the iPhone, and now Apple has gone the other route and has released a device that is – at this moment – a phone without a microphone. All this to the relief of AT&T directors, no doubt. However, it’s also abundantly clear, that the iPod with a microphone, or a device like it, will come. When the iPhone was first released, there were a lot of comments on the stranglehold AT&T was supposed to have on Apple. It’s now obvious that this is the other way round. And it is like this for all of us. I’m cited in the article as bragging of “using (my) hotel’s Wi-Fi connection to make a 90-minute VOIP call to Europe” where roaming charges would have bought me a new phone altogether. Today that’s as true as it was then. Apple has now changed the landscape. Device manufacturers but also the likes of Nokia have tried to push wifi and therefore voip for a couple of years now. For consumers wishing to make cheap international calls, Voip is a success story that is as yet poised for success. Its breakthrough may be one step closer but we are still missing an open platform strategy from the device manufacturers. Meanwhile, manufacturers are reproaching Telcos for not opening up their platforms to enable innovation as seen on the tethered Internet. Neither Apple nor Nokia have ever been known for such an open approach. Compared to them, even Microsoft looks decidedly open source.

By: alexander drewniak