How Apple Will Change the Smart Phone Landscape
News released today indicates that Apple is planning on releasing a pre-paid iPhone in the fall. Based on the current iPhone 4, it will be named the iPhone 4S. I wrote about the expansion of the smart phone market a week or so ago and pointed to the appearance of pre-paid smart phones by cell providers like Verizon as an indicator that the user base will expand rapidly in the next year but the household income indicators that are currently pegged to these users will decline.
A Pre-paid iPhone Changes Everything
While I am not a huge Apple fan, even I would be lying if I said that the iPhone especially on a pre-paid plan holds no appeal. Realistically this is likely to change the landscape of smart phone users dramatically and rapidly. The impact on marketing plans for 2012 cannot be underestimated and I would suggest that the plans you are making now need to be altered to reflect the news of the pre-paid iPhone. Yesterday I wrote about the need for mobile as a central element in any social media campaign. The news that Apple will release a pre-paid iPhone only reinforces that message.
The availability of apps, the overall reliability of the phone and its perceived cachet mean that the iPhone is probably the number one desired device among teens and others who are currently unable to secure one. If your organization isn't already considering how mobile plays into your marketing mix then this should be the clarion call you have been waiting for. Ensuring your website is optimized for mobile, thinking through mobile specific offerings like an app, considering how location will play a role. All of these things will now need to jump up the priority list.
The Pre-Paid iPhone & Data
The most likely incarnation of the pre-paid iPhone will be on a fixed rate data plan, that is, users will decide how much data they want to use in a month and purchase a plan that meets that need and their budget. What this means for content creators is that they will have to provide the users with a very compelling reason to consume the content and therefore expend their data allotment on it and not content from someone else. I think we will see a big shift in apps that are downloaded from the app store, those that are data hogs will fall out of favor and those that provide real value in terms of experience will become increasingly important.
The Pre-Paid iPhone User
Will the pre-paid iPhone user be that much different from the current iPhone user? I'd say they are likely to differ in several ways. Firstly, this is more likely to be their first Apple product, secondly it is more likely to be their only Apple product, thirdly it is more likely to be their only mobile device on which they consume the social web. No one buys a smart phone just to make phone calls. A smart phone extends our ability to reach our network through email, the social web and text. However, with a pre-paid iPhone the user will have to make smart choices about how often they upload photos, change their Facebook status or update Twitter.
I think the pre-paid iPhone has the potential to change the landscape of mobile marketing permanently. Quite what that change will be we will have to see. What changes do you think the pre-paid iPhone will bring?
image used under CC license from William Hook
