HTC: "We Won't Mimic iPhone"

[Janak Parekh]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/01/12/HNhtclaudsiphone_1.html' target='_blank'>http://www.infoworld.com/article/07...dsiphone_1.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"'It's a pretty eye-catching design,' said Peter Chou, president and chief executive officer of HTC, during an interview at the International Consumer Electronics Show, but 'we have our own cool stuff coming out as well.' HTC has no plans to follow Apple into the music-handset business, he said, and nor will his company try to mimic the new design. HTC has also not been in discussions with Microsoft over a Zune mobile phone, he said...'We need to differentiate ourselves. We will not be successful if we are a copy cat,' he said."</i><br /><br />Good for HTC! I think they deserve credit for pushing the envelope of PDAs and "smart phones" for the last few years. While Apple has certainly thrown down a design gauntlet, not only is it impractical for HTC to imitate them (patents, Windows Mobile platform), it's far better that they carve out their own path. :) Real innovation on multiple fronts is what will truly help customers long-term, not some cheap knockoff I'm sure we will see forthcoming in the next year or so.

[Tierran]

Not to mention, I think that while the iPhone looks pretty...so does the Razr. But the people who buy pretty phones aren't the type of people who buy smartphones &amp; windows mobile phones.

[Phoenix]

I think there are some real attractive WM phones and SP's out there! If there weren't, I wouldn't buy them!

And I'm glad to see that HTC is trying to innovate and be original in their thinking. That's cool. They can compete and still take some other routes.

[alese]

They don't need to copy iPhone, but using some of the stuff, like multitouch screen, integration/interface between multimedia viewers/players, 4GB and beyond of storage... would be very nice.

I know that Microsoft has to participate also, but at least some things could be done by HTC alone.

[Eriq Cook]

I think HTC will remain on good path. I would hate to see an iPhone inspired HTC device (this would only happen in the twilight zone anyway). I like the iPhone and will eventually get one, but I'll never make it my primary device. I love the MDA/8525-like devices due to the slide-out keyboard (I'll never own another smartphone/Pocket PC phone without a keyboard), stylus to hand write notes and hardware buttons to access certain features easily without looking at the screen.

It sucks that HTC's stock plummeted after the iPhone announcement but I"m sure it'll come back up soon after the awe wears off. Though the interface is "ahead of its time" IMO, there's many things I don't like about the iPhone, nor does it do speech recognition (MS Voice Command is by far the best speech recognition software available IMO). Imagine trying to use a device with touch-screen only input and no hardware buttons or voice recognition.

[beq]

I also wonder about the iPhone's multi-touch screen technology. How does it work, and why don't other PDAs (such as PPCs) have it?

It would seem to really open up the range of gesture commands that you can do, for example...

[beedee]

I fully agree that there is no use in trying to copy Apple's iphone. I think the functionality of WM5/PPC phones is quite good with separate keyboards and navi-keys. It remains to be seen if the Apple approach of doing everything through the screen will be successful.

But is it really too much to ask to finally see a well designed PPC-phone in the market? Has anybody at the current producers ever had a worldclass-designer commissioned for their products? Is it too much to ask to come up with products that fit the lifestyle of modern, design-oriented people? Looking at how design/lifestyle-oriented the mobile-phone market in Asia an Europe is, what are the managers of PPC producers do the whole day if the simply miss out to recognize this and build this into their own products?

Second thing that is also completely unbelievable: why are we still stuck with the 64/128MB memory configuration? 4/8GB is what we really need (minimum). Why do we always have to wait for Apple coming up with these things before the Windows guys get their buts up moving?

[Yata]

We will not be successful if we are a copy cat

Yes, the naming scheme you chose for the TyTN, MTeoR etc. was very original. :roll:

[signothefish]

I think they deserve credit for pushing the envelope of PDAs and "smart phones" for the last few years.

Haha, Janak. I think you misplaced those quotes. Maybe you meant:
I think they deserve credit for "pushing the envelope" of PDAs and smart phones for the last few years.

[JesterMania]

Second thing that is also completely unbelievable: why are we still stuck with the 64/128MB memory configuration? 4/8GB is what we really need (minimum). Why do we always have to wait for Apple coming up with these things before the Windows guys get their buts up moving?

Well, that's common to every market in which a single firm faces no challengers. As long as people can make money out of 64/128 configurations they will continue to do so until revenues are exhausted. Then, they will slap on a VGA screen, redesign the casing or whatnot and continue to make money. After all, why would you even bother designing something better when you're selling boatloads and boatloads of your current product successfully and there's no competitor who can match you? Wait until your current line goes out of style/demand, then continue to innovate. That's the great thing about competition. You get someone like Apple here that makes the 4-8GB devices and that pushes people such as Microsoft and HTC to step up their specs/design as well. Long live a competitive market. :lol:

[Paragon]

nor will his company try to mimic the new design.

It's a sad day. With this statement, and others he has made like it, it looks like HTC is going to continue to roll out 2.8" screen devices with 64mn RAM and 128mn ROM. Just how many versions of that can they release. More importantly, NO super slim 3.5" screen devices. It's been a couple of years since HTC showed any kind of innovation.

Dave

[frankenbike]

Second thing that is also completely unbelievable: why are we still stuck with the 64/128MB memory configuration? 4/8GB is what we really need (minimum). Why do we always have to wait for Apple coming up with these things before the Windows guys get their buts up moving?

Well, that's common to every market in which a single firm faces no challengers. As long as people can make money out of 64/128 configurations they will continue to do so until revenues are exhausted.

Yeah, but it makes any claim by these manufacturers that going their own way gives them some superiority in product differentiation laughable.

I have no interest in an iPhone itself, but if it takes off, it'll be proof that all the manufacturers like HTC have been missing the boat all along. There's no excuse for the 64/128 configuration at the price point their devices sell for, and the iPhone calls them on it. It makes them look like stingy pikers, and shows their extreme lack of vision.

HTC and others are guilty of worse: they are making their devices less expandable. The format has gone from SD, to mini SD, to micro SD, offering consumers less and less storage expandability with each product release.

HTC and other PPC phone manufacturers don't have to add a fancy interface to feature packed products, they just have to add more storage, something that is relatively cheap but immensely increases out of the box functionality.

It would mean that 3rd party marketers could custom tailor devices with GPS software and maps, wireless providers could offer downloadable music, and services not yet thought of for a fully mobile computing/communicating media device.

[DaleReeck]

While it wouldn't have surplanted my PocketPC, the iPhone could hve been an alternative to an iPod or even a very simple Mac. But I wasn't aware of just how many restrictions there were - not just the no-3G stuff either. No third party apps, no removable battery, no wireless syncing and no Office doc support pretty much crippple the device IMO.

[daS]

I also wonder about the iPhone's multi-touch screen technology. How does it work, and why don't other PDAs (such as PPCs) have it?
This type of technology has been around for quite a few years, but it needs both different hardware and software.

All the other touch screen technologies use an X-Y grid that reports the X and Y coordinates where you touched. If you touch in two places at the same time, the results are ambiguous since it doesn't know which "X" goes with which "Y", giving four potential points instead of two.

But as I said, I've seen demos of multi-point touch technology for many years. It's always more expensive hardware. So without compelling software (like the iPhone's zoom feature) there hasn't been any demand. I would think that some of the companies that showed this hardware in the past will now try to sell it again for other PDA companies.

[i4edge]

I was delighted with Apple's annoucement of the iphone and I think it's a great device. Will I get one - No. But I know many many who have cell phones that will. There is a large consumer group that kind of wants a pda with a phone (for e-mail, music, pictures etc..) but don't want something that is too complicated. That is a big group of consumers. The Q, BlackJack, Blackberry pearl groups. If HTC wants to target that market then they will have to come out with something like the iPhone.

If they want to stay with business no need for iphone. All they have to do is make them cheaper, a little smaller and longer battery life and corporate america will continue to buy them. Innovative - no, cash cow yes.

It is my hope that the iPhone will draw more consumers to converaged devices and by doing so drive the R&amp;D funds to be spent in the market.

Techlogies such as the multi-touch, better and more efficent processors, better screens, better radios. The more popular the iphone is the more the prices drop on compenents and the more they spend on advancing the tech.

Thats good for us all

[Paragon]

There is a large consumer group that kind of wants a pda with a phone (for e-mail, music, pictures etc..) but don't want something that is too complicated. That is a big group of consumers.

If ever there was an understatement I think that's it. If it is locked down as far as 3rd party apps go then it will be a no go for me, BUT there are tons of people who look at a WM device and back away because it is too complicated for them. I think there is a lot to be said for a device like this that may be (we don't know this for sure yet) locked down. With WM devices, 99 times out of a 100, problems arise form 3rd party apps that have been added. If Apple, or anyone can produce a device that has a good mix of included application then I think they have gone a long way towards developing a very dependable, solid, out of the box product.

I don't think we should put a device down as being crap because it doesn't do ALL the things we want it to. Most people don't, need, want, or even care about such a device. What the iPhone has to offer is a big step up from what they have and enjoy now, so lack of functionality isn't that big of a issue.

Dave

[DaleReeck]

There is a large consumer group that kind of wants a pda with a phone (for e-mail, music, pictures etc..) but don't want something that is too complicated. That is a big group of consumers.

BUT there are tons of people who look at a WM device and back away because it is too complicated for them. I think there is a lot to be said for a device like this that may be (we don't know this for sure yet) locked down.

But are these same people who want a simpler device going to spend $500-$600 to get one? I doubt it. That price tag has PDA geek written all over it.

[daS]

I don't think we should put a device down as being crap because it doesn't do ALL the things we want it to. Most people don't, need, want, or even care about such a device. What the iPhone has to offer is a big step up from what they have and enjoy now, so lack of functionality isn't that big of a issue.
Dave,

I don't know anyone that has said they think the iPhone will be "crap". I think some of us are questioning the size of the market for a $500-$600 phone/MP3 player that is locked down (and this has been confirmed) and you are stuck with for 2 years.

Remember that most iPod fans bought early units then ran out and got Nanos and 30G, 40G, 80G replacements - none of which cost $600. Apple has not faced the 20year contract issues that the cellular industry is used to. It will be interesting to see how they address that challenge.

I think the iPhone will be a great product, but in order to sell 10M units, Apple will have to capture double the current market for smart phones (lower case "s") in the USA. That's going to be extremely hard to achieve.

[Paragon]

I don't know anyone that has said they think the iPhone will be "crap". I think some of us are questioning the size of the market for a $500-$600 .



But are these same people who want a simpler device going to spend $500-$600 to get one? I doubt it. That price tag has PDA geek written all over it.

LOL guys....wait and see....this thing is going to sell BIG.

[Yata]

I think the iPhone will be a great product, but in order to sell 10M units, Apple will have to capture double the current market for smart phones (lower case "s") in the USA. That's going to be extremely hard to achieve.

If Symbian can sell 100 million phones, 10 million for Apple should be relatively easy. Maybe the market isn't there in America, but I'm sure it'll sell very well in Europe and Asia.

[WorksForTurkeys]

"we won't mimic the Apple iPhone" because we've invested too much mimicking the Motorola Q and Samsung Blackjack with our Cavalier.

;)

[daS]

I think the iPhone will be a great product, but in order to sell 10M units, Apple will have to capture double the current market for smart phones (lower case "s") in the USA. That's going to be extremely hard to achieve.

If Symbian can sell 100 million phones, 10 million for Apple should be relatively easy. Maybe the market isn't there in America, but I'm sure it'll sell very well in Europe and Asia.
Most Symbian phones world-wide are "feature phones" that are not considered in the category of "smart phones". The total world-wide market for smart phones appears to be less than 15M (give or take a few.) Of that, currently the USA market is about 1/3 or a little less than 5M units.

The market is growing, but it's still a small percentage of the overall 1B phones.

[PdaAddict]

I tend to agree with some of the people here who complain about 2.8, 64/128 combos being produced by HTC. HTC in my opinion has not been very innovative in the last few years. Every "New" device is only marginally better then the previous one yet they cost an arm and a leg. It's been 7 years since the first Ipaq 3635 appeared but we are still stuck with Qvga or even the "new" 240 by 240 resolution with small amounts of RAM/Rom, disappointing CPUs and battery performance. Maybe Apple will wake HTC up.

[Yata]

Most Symbian phones world-wide are "feature phones" that are not considered in the category of "smart phones".

By whom? Canalys (http://www.canalys.com/pr/2006/r2006102.htm) deem them to be smartphones and so does Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smartphone). What smartphone feature(s) are they missing? They can certainly run 3rd party native apps (something the iPhone can't do).

The total world-wide market for smart phones appears to be less than 15M (give or take a few.) Of that, currently the USA market is about 1/3 or a little less than 5M units.

Again, who says this? Canalys estimates that around 2.5 million smartphones are shipping in Europe per month. That's 30 million a year in Europe alone!

[LarDude]

I am really curious about the impact/consequences which Multi-touch may
(or may not) have on how we use the phone. Consider the impact that the iPod's
click-wheel has had. When it first appeared, who would have predicted
that it would become so pervasive and well-liked (almost synonymous with
online music itself). Furthermore, as users and developers start to think in
terms of a gesture-based system, what kind of ingenuous new interfaces
and/or metaphors will appear? Are we on the edge of a revolution? (No,
certainly not from a hardware standpoint, but what about from an interface
metaphor standpoint??).

By my 3rd PocketPC, I definitely got sick of pulling out the stylus and
hunting &amp; pecking. Because of that, I found the HTC Wizard to be a
godsend. But that was almost 2 years ago. Nowadays, there are more
and more things about the Wizard keyboard that I am starting to dislike.
(Foremost of which is "Why does the bloody thing have to be so thick?!").
I, for one, am *ready* for a revolution. PocketPC or iPhone? MS or
Apple? I really couldn't care less, but someone, please deliver
some innovation!

[daS]

Most Symbian phones world-wide are "feature phones" that are not considered in the category of "smart phones".

By whom? Canalys (http://www.canalys.com/pr/2006/r2006102.htm) deem them to be smartphones and so does Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smartphone). What smartphone feature(s) are they missing? They can certainly run 3rd party native apps (something the iPhone can't do).".

Not trying to pick a fight here. My sources include Gartner who defines a smart phone as:
a large-screen, voice-centric handheld device designed to offer complete phone functions while simultaneously functioning as a personal digital assistant.
They go on to claim that Nokia has 42% of the market, while Canalys says 75%.

There's no point in arguing about the definition of smart phone, since I assume we would both agree that the bulk of the Nokia phones in Canalys' survey are not in the same market as the iPhone. Which brings me back to the original point I was making: I believe that the iPhone is targeting a much smaller market than can accommodate a new player capturing 10M units with a $500-$600 phone.

[signothefish]

I know one thing... we sure can't count on UMPCs to take over where the PDA market left off. Outside the realm of podcasts and blogs, I have yet to hear about one in conversation, or see one in real life. You can't find them at stores, they almost seem to be vaporware as quickly (or not) as they got off the ground.

A lot of the news articles lately seem to be complementing each other very well in conveying a simple message... people are tired of the same old HTC devices we've been having to put up with for the last 2+ years. We want something different, at a price point we can afford. That's why I was so excited to read about the iPhone, not the iPhone itself, per se, but the fact that it means large touchscreens may actually make a comeback, which means that HTC will have to innovate to keep up, meaning that where UMPCs have failed us, iPhones may actually give us hope.

I think many of you have already echoed this sentiment. If HTC can't do it, my bet is that someone can, maybe even the likes of Dell and HP, the latter of which already appears to be looking for different vendors for their future devices (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/index.php?action=expand,53426).

[JesterMania]

I don't know anyone that has said they think the iPhone will be "crap". I think some of us are questioning the size of the market for a $500-$600 .



But are these same people who want a simpler device going to spend $500-$600 to get one? I doubt it. That price tag has PDA geek written all over it.

LOL guys....wait and see....this thing is going to sell BIG.

I agree. I know people who pay $300-$400+ easily for a new phone, and those phones are not close to being "smart" (they just look sleek and slim...and trendy) :wink: . Many people look at the cellphone nowadays as more of a fashion item than anything else. The public, in general, are not as technical a group as we are. People will pay through the nose for fashion trends (I'm not implying the iPhone is only a fashion trend). Furthermore, if they pay $300 for a new cellphone, and $150-$200 for a good MP3 player, they can pay the same price and get a dedicated phone+mp3 player device (and be in while they're at it).

I also agree with the comment on a large group of consumers wanting a PDA phone device that's not overly complicated. I am also one of them. I used to want my PPC to do everything for me until I found out it doesn't seem to work all that well being the all-in-one Swiss Army knife. Add to that crashes, freezes, and software conflicts and I remember myself regretting buying a PPC the first 1-2 months I had it. It wasn't until later that I learned to work around all the bugs, glitches, and incompatibilities to get a semi-stable device.

[Janak Parekh]

Haha, Janak. I think you misplaced those quotes. Maybe you meant:
I think they deserve credit for "pushing the envelope" of PDAs and smart phones for the last few years.
Well, I was actually hinting at the blurred definition of smartphone, which has come up yet again in this discussion. ;) Heck, is the iPhone smart or not? That's a good question in-and-of-itself. :P

--janak

[DaleReeck]

I don't know anyone that has said they think the iPhone will be "crap". I think some of us are questioning the size of the market for a $500-$600 .



But are these same people who want a simpler device going to spend $500-$600 to get one? I doubt it. That price tag has PDA geek written all over it.

LOL guys....wait and see....this thing is going to sell BIG.

I agree. I know people who pay $300-$400+ easily for a new phone, and those phones are not close to being "smart"

Normally, I agree that $300-$400 is not that far from $500-$600. But you know the story on why things cost ".99", i.e., $9.99 instead of $10.00? Because $9.99 sounds less that $10.00 and makes people more likely to buy. The same goes here. $300-$400 is closer to $0 than $1000 while $500-$600 sounds closer to $1000 than $0. I know it's dumb, but marketing geeks will tell you this. A company does not pick a price lightly and a $499 price will sell much more than a $599 price even though the difference is negligible and even if the more expensive device has more features.

[Jonathan1]

I also wonder about the iPhone's multi-touch screen technology. How does it work, and why don't other PDAs (such as PPCs) have it?

It would seem to really open up the range of gesture commands that you can do, for example...

Mainly because Apple has patented the crap out of it. Now whether or not that would stand up in court is another matter.

Personally I'm WAY more interested in LG's offering that was demoed in Dec. So no screeching from Mac fans about copying.

http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadgetmobile.com/media/2006/12/lg-ke850-if.jpg

http://www.gizmodo.com/assets/resources/2006/12/ke8503.jpg

Video of the thing in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5916aOMQNI

Screw the iPhone. The only downside to LG's offering is its probably going to be as closed as the iPhone to 3rd party developers. Prob more so even. :?

[Jonathan1]

I don't know anyone that has said they think the iPhone will be "crap". I think some of us are questioning the size of the market for a $500-$600 .



But are these same people who want a simpler device going to spend $500-$600 to get one? I doubt it. That price tag has PDA geek written all over it.

LOL guys....wait and see....this thing is going to sell BIG.

No doubt. If nothing else the legion of Mac fans who will outright switch providers should be interesting. However I think once you get beyond the fanbois, the geeks, and people who want the latest bling you have a very narrow market for this device.

First off its only 4GB or 8GB for that $500-$600. Traditionally for iPods. That kind of price has been reserved for iPods with huge hard drives. This thing doesn't have that. So exclude anyone who wants a large HD. What does that leave us with? People looking for nano sized HD's. Well in that category they are use to $200-$300 or less iPods. Not $500-$600. Then you have the thing locked into Cingular that further narrows the people this thing is selling too. Finally forget about most 3rd party apps. So this pretty much kills the geek factor for most. You are left with a moderate segment of users who are willing to blow that kind of money.

And before someone defends this device as a convergence device so you are getting X, Y, and Z. The same has been said of the PS3 and we know how well that is selling at $500-$600.

I think Apple is going to sell a ton of these things but once the above users buy theirs its going to dry up until the price comes down. I mean as an example for me. I own a 60GB iPod Photo with 5GB of free space on this thing. the iPhone's music capabilities are useless to me. For $500-$600 I want to use all those feature but it it drops into the $300 range with maybe 1GB-2GB of storage? Then lets talk. I'll sacrifice features as long as the price is right.

[Yata]

Not trying to pick a fight here. My sources include Gartner who defines a smart phone as:
a large-screen, voice-centric handheld device designed to offer complete phone functions while simultaneously functioning as a personal digital assistant.
They go on to claim that Nokia has 42% of the market, while Canalys says 75%.

I'm not trying to pick a fight either, I'm just curious about the varying definitions of a smart phone. :)

Canalys figures are only for Europe, where Nokia dominates, whilst I assume Gartner's figures are for North America or the entire world. That's why they're different (Windows Mobile does very well in North America and Linux is very popular in Asia).

Even by Gartner's very vague definition, all the Symbian phones I've seen fall into that category. If you're going to exclude Symbian phones from being defined as smart phones then you're ironically going to have to exclude Windows Mobile Smartphones from being defined as smart phones too. I've owned both and Symbian and Smartphone devices and they're very similar in functionality and form-factor. Both sync with Outlook, have thousands of natively programmed apps available to them, support push e-mail, etc.

There's no point in arguing about the definition of smart phone, since I assume we would both agree that the bulk of the Nokia phones in Canalys' survey are not in the same market as the iPhone. Which brings me back to the original point I was making: I believe that the iPhone is targeting a much smaller market than can accommodate a new player capturing 10M units with a $500-$600 phone.

I'd disagree. The majority of the Symbian phones I see on the streets are N-series "multi-media computers (http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/17/nokia-prepping-n97-multimedia-computer/)". They're multimedia-centric smart phones that are aimed directly at consumers and cost anywhere up to $1000 without a contract. If I was Nokia, I would be very worried about the iPhone.

[JesterMania]

That LG phone mentioned up there looks nice. I think the screen protector (and screen repair) business is going to boom :mrgreen: .

[mightymission]

Or how about a PPC with WM software that isn't buggy and requires soft resets to get it to work? Hey, a upgrade to POS IE 4.0 for the first time in how many years would be nice also.

Just sayin'

[William Yeung]

One thing I realy want to draw everyone's attention on iPhone is the browser. Comparing to that safari implementation, all PPC browsers- SUCKS. See the demo yourself. This is the only thing I really hope to have on WM devices, otherwise my WM are fine. But dont forget the browser thing is something quite major on an internet hooked phone. Where is our ajax support... Full desktop screen viewing with zoom... I still cant do e-Banking with PPC.... dammit.

[Phoenix]

...if they pay $300 for a new cellphone, and $150-$200 for a good MP3 player, they can pay the same price and get a dedicated phone+mp3 player device (and be in while they're at it).

But many times, these two purchases are staggered. I don't think most often people buy both of these things at the same time. With the iPhone, you're going to have to slap down all that cash all at once. Something else to think about is that having only one device will mean less flexibility in what you own, unless you spend even more money and have some feature overlap with two devices. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for convergence, but the more you converge, the less ability you have to swap out certain functionality for something newer without getting rid of the whole device and everything else that comes with it. Maybe I want a new digital music player, but not a new phone. So I don't know how many people will want this convergence. Maybe a lot, maybe not.

Part of me thinks this phone is going to sell like crazy just because of the Apple marketing team, and part of me reasons that this isn't going to appeal to the average person simply because of the price and required two-year commitment to only one carrier that many people don't like or may not be in the market to switch to, among other reasons.

------------

On another note, I've been thinking more about HTC innovating and my initial comment in this thread, and I'm thinking that although they don't have to copy the iPhone, and although HTC's WM phones and the iPhone already share some features (touchscreen, quad-cellular, WiFi, BT, etc.), they're going to share even more features with the iPhone eventually - GB's of integrated flash memory, multi-touch interface, etc.

A lot of these phones are spec'd and function so much alike anyway when you really think of it. Granted, what really sets the iPhone apart is the multi-touch interface, how the OS looks and functions, and the 4/8GB of flash. But unless HTC really does something mind-blowing (whatever that would amount to), much of what they do is going to end up similar. With quad-band cellular, WiFi/BT/FM/GPS, microSD slot, touchscreen, good solid processor, swappable battery, 3rd-party app/music/movie/photo/game playing/voice recording capability with Skype/internet/email/IM/SMS capability as well - WHEW! - what else could they do? There isn't much else besides cable TV/satellite radio - and with Slingbox, we can get close to that as well. Not to mention, 4/8GB Class 6 (fast, fast, fast) microSD cards are coming out this year, which will match the flash capacities of the iPhone. So again, what else is there? WiMax? A better browser? More RAM and processor power/speed? NFC? Kleer wireless? Multi-touch?

I used to think multi-touch was a bit stupid when I first heard of it in another device awhile back, but this was due to the fact there weren't really any apps to speak of or OS's to truly take advantage of it. With the iPhone, its advantages are becoming a bit clearer. Not to mention, some of the other things I've seen on the net utilizing this type of input have really introduced some intriguing uses. Whether or not we see those things adapted to our phones is another question altogether. But it's very interesting nonetheless.

Now that I've spent more time thinking this over, it makes me wonder what HTC's concept of innovation really is. Of course, there will always be something to add, but apart from the technologies I mentioned above, we're getting close to having devices with it all and I'm wondering about what other ways we could define "innovation".

We speak of phone manufacturers innovating, they speak of it too, but should so much of this credit be given to the phone manufacturers, or is the credit really due to those outside companies who develop each new individual technology and market it to the industry with the intention of eventually finding their components inside the very phones we use?

Whatever direction HTC and the WM industry as a whole takes, certainly Apple joining the game has to be beneficial for consumers. Of course, competition most always is. Raising some standards and forcing the industry to think outside the box is always good.