Dispensing the myths of innovation with iPhone 3.0

The latest operation system of the wildly successful smartphone was warmly welcomed. An upgraded version of the phone, the iPhone 3GS, also scored handsomely. One million of the machines were sold in the first week alone.

David Pogue of the New York Times praised 3GS as a new iPhone that “doesn't just catch up to its rivals - it vaults a year ahead of them.”

Technology journalist Michael Gartenberg called the model “the golden standard for smartphones.”

These compliments come as a happy addition to the extraordinary success the phone has enjoyed since its first release two years ago. However, when examined more closely, the success story of the iPhone can be the fodder of case studies on the meaning of innovation.

In a world of pure numbers and quantifiable performances, the iPhone should be regarded as a mediocre, if not an inferior,

product. People generally define a smartphone as a high-end cellphone packed with the latest technologies and functions. In the case of the iPhone, however, it is not entirely true.

When the first iPhone was released in June 2007, it did not support the faster 3G Internet connection capability and featured only a 2.0 megapixel digital camera.

In comparison, Nokia featured a 3G connection capability and a 3.2 megapixel camera in its model produced one year before the original iPhone and therefore vaulted three years ahead of Apple (until the 3GS's belatedly featured a 3.2 megapixel camera).

In terms of software functions, one of the most overlooked characteristics of the iPhone OS 3.0 is that it is in fact a patch instead of a major upgrade.

Among its key, and most anticipated, features are commonplace functions such as the abilities to copy-and-paste text, to send multimedia cellphone messages and to make voice-activated calls. All of these have been around in the smartphone market for a long time. It is astonishing that Apple failed to provide these functions in the first place and needed another two years just to fill in that gap.

Despite all these shortcomings, the cellphone surged to become what the Wall Street Journal called “a smashing success” that redefines the smartphone market. The counterintuitive triumph of the iPhone dispenses three myths of innovation.

The first myth is that innovation means boasting a range of technologies. What makes the iPhone stand out is not having bigger guns in technological terms. Instead of providing more functions, Apple focused on what makes users feel advanced.

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