A lot of people in the tech world are up in arms over Apple’s continued denial of Flash on the iPhone, iPod, and iPad. That’s no surprise as many people love these products dearly. The problem is that their brand religion clouds their understanding of what is really going on, and loyalists have bought Apple’s red herring hook, line, and sinker.
Aside from great ads and a rabid fan base, three features made the iPhone really popular.
- Slick hardware with a user interface meant for your fingers rather than a stylus
- The App Store
- A simple product line
Most consumers don’t realize that the concept of an App Store wasn’t new. A little company called Handango has been doing this for a decade. I bought over a dozen apps back in 2005 on my trusty Sony Ericsson P910 including a very useful subway application, some impressive mobile games for the time, and even a SNES emulator.
Unfortunately this mobile revolution went virtually unnoticed until Apple realized its potential, both as a selling point and business model.
