The true genius of the iPhone is not in the slick multi-touch interface, the elegant UI, or the integrated applications it comes with. The true breakthrough is creating the first catalytic mobile development platform - the platform today where developers are most incented to build for, creating a virtuous cycle that will be impossible to break once mature.
So how is the iPhone's development platform different from its competitors? In the following 4 crucial ways:
1. The carrier gatekeepers are removed (or minimized)
To develop for any other consumer mobile device requires complex contracts with the service provider. Often a single device will be used by multiple carriers, and a developer will need to negotiate multiple times, almost always at a big disadvantage. Furthermore, most carriers are last-century behemoths that make the newspaper industry seem spry in comparison. Yes, Apple charges a fixed 30% of revenues, but this is nothing compared the small fortune you need to spend on lawyers and shmoozers in order to court the carriers.
2. The development SDK and platform is excellent
The iPhone SDK rivals that of Windows Mobile, and is lightyears ahead of the rest. The fact that there is only one device (the iPhone) with a consistent and powerful set of capabilities vs. the fragmented Windows Mobile platform with different CPUs and devices (some with touch screens, most without) gives the iPhone the edge. Furthermore, the decision to base the iPhone on OSX and use the same development tools means that the massive OSX developer ecosystem can be leveraged, instantly creating a huge developer base.
3. The iPhone has a huge device market
On a per-device basis (which is most important to developers), the iPhone rivals the market leader (Blackberry). If Apple managed to hit their self-proclaimed target of 10M units by the end of 2008, the iPhone will become the dominant platform.
4. It is focused on the consumer market
Other than the iPhone, all other smartphones are targeted at businesses. This means stodgy, expensive, hard to use apps. By going after consumers as a primary market, Apple not only faces less competition at the start, but the development community has a huge green-field to fill. Once apps are perfected in the consumer space, it is only a matter of time before they compete with enterprise apps. This same strategy was what propelled Windows to conquer the Enterprise OS market, and it will work here too.