Apple iPhone launch approaches

We are only a few days away from the much-anticipated Apple iPhone launch. Apple fans are all but ecstatic, and one can really expect long queues at outlets selling the so-called Jesus phone!

Though only a few select testers have used the product, the industry as a whole as well as consumers are going gaga over the product. According to them, the iPhone is a product with the ability to rock the mobile phone landscape.

Consumers will have to wait till Friday to see and touch the Apple iPhone, but it is as if everyone is raving about the gadget. Apple has said that the iPhone has software which has never been seen before in a mobile device and that it will redefine what users can do on their mobile phones. Analysts say that competition among handset makers has long been brutal, with or without the iPhone. There are already some smart phones which are more capable - functionally - than the iPhone, but it is in pure styling, and Apple's reputation for perfect hardware-software integration that the iPhone will score over others.

One rival for the iPhone can be the LG Prada, branded by the ultraexpensive and chic fashion house. The LG Prada is keyless, and like iPhone, will offer a touchscreen interface. The sensitivity of the screen on the phone also supposedly takes accuracy to a new level. LG is not alone in the race to give Apple’s iPhone a run for its money. Samsung had launched a new handset earlier this year with Sprint Nextel, the Samsung UpStage, which has functions on both sides. One side has a portable music player with a touch pad and a large display; the other has a traditional phone with a full numeric keypad. It is nowhere near the Apple iPhone in the visual appeal sweepstakes, though.

However, Apple knows its market. The company describes the iPhone as the best iPod they ever produced. That should be enough for Apple faithfuls to crowd the stories on launch day. Future sales would depend largely on reviews, the aspirational factor, and the willingness of normal phone users to pay a premium for better usability. Going by recent Apple launches, that is hardly going to be a problem.