Analyst perspectives on key wireless industry topics including mobile devices, network infrastructure, mobile operators, mobile content, and short range wireless connectivity.

I will not go into detail about how great the multi-touch widescreen display is on this phone, or how I wish there were a CDMA version of this phone, or how disappointing it is that the phone is not 3G given its multimedia-centric design, or the fact that you are probably stuck with using iTunes and iTV only.

I just want to point out that the biggest deal about the Apple iPhone is its operating system - OS X. This phone still fits in ABI Research's definition of a smartphone, which says that a smartphone is a cellular handset that uses an open, commercial operating system. The middleware and UI layers are associated with the OS. Linux feature phones using Java or BREW do not count, but Linux phones that can accommodate Linux applications do count. Anyway, my point is that OS X is an open, commercial operating system, that should (or could) support third party applications.

Since the OS is OS X, It would seem this device should be a UMD (or UMPC) . . . except for one major detail. Even though Apple is saying that it runs "OS X", it is probably not the complete version with a new interface. It is a version suitable for smartphones - it is a new smartphone OS, for Apple phones only, similar to how RIM makes its own smartphone OS for its own use. It remains to be seen how open the OS is, though.

UPDATE (1/12/2007): We are hearing that this device will be closed to third party applications.  Therefore, we must conclude at this point that based on our current definition of a smartphone that the Apple iPhone is not a smartphone.  It is a very high-end feature phone.  As feature phones have increased functionality, input mechanisms, and outputs (displays and speakers), some feature phones have been very smartphone-like.  This is especially true of Apple's iPhone.  But inputs and outputs are a moving target.  The one defining aspect of a smartphone is that it has an open, commercial operating system that supports third party applications.  Feature phones' functionality (which is dictated by the software which controls the hardware) is closed and controlled by an operator or the device manufacturer.  Smartphones are supported by a third-party ecosystem, where competition in the software space creates applications that add value.  Sure, feature phones have third party applications too - but these are relatively weak and limited applications that work with the middleware such as Java and BREW applications.  Applications designed for smartphones can be written to access core functionality from the OS itself, and are therefore usually more powerful and efficient.  The competition in an open environment also yields more cutting edge, rich applications.

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