People Not Flocking To Multipurpose Cell Phones

USA Today looks at the convergence of cell phones and consumer electronic devices as the impending launch of the Apple iPhone looms. Although the industry is rolling out new handsets with multimedia capabilites, many question if consumers even want such functionality.

David Chamberlain, at In-Stat said, "People are not really flocking to phones with new features. They just want to talk on the phone." According to a recent In-Stat survey, there is relatively little interest so far in new phone add-ons, such as video.

Two reasons driving the trend are 1) carriers want users to exploit their data networks to drive revenue and 2) the global market is 2 billion strong so even a small hit can do wonders for the bottom line. For example, the article states Apple has sold about 21 million iPods since launching in 2001, while in comparison Motorola sold almost 34 million cell phones in its most recent quarter.

So what's in store for the much-hyped iPhone? According to Albert Lin at American Technology Research, the phone will be pricey in the $250 to $300 range with questionable capacity too. "I think the potential (for the iPod phone) is smaller than what many people think," Lin said.