The Impact of the iPhone on South Africa
Author: Joey da Silva2 Jul
The iPhone is on its way to sunny South Africa and the excitement is already beginning to build. The news that the iPhone would be available in South Africa spread rapidly through the MSM and the local blogosphere. Some, however, have been sceptical as to the magnitude of the potential impact the release of the iPhone here will have – here is why they should be as excited as everyone else!
The iPhone has sold exceptionally well, with approx. 6 million units moved by its first anniversary this Sunday, the 29th. While perhaps not as incredible as a Steve Jobs keynote might imply this is still a serious feat – going from 0 to 6 million units shipped in 1 year is no joke – and the impact of the iPhone has been very significant. It has changed the way consumers who have experienced its interface perceive the mobile web (no longer clunky WAP but rather slick browsing via a small version of Safari) and stimulated significant innovation in the mobile device space. Furthermore, the new version of the iPhone which is to be released locally also sports 3G connectivity – making rich media browsing from a mobile device sound very attractive! Allan Kent (of Saatchi and Saatchi’s At Play) articulated his feeling that the iPhone is going to change the game for mobile applications: “The most important thing that I mentioned earlier is that I believe the iPhone interface will make mobile applications a lot more accessible to people.” This is definitely going to be the case, in fact we here at FormFunction would contend that it’s going to change more than just the game, but the entire context in which mobile application development takes place. Both web apps developed specifically for iPhones and native apps that are able to leverage the unique featureset provided by the iPhone SDK are going to finally start delivering on the promises of convergence that have been floating around for years.
Thus a large part of what the iPhone represents has yet to be unlocked: there is going to be an explosion of fascinating new applications for the device as the second year of the device’s existence unfolds. An interesting example of what can be achieved with a little work is Patrick Collison’s wikipedia on the iPhone project which yields as he says “the warm fuzzy feeling of having the sum of all human knowledge in your pocket.” Social functionality on the iPhone has already been shown to be successful with the widely acclaimed Facebook iPhone portal and much more innovation on this front is to be expected – some of which will certainly be coming from FormFunction’s side of the ring 
We’re looking forward to the South African iPhone launch and are excited to be part of SA’s next wave of mobile innovation: there’s no doubt that Apple’s device is a winner!
PS: Vodacom has set up a microsite for people interested in getting an iPhone when it launches locally to leave their details. Vodacom says it will get back to those who sign up “as soon as [the iPhone] becomes available.”
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13 Responses for "The Impact of the iPhone on South Africa"
The one thing that will hinder it’s functionality here is its inability to receive or send MMS’s which is big in Africa, much bigger than mobile internet, across higher and lower LSM’s.
Also, even though Adobe is working on it, the iPhone is unable to translate flash sites in its browser, which already cuts down certain sites which can be accessed by the iPhone.
Some things to keep in mind.
The iphone is a game change when it comes to mobile apps, will it make a difference to ordinary Africans? No, cos they cant afford it.
What will make a difference is a similar product(Internet access/UI), at a much lower price point. This will allow tons of people easy access to the internet.
I for one am interested in the change over to something like an iPhone. I believe the MMS issue might be provider specific, and if Vodacom plan on implementing it locally, they would be foolish to leave gaps in the capibilities of the phone (a support nightmare).
One would assume then that they will make a plan and iron out the kinks.
Early indications are that Vodacom are hoping to implement by mid-month (July) – Although, I have only heard this from one source and cannot be sure of that fact just yet. I believe this time frame is too close to the international launch date … so lets watch the press for details and watch the hype and excitement build.
Muhammad – That is a good point, MMS is very widely used in South Africa, as it’s the easiest way to send an extremely long message or photograph at a relatively inexpensive cost. I’m not sure that the inability to load flash is much of a set back, although, I don’t surf the net via my mobile too often.
ismail – Interesting and valid view point. I’m not 100% sure on what the iPhone will retail for when it hits South Africa, so until then, I think we all have to wait and see before deciding who is going to be able to afford it or not.
Donovan – I tell you one thing, it’s a fantastic phone to use – I have used one for a few days and I am very tempted to purchase one when they arrive. A number of people have mentioned that the iPhone will only be available on contract, others say it will be available off contract, but at extremely large prices. As I said to ismail, I guess we’re all going to have to wait and see.
Thank you all for your interesting comments!
Muhammad, as far as I know Apple isn’t planning to add MMS to the iPhone. They’re trying to move away from traditional cellphone systems both in terms of usability and functionality, so on the iPhone email is the preferred way of sending pictures or long messages to other people.
Adobe has been working on a very trimmed-down version of Flash for the iPhone, but Steve Jobs said that he doesn’t want it on the iPhone, so for the foreseeable future the only way Adobe can get its Flash Player on the device would be through the Jailbreaking community. Yes, a small percentage of websites are inaccessible from the iPhone, but it hasn’t bothered me yet and I use my iPhone to browse the web every day. My opinion is that I prefer interactivity built with AJAX than Flash both on my iPhone and my computer anyway.
Ismail, I agree that the iPhone will change the cellphone industry and mobile computing (take a look at the rise in cellphone-based web usage statistics since the iPhone was released), but I don’t think the pricing will be that bad. Apple set the price at $199 for the 8GB iPhone 3G, which converts to around R1600. Add onto that any other import- and distribution-related costs that Vodacom might charge, and you still end up with a smartphone way below the average market cost.
Donovan, the MMS issue isn’t provider-specific, there simply isn’t any MMS software on the phone (see my comments to Muhammad above). The phone will be released on the 11th of July in the major countries (America, Britain, etc.), so hopefully we’ll have it here within a month or two after that.
Christopher, I agree that it’s a fantastic phone, I’ve had a Jailbroken & Unlocked 8GB iPhone since March/April and I don’t see myself ever getting used to a ‘normal’ cellphone again. As for the pricing and availability, the link to Vodacom’s website mentioned at the end of the article states that the iPhone will be “available to anyone, not only Vodacom customers”, and they mention both contract and prepaid deals. Apple is generally very strict with it’s product pricing, which is why you rarely see huge specials on Macintosh computers, they’re priced generally the same wherever you look. This is partly due to most South African stock being imported by one company (the Core Group), but if you look at British or American stores you’ll find the same trend. If their strict pricing will extend to the iPhone 3G we shouldn’t be paying much more than around R1600 (see my comments to Ismail above).
The new iPhone (and the new iPhone 2.0 software for existing iPhones and iPod Touches) will allow users to access the App Store to purchase games and applications. I wonder how this will impact the Jailbreaking community? Many of the applications available for free in Installer.app will probably be ported to the App Store by their developers (the App Store will have a larger market share than Installer.app), and this might cause a huge decrease the amount of Jailbroken iPhones.
Apple allows developers to set their own price for their applications (or make them available for free), and 70% of the sales revenues go to the developers. So, except for applications and services that use system-level functionality not accessible via the SDK (e.g. FTP Servers, Flash-based browsing, Web Servers, etc.), there might not be many reasons to build apps for Jailbroken iPhones anymore. On the other hand, developers might not want to pay the $99 entry fee to put their free applications in the App Store, so maybe we’ll see a split where Installer.app is the place to go for most freeware, and the App Store is the place to go for most commercial software.
Something that worries me is that many countries (including South Africa) can’t use local credit cards to purchase music or videos from the iTunes store, and this might mean that we won’t be able to purchase applications from the App Store either… Hopefully this is not the case, it would be great if we could get iTunes Store as well as App Store access here when the phone is launched!
I think by basing the stunning success of IPhone on other countries I think it will be safe to say that it will be a big it in South Africa as well.
I agree with the incredible affect having a device ( IPhone ) that links you to the rest of the planet , no matter where you are , may it be the confines of your living room , or walking in the sidewalk, hiking on a remote mountain somewhere or going on a stroll in the woods, and with just a click of a button your linked to the global community , it’s a very powerful feeling.
Why wouldn’t the iPhone have success in South Arfica.
I just bought one about 2 weeks ago and LOVE it. I am disappointed that it doesn’t have MMS or turn by turn nav. The Flash is a non issue for me.
Ye, why would it not be a home run. Apple is great at marketing and understanding exactly what their user is looking for. They are less likely to simply try to put every user into a box. I think the IPhone will be widely used in South Africe, especially if the rest of the world is a good indication.
Just like in other continents, an iPhone will surely be a hit in South Africa. However, I still believe that it is not the “complete” phone a person must have. There are other phones in the market that is better than the iPhone.
Yes, there are a lot of phones nowadays that even surpasses what the iphone can do. But when it comes to software, a lot of developers are focusing on Iphone/Ipod Touch softwares.
After iPhone was introduced to the market, it became a sure hit everywhere. As expected. It’s just sad that its specifications are not as impressive as those that do not cost as much as the iPhone. But still, I’m loving it’s sleek feature.
The iPhone has been a great success everywhere! I don’t have one but I will get one soon. I think that the iPhone is the favorite phone in almost every country.
Concerning the MMS, I think it is not that important. If you have web access and e-mail why would you need an old fashioned technology like MMS.
Now they do have official iPhone support even in SA… And we STILL don’t have it in Russia, we STILL have to unlock&jailbreak every iPhone we’ve got from abroad.
WTF????
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