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In-Stat analyst still not sure if Apple iPhone is a ‘smartphone’
Friday, March 07, 2008 - 02:22 PM EST

Suzanne Choney reports for MSNBC about Apple's iPhone (and iPod touch) Software Roadmap announcements yesterday and includes this set of quotes from Bill Hughes, Principal Analyst Wireless Devices for In-Stat:

Some considered the announcement a little underwhelming, considering the fanfare the phone has received by consumers since last June, when it went on the market.

“If you stay up late and watch an infomercial, and they’re touting this new device that’s actually a pressure cooker, and they say how wonderful it prepares vegetables and meats, and it’s the same technology you’ve had around for a long time, but it’s in a new package — that’s kind of how I look at the iPhone,” said Bill Hughes, principal analyst for In-Stat, which does market research and analysis of advanced communications services.

“I really haven’t considered it a smartphone, and I don’t know that I still do,” he said. “A smartphone is a device that has an operating system that allows you to write native applications” for the phone.

“The other smartphone environments give (third-party software) developers much more capabilities” than those demonstrated by Apple on Thursday, he said, referring to RIM’s BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Symbian and “even the not-too-distant future-Linux” platform.


Full article here.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader "Jubei" for the heads up.]

MacDailyNews Take: Wha? Our jaws literally hung open from his first sentence to his last. Ignorance and incompetence so blatantly on display as to be painful. It's Sacconaghian; maybe even Enderlean in scope. Sheesh. If people like this can get work, the economy's just fine.

If you're relying on In-Ept's, er... In-Stat's Bill Hughes for "analysis" of wireless devices, may God help you — because Bill sure isn't.

Contact info:
Bill Hughes (profile)
In-Stat Principal Analyst - Wireless Devices


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Mar 07, 08 - 02:26 pm Comment from: asuyak

This guy gets paid money to say stuff like this and call it analysis?

Mar 07, 08 - 02:31 pm Comment from: critic

Note to self: apply for job at In-Stat immediately, as this has to be the easiest money ever!!!

Mar 07, 08 - 02:33 pm Comment from: auren

OMG !!!

Mar 07, 08 - 02:37 pm Comment from: Patrick

I'm embarrassed FOR him. Jeez!

Mar 07, 08 - 02:41 pm Comment from: TowerTone

Wow, thanks! I have always wondered what the definition of a "smart phone" was, and now I know.

I wonder if he could also explain to me what that roll of paper by the toilet is for....

Mar 07, 08 - 02:41 pm Comment from: Mungo

You should provide the contact info this fellow's boss. He's likely not smart enough to understand anything we would have to tell him.

Mar 07, 08 - 02:42 pm Comment from: Richard

Begin forwarded message:

From: Richard Fxxxxx <xxxxxxxx@gmail.com>
Date: March 7, 2008 2:40:55 PM EST
To:
Subject: Did you misunderstand...

...the Apple announcement or were you mis-quoted?

What a blunder!

This page here relays what you said about the iPhone SDK and if you indeed said that you are wrong.
http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/16625/

The SDK does allow third-party developer to write native apps for the iPhone.

Take a look at http://developer.apple.com to clarify things a bit.

Mar 07, 08 - 02:42 pm Comment from: Spark

Wow, I'm speechless. (good thing I'm typing).

“A smartphone is a device that has an operating system that allows you to write native applications”

What part of the SDK announcement is he not understanding. (rhetorical question; he obviously is not understanding any of it) Does he not consider OS X an operating system? What vapidness.

Mar 07, 08 - 02:43 pm Comment from: DLMeyer

"Principle Analyst" ... where have I heard THAT before? Oh, yeah, that self-employed troll fishing for hits by saying totally bogus things about Apple.
critic, you don't want a job there. You'd last as long as it took him to get tired of re-writing your "hit pieces" and telling you - not so gently - that the point is to get hits, not spread information.
MDN, why did you link to this twit and where was your "click at your own risk" warning label?
Dave

Mar 07, 08 - 02:44 pm Comment from: Gil

@TowerTone

Save a tree.... use your hands....

Mar 07, 08 - 02:45 pm Comment from: MadMac

I was provoked by this man's stupidity to write a point-by-point nasty email, tearing him a new one. But then I realized that I have a new policy not to waste my time on imbeciles.

Mar 07, 08 - 02:45 pm Comment from: Roger

If Bill is the "Principle" analysts then I wonder what the people who work under him are like?

It must be easy to work for those guys.

Mar 07, 08 - 02:45 pm Comment from: Cubert

“I really haven’t considered it a smartphone, and I don’t know that I still do,”

That's because you're a dumb@$$!!!

Remember, it's always better to be a smart@$$ than a dumb@$$.

Mar 07, 08 - 02:46 pm Comment from: Falkirk

Well, I think that Bill Hughes has it right, but for all the wrong reasons. He's right that the iPhone is not a smartphone. It's much more. It's a computer in your hand. The phone part of the iPhone is becoming it's least significant asset. As of today, what makes the iPhone great is it's ability to connect to the internet. (Google estimates that iPhone users search Google 50 times more than any other mobile device.) By June, the iPhone will be great because it one will be able to carry the power of the computer and the power of the internet in one mobile package. Bill Hughes is right. There is no comparison between the iPhone platform and smartphones. Smartphones are superior phones. But iPhone is the future of computing.

Mar 07, 08 - 02:53 pm Comment from: DJ

Hmmm... Well, I think our principal analyst has it right.

iPhone is not any old smartphone at all.

It's actually the smarterphone.

Mar 07, 08 - 02:53 pm Comment from: derelict

Guess you gotta be smart to recognize a smart-phone

Mar 07, 08 - 02:54 pm Comment from: GizmoDan

MacDailyNews Take:
Apple is so better-positioned and more capable of taking on RIM in the enterprise than RIM is in taking on Apple in the consumer market that it's laughable. Apple has most of the enterprise stuff lined up for June; RIM will have an iPod in their devices the day after never. Apple will pass RIM in U.S. smartphone market share so quickly, it'll make many so-called analysts' heads spin.

Mar 07, 08 - 03:02 pm Comment from: Mad Mac Maniac

The iPhone is NOT a "smartphone"

It's a smartass's phone.

That's what he was trying to say and screwed it up.

I was there, I swear. I heard him correctly too.

No really, a smartphone is a phone THAT CALLS THE PERSON YOU WANT BEFORE YOU DO.

I'm such a smartypants, but iPhoneless, because 2.0 is rolling around.

Brown brown, run aground.
Blue your cool, green your clean,
White you might, but don't get uptight.

I'm just MAD, because I can't see the screen anymore without three inch thick glasses. Because some jackarse decided glossy was the "new hotness".

Bah

Mar 07, 08 - 03:09 pm Comment from: MikeK

Maybe someone needs to send him the link from Yahoo about the iPhone SDK far exceeding developer expectations..

Ah, Nevermind, I'll do it:


http://news.yahoo.com/s/infoworld/20080306/tc_infoworld/95831

Mar 07, 08 - 03:10 pm Comment from: little tiny nitch guy

Wow. I've heard it all now. I'm glad I'm not paying money for his "expertise".

What a complete moron.

Mar 07, 08 - 03:11 pm Comment from: Grigori

From the article: "Demonstrations of “Spore” and “Space Monkey” on the iPhone whetted many a gamer’s appetite."

I believe that would be Super Monkey Ball, NOT "Space Monkey"... good to see she did her homework.

Mar 07, 08 - 03:12 pm Comment from: MCCFR

What part of the SDK announcement is he not understanding?

The words.

Mar 07, 08 - 03:18 pm Comment from: Jubei

I had to read that article a few times myself to make sure I really understood what he was saying. Sadly the readers who are new to this technology may take away that information as fact when basing their next purchase. It happens all the time. Proof can easily be found when you get Windows Trolls posting inaccuracies all over the net.

Mar 07, 08 - 03:23 pm Comment from: HMCIV

I wouldn't classify Apple's device as a Smartphone. That's too belittling.

Mar 07, 08 - 03:26 pm Comment from: Pissssed

Yes, iPhone is a smartphone, an amazing smartphone..but WHY DO I HAVE TO WAIT FOR YEAR(S) before I can get it?!?!

I live in a small European county and about to get really pissed, I shouldnt have to try and obtain an unlocked iPhone - no no - Apple should be offering it to everybody within a reasonable amount of time, cmon Steve!...give the phone to me already, I can't wait!

Really..if I cant get an iPhone in July (> 1 year after the US got it) , then forget it. If Steve is so greedy that he forgets his customers needs then he can go to hell, THAT'S how pissed I am waiting and waiting for it:(

Mar 07, 08 - 03:32 pm Comment from: Ampar

"If Steve is so greedy that he forgets his customers needs then he can go to hell . . ."

That must be the reason.

Mar 07, 08 - 03:35 pm Comment from: 84 Mac Guy

And here is more upcoming insightful analysis from the brilliant Bill Hughes:

Just because the Honda Civic has 4 wheels, an engine, and can drive down the highway with 4 passengers doesn't mean it should be considered a car.

AND

GE's big box that keeps things cool in one part and frozen in the other is interesting, but I would not call it a refrigerator.

AND

Just because crap spews out of my mouth rather than insightful analysis doesn't mean I consider myself an asshole.


But everyone else does Bill, everyone else does.

Sent from my smart iPhone

Mar 07, 08 - 03:49 pm Comment from: little tiny nitch guy

@HMCIV

Righto!

It's a new class.. the BrilliantPhone!

Mar 07, 08 - 03:54 pm Comment from: MacThis

This dude should just shoot himself in the head now to prevent anymore loss of oxygen for the rest of us.

Mar 07, 08 - 03:56 pm Comment from: Artist

The article is by Suzanne Choney,

Mar 07, 08 - 03:58 pm Comment from: January 24, 1984

Enderlean.....I always spit up my lunch.

Now that's funny!

Mar 07, 08 - 04:03 pm Comment from: blackwebguy

3 letters. FUD!

Mar 07, 08 - 04:03 pm Comment from: sparkplug

Hey, that's OK.

I really don't consider him a SMART analyst.

Sounds like the Operating System between his ears is a few decades short of going Golden Master.

Mar 07, 08 - 04:13 pm Comment from: tmsruge

I agree though, it's not a smartphone, it's Smart Computer.

It does more than a so-called Smartphone could ever do!

http://projectdiaspora.org

Mar 07, 08 - 04:23 pm Comment from: GmanMac

Hmm methinks the iPhone itself is smarter than the author of that tripe.

Mar 07, 08 - 04:28 pm Comment from: Mike

Not sure who is dumber, him or the stupid shit investors that listen to him!

Mar 07, 08 - 04:32 pm Comment from: viktor

No now this guy sets the standards and definitions for technology? who is this "nobody"?

Mar 07, 08 - 04:36 pm Comment from: BlueStateRed

Stupid PC users can't see how this will blow other phones out of the water.

(Enough with the Obama Ads already, I'm getting sick of this Anti American "candidate")

Mar 07, 08 - 04:40 pm Comment from: NCMacMan

Bill Hughes didn't write this dribble, it was Suzanne Choney. Go back to MSNBC and look at the article. Her picture is right there! I think that she was around when the light bulb was invented!

Not saying that all of the "Great Generation" are unable to understand technology, but sheesh, this one cannot...

Mar 07, 08 - 04:45 pm Comment from: stenar

The iPhone is the smartest phone ever, so smart that it's really a handheld computer that just happens to make calls. It's also too smart for this Choney idiot who wrote the article.

Mar 07, 08 - 04:45 pm Comment from: Davewrite

What can you expect when some PC lovers are still using DOS "the graphical interface is a TOY!"

Mar 07, 08 - 04:54 pm Comment from: Literate

NCMacMan,

Look up the meaning and usage of quotation marks, you philistine.

Bill Hughes is quoted by Choney. Choney simply reported it.

Mar 07, 08 - 05:23 pm Comment from: dd

Just like Eric Willard, Bill Hughes is a moron.

Mar 07, 08 - 05:27 pm Comment from: BiZarRo BaLlmEr

I know what a smartphone is, an you sir, are no smartphone.

Mar 07, 08 - 05:36 pm Comment from: DRM sucks

"...that’s kind of how I look at the iPhone,” said Bill Hughes"

Douchetards such as Hughes are, unfortunately, not just commenting on technology, but are also in the majority in companies that design and manufacture technology. That is, people for whom merely a list of functionality is the most important thing. Ease of use? What?!?!

Companies such as Apple understand that ease of use is not just a nice thing, but actually a critical factor in the consumer experience with those features.

Is the iPhone a smartphone? Don't give a fsck. It is a great device.

Mar 07, 08 - 06:13 pm Comment from: Jubei

@DRM sucks

"Douchetards such as Hughes are, unfortunately, not just commenting on technology, but are also in the majority in companies that design and manufacture technology. That is, people for whom merely a list of functionality is the most important thing. Ease of use? What?!?! "

If there is any truth in that, then by all means, lets promote these guys and continue to encourage them in advicing the likes of RIM/Palm/LG/HTC/MS/Noka/Samsung.... keep up the good work!!!

Mar 07, 08 - 06:24 pm Comment from: WTF?

I think his real title is principal anal-yst because that seems to be where his head is - up his ass!

Mar 07, 08 - 08:29 pm Comment from: tt

This MDN take will now be my official tagline on every board I am on.

MDN Magic Word: "high"
-
MacDailyNews Take: Wha? Our jaws literally hung open from his first sentence to his last. Ignorance and incompetence so blatantly on display as to be painful. It's Sacconaghian; maybe even Enderlean in scope. Sheesh. If people like this can get work, the economy's just fine.

Mar 07, 08 - 09:43 pm Comment from: Reclaimer

What the Hell does he think an iPhone is anyhow, a "taterphone?"

And enough of the Bakla Obama ads!

Mar 07, 08 - 09:46 pm Comment from: Reclaimer

Amen, Cubert.

I've said the same thing for many years!

Mar 07, 08 - 10:46 pm Comment from: john

How stupid can one be? I wish I could get paid for such stupidity!
That's like saying is that green grass really green?

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