iPhone Missing From 2007 CES Las Vegas

Although unveiled at the same time, the new Apple iPhone was not shown at this January’s CES – the world’s largest consumer electronics trade show.

For many delegates, though, the absent star of the show was the iPhone. Launched by Apple chief Steve Jobs at Macworld in San Francisco last week, the iPhone neatly demonstrates the power of a multifunctional device. Mr Jobs showed how iPhone users will be able to make calls while viewing content on the internet and exchanging email – simultaneously. He also announced an exclusive deal with Cingular Wireless to provide mobile services in the US.

Until now, internet services on mobile phones have occupied a relatively small market. But over time, as the capabilities of handsets and the bandwidth of wireless networks improve, industry analysts forecast that mobiles will outperform the market for computer-based internet services.

Consumers may find it hard to make sense of this multiplicity of products, but does anyone actually know how the electronics industry will develop in the next five years? And just how will consumers benefit? When Mr Gates joked in his speech that “… next year I’ll know more about infectious diseases than I know about this industry”, he may not just have been signalling his retirement.

Lucas Covers, the chief marketing officer of Philips Consumer Electronics, has a clear response when it comes to addressing the requirements of the European consumer. “It’s undoubtedly a crowded market. To succeed, you need to gain the confidence of consumers and demonstrate that you can create compatible devices,” he says.

Original article: http://news.independent.co.uk/business/analysis_and_features/article2150493.ece
The undeniably sexy iPhone: http://www.apple.com/iphone/