Philip Elmer-DeWitt in Fortune remembers who said what about The great iPhone death watch. A few favorites:
Palm CEO Ed Colligan (November 16, 2006):
We’ve learned and struggled for a few years here figuring out how to make a decent phone. PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They’re not going to just walk in.
John C. Dvorak (March 28, 2007):
Apple should pull the plug on the iPhone… What Apple risks here is its reputation as a hot company that can do no wrong. If it’s smart it will call the iPhone a ‘reference design’ and pass it to some suckers to build with someone else’s marketing budget. Then it can wash its hands of any marketplace failures… Otherwise I’d advise people to cover their eyes. You are not going to like what you’ll see.
Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO (April 30, 2007):
There’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance. It’s a $500 subsidized item. They may make a lot of money. But if you actually take a look at the 1.3 billion phones that get sold, I’d prefer to have our software in 60% or 70% or 80% of them, than I would to have 2% or 3%, which is what Apple might get.
Since then, Apple has sold more iPhones than Microsoft Windows Mobile devices. Nearly 50-million iPhones (nearly 25-million iPod touch). Over 100,000 apps, games, utilities, and over 2-billion downloads. Half of all cell phone data traffic in the world comes from iPhones.
Interestingly, the death watch continues as technology pundits predict the iPhone’s demise yet again, this time crushed by a plethora of Google Android phones. Meanwhile, Apple continues to focus on what it does best—customer experience.
Kate's Comment Policy: Keep your comment on topic, relevant, worthy, and funny. Or, pick any three. Be pleasant, helpful, and only use your real name. Comments are moderated and will not appear immediately.