It has been three years, an eternity for gadgets, since Apple Inc. unveiled the iPhone, and by now, other phones do some things better. Yet Apple is selling more iPhones than ever.
What is it about the iPhone? Its success shows how Apple has triumphed at two crucial qualities: status and simplicity. And it's a reminder that although intense Apple fans will obsess over the upgrades the iPhone is expected to get this summer, such details won't matter as much to everyday buyers.
Other phones have higher-resolution cameras and can shoot high-definition video. The processor seems faster in new phones such as the Droid Incredible. A more energy-efficient, touch-screen technology is eclipsing the one used in the iPhone screen. And competitors are matching features that once set the iPhone apart, including its slim shape and its store with thousands of applications and games.
"This thing is not state of the art," said Michael Morgan, an ABI Research analyst.
But whether the iPhone has the best technology doesn't seem to be the question most people ask. Instead, many people crave the aura of cool that iPhones seem to convey.
"When you see people with them, I'm like, 'Oh, OK, they get it,' " said Jason Sfetko, a designer at Complex magazine in New York. When he sees someone with a BlackBerry, "I might think, maybe they're an accountant or something. They're answering too many e-mails."
About 2 1/2 years ago, the iPhone's Web browser was a selling point for Sara Maternini, 35, who works in public relations in Milan, Italy. She needs to always be online and says the iPhone was the only device that made Web surfing feel as it does on a computer.
Apple has sold more than 51 million iPhones since they hit the market in 2007, including 8.75 million in the most recent quarter. That was more than double the number it sold in the comparable quarter last year.
The surge also has helped Apple's stock double over the past year, and investors are betting that the iPhone still has room to grow. The iPhone ranks third in the global smartphone market, with a 14 percent share. Nokia Corp. has 47 percent and Research in Motion Ltd., maker of the BlackBerry, has 20 percent. However, phones that use Google Inc.'s Android software are increasing sales faster. Android accounts for 4 percent of the market, up from less than 1 percent last year, according to Gartner Inc., a market-research company.
Carolina Milanesi, who lives in Britain and analyzes the mobile market for Gartner, has tried to switch away from the iPhone but gets hung up on something every time. She spent 20 minutes trying to set up e-mail on an Android phone, only to fail. The iPhone is so simple her 2 1/2-year-old daughter can operate her spelling and animal-noises apps herself.
The iPhone isn't as flexible as others, and Milanesi bristled at things Apple wouldn't let her do. "But then you kind of get used to it, and you don't miss it," she said.
It's an iPhone world
