Every few weeks it seems like we hear of an iPhone "killa". Palm just announced its Pre. Blackberry, Google, Nokia, HTC, Samsung all have theirs. But as the Toyota commercial suggests "when all the competitiors compare to our trucks, consumers say - why not buy the original?"
The problem is all these new phones just try to out-feature the iPhone - with a better camera, a modem or "cut and paste" functionality.
None of them has gone after the iPhone's Achilles Heel. Its large TCO thanks to AT&T.
If Palm or whoever is really, really serious about challenging the iPhone, it needs to knock some sense into the carrier it partners with. To offer much more compelling plans ( at least 50% better). And control the carrier's tendencies to add all kinds of add-ons and fees. And then show it crisply in its advertising and customer surveys.
Till the iPhone came along, few device manufacturers had been able to dictate much to the telcos. To compete effectively with Apple, its competitors need to similarly start dictating to their carriers.
