Steve Jobs Single-Handedly Restructured The Mobile Industry

With the introduction of the iPhone, Steve Jobs achieved something that might be unique in the history of business: he single-handedly upended the power structure of a major industry, argues Chris Dixon, Hunch co-founder.

Before the iPhone, the carriers (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile) had an ironclad grip on the rest of the value chain, particularly, handset makers and app makers. Back in the old days, an application could get access to the customer only by cutting a deal with a carrier.

That mostly is not the case anymore. To a greater or lesser degree, app developers can work directly with handset vendors these days. That's a huge switch.

Steve Jobs Single-Handedly Restructured The Mobile Industry: