Nine Years Since the iPhone Introduction

Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone nine years ago, on Dec. 9, 2007. It might not have immediately changed the world, but it set in motion a huge change in the way mobile devices are developed and commercialized, loosening mobile service provider control.

Some of us would argue the iPhone was the first device to capture end user imagination in a matter similar to the way people have emotional identifications with their clothing, perfumes, autos, shoes, favorite vacation destinations or sports teams.

In other words, for the first time, there was a physical product that embodied the value of "bandwidth" or "network access."

Intangible services (legal or financial services, for example) are hard to market, since the buyer has no tangible way to judge the quality of the product until after the product has been purchased and consumed.

Internet access and voice service, for example, are intangible. The iPhone was a breakthrough. It personified the value of mobile data access. We already knew the value of a "mobile phone" for voice or messaging. But iPhone personified the value of mobile Internet access.