The Best BiPhone

August 16, 2008 in AT&T, Apple, Handsets, Retailers

No… its not the greatest phone for sexually promiscuous people swinging from both sides of the plate. The Best BiPhone is our special way of saying that Best Buy will be selling the iPhone starting September 7th!

For a brand and a product typically veiled in a sense of exclusivity, the Best Buy deal furthers the iPhone’s push into the mainstream market.  The iPhone’s availability in 976 Best Buy store’s nationwide provides further convenience and availability to the smash success. But is it a mistake?

On Seeking Alpha, Kevin Maney warns that it could compromise long-term success: “If Apple simply pushes the iPhone into the mass market, it will be a temporary victory. As the RAZR showed, sales will take off like a rocket as the price drops — until a point comes when consumers see the product as run-of-the-mill, margins shrink, and prices can’t fall any further. Sales suddenly fall off a cliff, and the brand is all but dead.”

But Apple isn’t Motorola and the iPhone isn’t exactly the RAZR. But most importantly, its no longer about the phone… its about the applications. Apple knows EXACTLY what they are doing by making the iPhone as accessible as possible to the widest audience - they’re setting a volume standard for application developers and users that gives them a head start on Google’s Android platform.

Apple can always go back to offering an “elite” version of the iPhone just as they have released various versions of the iPod. The touch, nano, video, various sizes, various colors, etc… the iPhone has already established itself as a superior product and soon they can begin differentiating. But 3rd party applications WILL become the future of mobile and Apple cannot afford to lose the battle in this all important facet.

When Google’s Android was announced it seemed like somewhat like the knight in shining armor for mobile consumers. When Apple fanboys downplayed Android and trumpeted the iPhone, reasonable minds explained that the iPhone is just one device for an exclusive group of people while Android will be dozens and dozens of phones across dozens of countries, etc…

But what if the iPhone could become the iPod of the mobile market? The playing field would be leveled, would it not? Apple is well on their way to giving the iPhone an iPod like status and the entrance into Best Buy is part of the plan to get there.

Sure, Apple could have played the “premiere product” and “exclusive club” card and made the iPhone a cream of the crop only type of deal. But then they would have watched Android Phones with Android Applications gallop nonchalantly past them, easily taking the cake as the future of mobile. Instead, it is now Android that has the catching up to do.

And perhaps under the radar in this whole thing is the huge boost this provides to Best Buy. Remember that the only brand/phone to really take the Apple iPhone head on as a self-proclaimed iPhone Killer has been Sprint and Samsung with their Instinct. Best Buy is the exclusive retailer of the Samsung Instinct. Coincidence? We think not. Best Buy is making a strong push to become a goto destination for mobile consumers.

“Many of our customers come to our store every day asking for [the iPhone],” said Shawn Score, president of Best Buy’s mobile division, “We’re excited we’re going to be able to say yes.”

Mr. Score claimed that BestBuy’s market share for mobile has nearly doubled, from 2% last year to about 3.6% this year. Snagging the iPhone should really, really help their efforts.

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