Fran's Blog

A week or so ago I posted about why I was excited about 2009 in the technology world. The Palm Pre has had me licking my lips, tucking my napkin over my shirt and holding my knife and fork. However, as I surf for more information on this lovely piece of kit, I have seen one type of article “could this be the iphone killer?”. It isn’t just with the Pre, any phone with a touch screen that now comes out seems to end up having this title. The answer? No, it isn’t an iphone killer, and neither should it be. Any business which relies on a competitor to fail is doomed, especially when a device like the iphone has changed the industry. There isn’t only space for one touch screen phone. There’s space for several, but the best will win and move the technology forward. Apple will copy and improve and so it continues and it has been thus since the invention of the wheel (ok, bad example as the wheel needs no improving, but you get the idea, I hope). And if the competitor is not up to scratch, it won’t be a success.

I know what they mean is really “a competitor to the iphone” in a lazy journalistic “it’s like x on acid” way, but killer? Maybe there’s a better word. I’m sure of it, there are enough words in our fine language to choose from.