What is it that has made the iPhone such a popular mobile phone?

• Is it the stylish design?
• The Apple logo and marketing?
• The ‘cool’ factor?
• Celebrity usage?
• Powerful technology?

Well yes. Those 4 are important factors… but they pale in significance to the importance that the humble application has played in making the iPhone (through its various incarnations) THE premier mobile phone.

Why the application is so important

The big secret behind the success of the iPhone isn’t powerful or stylish design, there are other mobile phones out there that are at least the equal to the iPhone at those. The big secret is it is popular.

It sounds an obvious statement but dig deeper. The reason it is popular is because so many people find it useful for what they want to do. And the reason for this is the applications.

The applications can be added to any iPhone to improve the functionality and entertainment the phone provides, they can be made to do the things that the owner wants the phone to do. And that is what matters.

The success of a phone, ultimately, lives and dies by what users think of it – so if users are able to get what they want from a phone by adding applications they will sing its praises. Of course there are other phones that provide apps, but they didn’t have the iPhone’s ‘first mover advantage’, nor do they have the scope of the iPhone.

By opening the apps up to 3rd party developers Apple has ensured a constant stream of new applications being added by companies that wish to get their products and services in font of cutomers (as well as enthusiasts and well meaning individuals making free apps), which further increases the functionality and continual customer satisfaction with their premier mobile phone.