Just 9 Days into the Year 2007

Just 9 days into the year 2007, Steve Jobs the co-founder of Apple Computer, Inc. introduced the iPhone. A 3.5-inch LCD multi touch phone with 4-8gb of memory capacity and the ability to browse between applications, immediately distinguishes the device from other cellular phones on the market (Snell, 2007). “An iPod, a phone and an Internet communicator, these are not three separate devices, this is one device” (Jobs, 2007).Introduced at a value of $499-$599 it was critiqued to be the “most expensive phone in the world, (Blodget, Henry, 2010 )” but the iPhone would then change not only cellular phones but Industries and their use of it. Through the iPhone the “smart phone” was introduced. Governments and Businesses are two examples that showcase how the iPhone has changed and continues to change the way industries communicate, research and collect data, the benefits to stake holders and the growing trends create further advancements within our interaction with technology.

An appropriate definition to describe the iPhone’s influence on Businesses is the “activity of a primary product and a distinct group of profit-making initiatives” ('Definition of Industry' Investopedia, n.d.). The iPhone offered the ease of downloading and using a technological software called applications that evolved to have many personal uses (Elgan, n.d.). From this, the portal was opened for competing computer software brands, Microsoft and Google, to create a similar system that allows persons to download these “Apps” for e.g.  Samsung, HTC and others, generating additional competition for not just the iPhone but the “Smart Phone”. The App store became a global market that created convenience for customer and entrepreneurs alike. This would benefit not only the businesses in terms of making profit with the ability to reach more customers and entrepreneurs to create more outlets for points of sale, but for consumer’s convenience of personal choices.

Government can be described as the systematic administration used to manage society, control the state and the organisation of people within a populace (government, n.d.). To gain the position to control the masses, Governments use politics to persuade the population on their socio-economic environment operations.  Technology has drastically changed the way that Governments exercise and gain authority  in terms of democracy, that is power invested within the  population to influence the decisions that are made by Government based on their personal interest and comfort within society through laws and legislation (Heywood, 1992). The population through Social Media now has a larger platform to raise awareness to authorities of issues that directly affect certain groups and minorities. Using smart phones to capture and share stories with the introduction of social media created immediate responses and popularity to problems, a good example of this is police brutality. Such popularisation gives Governments no choice but to address the problems that their societies are faced with and find solutions. This benefitting sections of societies that were once ignored.

To state that the iPhone’s contribution to technology had zero drawbacks and only benefits society would be a notion of bias. Whilst competition may be good for businesses, it can also lead to business failure. With the ease of access of Amazon and other e-commerce stores through apps on the “smart phone, physical stores especially those without an online store are making less profit  (Ebner, 2006). For Governments, there is a wider platform for negative influence that could hinder socio-economic progression. For example, the recruitment of Isis members was mainly done through Social Media contacting members by means of phones.