This past week the iPhone was released by Apple Inc. In the course of the week many people sung the praises of how this phone will revolutionize the industry. I fervently support the idea that this phone could do just that. Mostly likely in the web surfing area.
Unfortunately as the smoke clears it seems the iPhone holds little use in education. There are number of reasons for this, but I believe the overarching reason is the closed nature of the iPhone.
Apple is excessively popular among its fan base. They are known for its great user interfaces and products that "just work." Recently, Apple has made huge inroads with the non-apple using public through its iPod product line.
In the past Apple has been a friend of education and in recent years they have tried to move back in that direction. However Apple is a closed system company. Their hardware is closed, meaning you can only buy systems from them and they directly control the pricing structure. And if we look at the iPod it can easily defined as a closed system device as well.
What does all this mean for the iPhone? It means that all the rumors and comments about the iPhone being a closed system are more than likely true.
