It was a warm, sunny day, on June 29, 2007, when the Apple unveiled the first iPhone. This is the iconic device that took the iPod idea to the next level and gave Apple a chance to carve a niche for itself in the lucrative smartphone segment. With a gamut of really interesting features like, motion sensors that allow users to rotate the screen automatically, a full virtual QWERTY keypad, a built in GPS, and much else, the iPhone gave birth to a new zeitgeist of mobile telephony. At the time of the launch, Steve Jobs described the iPhone, as "an entire computer that just happens to make phone calls.”

History aside, Apple now is a biggest example of the need of a flexible approach that should be taken to bring an organization on more profitable routes. The company which had once locked horns with Microsoft for the dominance in the personal computer market is now creating waves (giant waves actually) in the world smartphone arena. So much so that the iPhone has now become the main growth driver for Apple Inc.

From the first iPhone with a paltry 2GB on internal storage to the latest offering with 32GB on board memory and a host of mind boggling features, the phone has come a long way in such a short span of time.

Apple has always been known for the finesse with which it launches its major products, but the launch of the latest generation of iPhone was marred by several glitches. For the starters, a demo iPhone was lost in Vietnam and it later surfaced on a tech website, where many juicy details about the phone’s internal and external features were revealed. On the day, when the phone was officially launched, at the Apple’s developers conference, there were glitches in the WiFi network.

However, these small lacunae could not curb the enthusiasm of the Apple buffs. And record numbers of the phone were lapped up within days of launch. At just 9.3 mm, it is one of the sleekest smartphone ever made. The gadget’s chassis is entirely made up of steel and highly durable glass, making the Apple boss Steve Jobs christen it as the ‘most beautiful device Apple ever made’. Experts also lost no time in dubbing it as the "biggest leap forward" since the original iPhone.

The new model sports a 5.0-megapixel camera with LED flash, and that is something that the earlier versions lacked. Apple has this time included a front camera to enable video calling. The new video calling application is called ‘FaceTime’, promises an entirely new experience in the arena of video calling.

Apple has also trumped the smartphone makers with the introduction of ‘Retina’ display technology, which packs almost 4 times more pixels within the same area. With 326dpi resolution, this new innovation is sure to make the images on iPhone crisper and more life like than ever before.

Other goodies include a gyroscope which when coupled with the existing accelerometer and compass, gives it six-axis motion sensing capability. Microsoft's Bing and Yahoo come as default search options on the iPhone, in addition to Google search.

Despite the array of innovations that the iPhone 4 comes packed with, it also faces competition from few major companies. Handsets like Nokia N8, HTC Desire, and Samsung Wave running the latest OS platforms are also in the fray. The N8 runs on latest Symbian^3 platform and offers noticeable speed improvements over the previous versions. On the hardware front, N8 packs a 12.0 MP camera, which may sound huge in comparison to iPhone 4’s 5.0 MP. Other than that, the rest of the features appear to be somewhat in line with general trend. HTC Desire on the other hand boasts of gorgeous design as well as functionality. HTC seems to have taken note of all the shortcomings from HTC legend and result is a stupendous handset with virtually no demerits. Running latest Android OS and powered by 1GHz Snapdragon processor, Desire appears to be the most worthy opponent to iPhone till date.

On the other part of the world, Korean telecom major Samsung has also unveiled its own plans to inundate the smartphone market with devices powered by its new OS, known as ‘Bada’. The first phone running on the new system, Samsung Wave was launched in the market amid rave reviews. The phone offers excellent operability and scores high on the aspect of style. Still, Bada has a long way to go before it can pose as a threat to Apple.

None of the above mentioned phones however can fully counter the killer looks and astounding features of iPhone 4. Be it the Retina display or a fully functional gyroscope fitted under the hud of the slim device. Apple’s products are so addictive that it would not be an exaggeration to say that once an Apple user, always an Apple user.

Smartphone segment is witnessing an intense competition. At the moment, Nokia continues to be the leading smartphone supplier with a 39.3 % share of the market, according to the IDC’s latest Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, released on May 6 this year. Nokia is followed by Research in Motion (10.6 per cent) and Apple (8.8 %). HTC and Motorola, which are manufacturing Google’s Android and Microsoft’s Windows Mobile based smartphones, share rest of the 10%.

As far as OS is concerned, the one that allows maximum number of apps to run is going to win the race. It would not be too far fetched to assume a one-to-one contest between Apple’s single source OS and Google’s open source Android OS. Cloud-based services, which could be hitting the markets in near future, would in theory make it easy for consumers to switch platforms rather easily. Hence, even if Android does wins, it won’t be as thorough as Microsoft’s whitewash of PC OS domain. Whatever the future might be, it would surely be better.