In Wikinomics (pg. 133), Tapscott and Williams state:

Of the hundreds of customer-inspired hacks that have emerged, the most powerful is a program called Podzilla – essentially a bare-bones version of Linux with a graphical user interface that runs on the iPod’s tiny screens.

On the following page, these same authors state:

Analysts speculate that Apple may use upcoming generations of the iPod to move into the mobile phone market as well.

Not surprisingly then, the Mac OS X based iPhone bears a lot in common with the Podzilla-based iPod.

As the following schematic illustrates, both are attempts to extend the features/functionalities of the iPod in, particularly, the application domain.

In addition to technical mutations, contextualizing the iPod as progenitor of the iPhone is likely to be useful in business contexts as well.

Take market segments for example. By understanding the well-established market segments for the iPod, it’s possible to predict market segments for the iPhone.

And if there’s any merit in that speculation, then one of the surprising demographics for the iPhone will be teens.

Teens have been practically weaned on the iPod. The iPod plus various transportable and mobile gaming platforms like the PS2, Xbox, etc. Many teens already have cell phones, or will soon.

Because the iPhone has the potential to be their platform for their music, games, communication and other applications, they’re anticipating its arrival as much as any other demographic group. Although the iPhone’s USD 500 price tag is steep, the value becomes evident when you consider its triple-play-plus possibilities for teens.

There’s no question that those of us hooked on our CrackBerries will be interested in tempting ourselves with the iPhone.

However, it’ll be much more interesting to monitor uptake by teens.