deliberately restricted in number to ensure
that taxi firms could keep relying on a healthy
supply of passengers. However, this situation
limited the range of options for customers,
leading Camp to come up with the idea of
an on-demand car service where passengers
could track the vehicles through a map on
their phones.
THE DIFFERENCE MADE BY THE iPHONE
Back in 2008, the Sony Ericsson phone used
by Daniel Craig in Casino Royale would have
been too dated for the everyday person to
practically use for Uber purposes. However, in
the summer of that year, Apple introduced the
App Store for its iPhone, and Camp knew that
this technology would make his vision a practical
reality at last. This was largely due to the iPhone’s
accelerometer, which could tell whether a vehicle
was moving and therefore act as a taximeter.
While the concept of Airbnb is arguably less
reliant on the iPhone’s particular technology,
there remains no doubt that the device has
helped to make accommodation booking in
general easier. After all, it’s very easy to book
with Airbnb – all that one needs to do is make
a verified profile, message the host and in the
process, either book straight away or request a
booking for later.
SMALL IDEAS GROWN INTO
BUSINESS BEHEMOTHS
It’s hard to deny that both Uber and Airbnb
continue to enjoy considerable business
clout today, despite having run into some
well-publicized issues, too. Today, Airbnb lists