07 27th, 2008Some thoughts on Fashion and Mobile Phones…
A red iPhone sounds… good. That is, if it’s the red of the Product (Red) iPod; not that bloody fingernail color of the mockup at the rumor site. Odd how a color can do that.
So, it has struck me as rather odd to now want an iPhone. The reason being (and I know how badly this comes across) is that it’s now available in (Red).
Rumours are apparently out in force that Apple is preparing a Product (Red) version of the iPhone in time for Thanks Giving [sic].
[via SMS Text News]
In the context of a discussion of the impact of fashion on mobile device purchasing, I recently realized that if — big IF — syncing were perfect and complete, I’d love to have multiple cell phones. Different colors, different styles, work, personal, whatever. One for entertainment content, one for email and/or browsing, one for heavy calling.
What do I mean by “perfect and complete”? I don’t want to think about what’s in a phone. So total synchronization of contacts, bookmarks, content (photos, videos, music), calendar, notes… EVERYTHING.
And I don’t want to move the SIM card. I just want all the phones to be paired to the lines I use as profiles (one personal, one work, one U.S.) that I can switch between (or even have all three lines coming in, toggling them off and on as desired). Let the device synchronize every couple of hours, and I’m ready to roll with whatever suits the mood.
Now we’re talking.
From the PosiMotion website:
G-Park in three easy steps:
1. Park your car and hit the Park Me! button.
2. Get lost.
3. Hit the Where Did I Park? button. Brings up Google maps and creates turn-by-turn directions that will take you right back to your car!G-Park also provides an easy-to-use interface for additional details. Available July 11 on the official iTunes App Store.
via Reaction[beta]
It looks neatly done. I’m especially happy that someone has done this, being a subject I’ve thought about for a while.
“iPhone” is the name my 18-month old calls every cell phone. By which she means “my phone” with a toddler’s grammar.
What is the “killer app” of the Apple iPhone?
I say: Scrolling.
Before you get all worked up about how much you adore Google maps and email and video, think a minute. Think about your own pleasure in using an iPhone or iPod Touch, and tell me if it isn’t really about feeling hip, feeling cool, feeling in control, and the fun of scrolling up and down lists; back and forth through album art.
Oh, all right, I’ll allow “scrolling” pictures larger and smaller by multi-touch spreading of fingers closer and farther. But that’s as far as I’ll go.
What do you say? Do you buy my argument?
Seen in Tokyo:
A pair of bumper sticker-type ads on the train doors:
+ Touch Sensor = Softbank
+ Motion Sensor = Softbank
That’s interesting to me. Not so much that Softbank is pushing a touch- and motion-sensitive phone (whoever isn’t doing that already will be soon), but that they are pushing the technology inside. Both touch and motion sensing have been around for a long time; now there is a sense [!] that consumers care that those capabilities are inside the box, much as they care about WiFi, a TV tuner, or GPS.
Wow, times have changed. Do I attribute this to the iPhone Effect? You betcha.
An interesting post on the Google Code blog:
I played with some haptic feedback devices at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last month and was really disappointed. The vibration comes from somewhere in the back of the phone — from a specific location where the vibrating buzzer is. In other words, the haptic feedback comes from a location not associated with the area with which you’re interacting. For me, it was a distraction rather than a feedback
I love the concept, but in practice it’s not there yet.
An interesting trend is emerging: the downward percolation (can you say that?) of the stylus/touchscreen to mid-range devices. (I define mid-range as $75-$150.) While the consumer electronics business has always had a steady trickle-down of features from high-end to mid-range to low-end, touchscreen devices never made that migration. The assumption was that touchscreen features were too expensive / bulky / overwhelming to succeed in the basic / fashion-conscious / mass-consumer markets.
The frenzy over the iPhone has changed all that. (How much impact has the iPhone had on industry attitudes to touchscreen interfaces? I attended more than one meeting last Spring in which a participant started a sentence with, “Since January 8th…” — i.e., since the iPhone marketing launch. That was before the product was even released in June.)
Of course, Apple were not the first to realize the power of the touchscreen. They just executed so well that no one could afford to ignore direct input anymore. The market response with “iPhone killers” (many of which were planned for release well before the iPhone was announced, of course) is only the beginning.
Take a look at Palm’s Centro:
The higher Centro sales, though, are another case of good news/bad news. It’s great the the Centro is more popular than even Palm had expected, but its low cost (and thus low margin) must sting a little. [via Treo Central]
***
Over the past 18 months, almost every major cell phone manufacturer has come out with a product to address this market. RIM introduced the BlackBerry Pearl, a slimmer version of its BlackBerry device with an abbreviated QWERTY keyboard for typing. Motorola came out with the Q, and Samsung introduced the BlackJack.
But up to this point, price has been a major barrier to truly penetrating the consumer market. Most “consumer”-oriented smart phones have still been initially priced above $300. The iPhone retailed initially for $500 and $600. Prices are starting to come down, but experts say the hefty price tag of these devices has prevented them from reaching the mass market. [via ZDNet]
Mid-range device touchscreen input is not just a fluke, it’s the (overdue) future. I’ll go further, though: I’ve been predicting for over a year now that touchscreens will show up on low-end phones, too, in the next 3 years.
Never mind One Laptop Per Child… the one computer that is entering every single home in the developing world is the cell phone. The cell phone is where illiterate women and children will learn to read (a pet project / dream of mine). The cell phone is where contacts, photos, correspondence, business and banking will not only originate, but be archived. To me, the trickle-down of expanded interaction and handwriting input is blazingly obvious. (Of course, I expect to see those phones enabled by Power2B’s technology, but that’s another story!)
You heard it here first.
If operator hardware sales behavior started to threaten a device manufacturer’s own revenue stream, would the manufacturer continue to be cautious about not offending carrier sensibilities? Or would they throw the first punch by offering service themselves?
It’s not so farfetched, is it?
Related and perhaps illuminating business cases:
- Helio / SK Telecom
- Vertu / Nokia / Ovi / Nokia-Siemens Network
- iPhone / iTouch / iTunes /.Mac
- Google / Android / YouTube / Flickr
The Nintendo Wii launched in 2006. Today, at the gateway to 2008, it is still in short supply.
Consider that consumers get bored with devices really quickly. Consider that people are always looking for the next thing. Now consider a little statistical anecdote:
DVICE is asking readers to vote for “the best gadget of 2007″, as part of a sweepstakes. What appears on that list? Wii — a 2006 product. Which device (at the time of this writing) had the most votes for coolest? Wii — outscoring even the iPhone.
It’s a stunning testament to the resonance of the product.
Via Telecoms.com:
“On Tuesday it emerged that Vodafone Germany had won an injunction against the iPhone’s exclusive German carrier, T-Mobile, forcing the company to sell a version of the device without a lock to the network.”
If that happens (it hasn’t yet), how many travellers do you think are going to rebook their flights for layovers in Frankfurt Airport?
Update (Nov. 22, 2007):
“T-Mobile Germany has been in touch and informed us that in order to purchase an iPhone at the Eur399 price, the buyer must sign a contract for a two year subscription to T-Mobile’s service. This and the Eur999 price tag for an unlocked model may just put the kibosh on a grey market for the iPhone developing in Germany”
Update (Dec. 6, 2007):
Earlier this week, a German court confirmed T-Mobile’s right to sell the iPhone locked to its own network. 03 France, however, is selling an unlocked version of the iPhone.
The French iPhone is selling for Eur399 with a two year service agreement and rate plans ranging between Eur49 per month and Eur119 per month. The device can be acquired for used on any non iPhone specific Orange plan for Eur549 and for an additional Eur100, Orange said it will sell the device unlocked and without a contract.
Alternatively, Orange subscribers can get the device unlocked after six months, without charge.
Unlocked devices on eBay France seem to be selling for just under the Eur600 mark, suggesting that there’s not much of a grey market.
Wow, free unlocking after six months… that’s really appealing. I wish my phones offered that, if only so that I could use them in other countries with more economical SIM cards.
