Marketing Idea No. 14 – In response to the big debate that 3 -4 categories will not combine, rather it will divide

3 devices – MP3 device, mobile phone and digital camera will not combine to create one device. None will all of a sudden stop using a digital camera and use the mobile phone for all his imaging purposes. None will discard all his I-Pods and pick up IPhones to dance to tunes. Plain and simply – 3 items will not converge to create one. And that is the reason why I Phone will not be the future of mobile phone or internet device.

 A few more reasons why I Phone will not be as big as predicted

 1. The Name. Why I Phone? Doesnt the name itself invoke the idea that its a slightly better I Pod with a phone attached? Does the name itself position the product as a different breakthrough idea? Dont think so. Its a very generic name. And thats mistake number 1.

2. When the mobile world is going toward design and slim, a bigger “feature” studded mobile phone will not spin the world upside down. If so, MotoRazr would not have been the biggest selling mobile phone of all time. Why did people buy it? Is it because of their superior image quality? Is it because of 4 n 1 features? None. Its because of the look. So if the trends are predicting something, design will trimph over function.

If seeing is believing, lets find out how many people are carrying 3 or 4 devices today, rather than one. 

So as a response to Seth Godin’s challenge i would like to say, no. I dont think I Phone will be the big things that everyone says it is.

6 comments

  • Muksitul Islam

    May 7, 2007 at 3:17 pm

    If anything, I Phone will carry the day more for its superior design and less for its functionalities. Ipod is ‘part art, part science’-. And that’s what made Ipod different. This is probably what will make I Phone fly too. I have seen the design and i loved it.

    Apple excels in bringing artistic expressions to its products. IPhone clearly demonstrates that. The only thing i find could be a problem is its level of ‘sophistication’. I quote the word because that’s how its being written at I Phone’s website. To a commoner like me, sophistication will mean complication, and i dont want my mobile to be complicated. From what i read from the website, it is complicated. The devise assumes a lot of things! (with its sensors and everything…).

    I for one, will definitely buy the I Phone…only because it combines IPod & mobile phone. Nothing else matters!

    Shahrier’s introductory statement is flawed, where he said I Phone combines 3 devices-MP3 device, mobile phone and digital camera. Actually, no where in its website does it shout about digital camera. It says it combines a revolutionary mobile phone, a widescreen ipod with touch controls and a breakthrough internet communication device. As a matter of fact, Apple quite cleverly hid the fact in its website that it has a digital camera. It shouts about only those aspects which they consider revolutionary (which i think is ok). On what factual ground are you assuming that the consumers will not discard ipod and take up iphone? I am sure Apple did its homework and did it quite thoroughly through consumer research. I think the benefits that Apple is proposing in its iphone are all conclusions from market research. Apple brought the consumers dream device to life.

    Regarding Shahrier’s 2nd argument, i reiterate ” Iphone is part art part science”. Its a superb balance of both. So if you think design is the current fad, IPhone shows all the promise of being a success.

    Regarding Shahrier’s 3rd argument, i would also like to ask Shahrier” how many do you actually see carrying a mobile phone, an internet modem, and a mp3 player in one pocket?(man, your trousers wont be able to hold it)”- Integration my man, Integration! (which is why, sony introduced walkman phone, sensibly though belatedly!)

    All the best to iphone!

    Reply

  • awrup

    May 8, 2007 at 9:26 am

    Talking about any Apple products will not be without a bias. I am a die-hard Apple fan, but not blind. And I must say that the taste finally lies in eating the pudding; so until I have had an experiential realtionship with iPhone it will be impossible to speculate.

    Having said that, Shahrier, we will have to agree to disagree. And I second Muksitul Islam’s take on iPhone. But instead of coming from Apple’s point-of-view let me see from my practical and emotional reasoning.

    I have an iPod and I can’t think of being without it, but I can’t carry it if I am not carrying my bag because with the phone and other accessories that I will have to carry, it seems, iPod becomes the casualty; I have to leave it behind. And, I hate doing that. So the iPhone seems like the thing that will answer this issue.

    That is on the practical side of things. On the emotional front the aesthetic of an Apple product- its design is its perpetual advertising- makes me feel special. And when I am talking about design it is not just about a thing that looks cool (of course it does, and also, it expresses me much better than say a MotoRazr, which is brash and not me at all) but also its user-friendliness and navigation system etc. it almost feels like it works exactly the way I think! I am sure and I know many feel that and that is what is amazing about a design of an Apple product. It becomes you. It assumes your kinks and expresses you.

    The iPhone might not be path-breaking runaway success like iPod, because it is not another ‘revolutionary new’ from Apple, it is actually just the next-gen iPod. That is how I see it. And iPod is already what it is. So this verson is going to carry on the success. Some will discard their older iPods and many their mobiel phones!

    One other point about convergence. What is amazing is that iPhone actually combines a lot of things. But interestingly the combination that will attract me might not attract you. Different people will use it for different combinations. For example, even if it does have a camera, I am for one not looking for a camera as a part of my everyday pocket furniture. I use camera for occasions and for such occasions I shall carry my iXus Digital from Canon. The combination that will attract me will be the pod (can’t jsut call it music, because an iPod is more that that), phone and Internet. I am sure there will be some who will rather have the camera or the GPS in the choice set.

    In the complicated world of mind numbing naming and numbering ceremonies of different phones, iPhone is sweet and simple and very Apple.

    So, I am patiently waiting for the iPhone and soon someone will be richer by an iPod!

    Reply

  • shahriar amin

    May 8, 2007 at 9:54 am

    Thanks for the thoughtful and in my mind, pretty specatcular response. The reason for using Apple as a bait is because i havent seen any brand that envokes positive emotional response like Apple does. While i agree wholeheartedly about I Phone being fantastic design specimen, the whole point of argument is basically on convergence and divergence – not about Apple.

    The real question is, just because we have phone in camera, is that stopping us from buying and using our digi cam for good? Just because we have MP3 in phone, does that mean we will not buy non-portable music devices anymore?

    If the answer is no, then it points that the whole “categories coming together” thing is a fad – which i believe it is. One category is not killing the other – rather one category is dividing into 2 or 3. And to be honest, in many people’s view the portable digital category itself will now be divided into 2 – One with Phone attached and one without phone attached.

    But does that mean one will no longer buy Nokia or Motorola mobile phones? In my belief the answer is No. People will buy Nokia because its a fantastic phone. People will buy I-Pod because its a fantastic music player. But people will buy I Phone, because there is “pre-hype and The Apple Factor”.

    All of a sudden you have 3 devices you posses – again – not 1.

    Reply

  • awrup

    May 8, 2007 at 2:31 pm

    Thank you for the acknowledgement and a bigger thanks for inviting me here.

    A quick one: I think the future lies in not seeing any of these as just product categories. Product categories are staid way of thinking. As that they will exist but what will change is the way we combine things to make it something else. A kind of convergence that becomes a whole new thing. For example: Schrager hotels breaking down boundaries between industries. Instead of being in the old temple of hospitality business it arched over and met another category, the night club business, and created a whole new space: simplified design, lobbies that are the cool places in town to be.

    And none of the other categories fizzled out because of this. Only it gave birth to whole new category of its own!

    That is what I believe something like iPhone will be, not just phones or devices that come together but metaphorphose into a whole new space: iSwing!

    Reply

  • Toffael Rashid

    May 13, 2007 at 12:06 pm

    Despite the hype as well as bing a major believer in and admirer of brands, I have yet to acquire anything from the apple company. And I ave no intentions acquiring an i-phone. I buy into shahriar argument that I prefer thr best phone, PC and camera and like all tht top end functionality, and when these migrate into one piece, I lose too much. Likewise, small is better and that will continue for many more years …. In fact I now have the SamSung credit card like phone for that exact reason.

    I-Phone, in my opinion, will capture a small market share but will soon fade out …. a step too far in my opinion ….. But then again, I am probably wrong!

    Reply

  • Nazmul Hasan

    May 14, 2007 at 6:00 am

    In case of mobile phones, adding a few extra would certainly create difference ( most of the buyers here know little about real depth of the add ons but welcomes any new features regardless its application quality) and in gizmo world, thats the marketing point of companies (rip off the money from the mass). thats why Nikon gives you best photos and improves the CCD, metering or focus, whereas Sony may add radio/mp3 to Digital camera and we run after Sony!

    But at the end of the day, Core function (look, ease of use) is the main factor if you want to create a series of mobile phones (like they say N series, T series .. dont know the names, not a heavy user). 3/4 in 1 are there only as ‘one or two models’; that means high startup awareness cost with short time available before the start of maturity period.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

3 × four =

FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Copyrights © 2022 Shahriar Amin. All Rights Reserved.

Designed & Developed with ❤︎ by R&G Technologies

FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Copyrights © 2022 Shahriar Amin. All Rights Reserved.

Designed & Developed with ❤︎ by R&G Technologies