Uncertain future of standalone portable devices
Convergence of cellphones, MP3 players, PDAs and GPS devices hints at uncertain future of each of these standalones
There isn’t a single day when the news regarding a new mobile device is profiled in the market with either enhanced digital cameras, or MP3 integration or as a matter of fact,support for 3G. Where is all this headed? One word that comes to mind is “Convergence”, yes that world has been around for a while, but seems like the concept is catching a lot of momentum now. Just some trends that I have noticed lately to make it more clear:
- Motorola announces ROKR with Apple ITunes
- Samsung announces cellphone with 4 GB hard drive and enhanced
- Camera Phones available with over 2 Megapixel resolution and enhanced “Flash” capabilities
- Next version of Moto RAZR to feature video conferencing capabilities
- Blackberry 8700 slated to have GPS integration
- Sprint announces WIndows Mobile 5.0 phone with support for CDMA
Try to connect the dots, all these devices seem to be merging into one, call it the “ubiquitous personal companion” and that is the theme that mobile hardware manufacturers are targeting. This is evident from not just the product showcases but the thrust of the Industry and the fact that deluge of mobile operatings system environments, or should I say evolution. Look at Windows Mobile 5, Symbian or Palm OS Cobalt, their evolution is providing a lot of glue for this convergence to happen.
Bottomline is that, the future of all these devices standalone is in uncertain, since the synergies of them together outweigh the merits of each of them standalone, and that is how the market is starting to accept it (consider how omnipresent Camera phones are today versus 2 years ago). The million dollar question is, who would want to carry couple pounds of disparate devices rather than have a single device that integrates all your needs into a half pound gizmo? Who won’t go for it? Think about it....
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
The Finger and Hand Analogy
This is an interesting excerpt from Indra Nooyi's (CFO of PepsiCo) Graduation remarks at Columbia University
As I grew up and started to study geography, I remember being told that the five fingers can be thought of as the five major continents: Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South America. Now, let me issue a profound apology to both Australia and Antarctica. I bear neither of these continents any ill will. It's just that we humans have only five fingers on each hand, so my analogy doesn't work with seven continents.
Clearly, the point of my story is more important that geographical accuracy!
First, let's consider our little finger. Think of this finger as Africa. Africa is the little finger not because of Africa's size, but because of its place on the world's stage. From an economic standpoint, Africa has yet to catch up with her sister continents. And yet, when our little finger hurts, it affects the whole hand.
Our thumb is Asia: strong, powerful, and ready to assert herself as a major player on the world's economic stage.
Our index, or pointer finger, is Europe. Europe is the cradle of democracy and pointed the way for western civilization and the laws we use in conducting global business.
The ring finger is South America, including Latin America. Is this appropriate, or what? The ring finger symbolizes love and commitment to another person. Both Latin and South America are hot, passionate, and filled with the sensuous beats of the mambo, samba, and tango: three dances that -- if done right -- can almost guarantee you and your partner will be buying furniture together.
This analogy of the five fingers as the five major continents leaves the long, middle finger for North America, and, in particular, the United States. As the longest of the fingers, it really stands out. The middle finger anchors every function that the hand performs and is the key to all of the fingers working together efficiently and effectively. This is a really good thing, and has given the U.S. a leg up in global business since the end of World War I.
However, if used inappropriately -- just like the U.S. itself -- the middle finger can convey a negative message and get us in trouble. You know what I'm talking about. In fact, I suspect you're hoping that I'll demonstrate what I mean. And trust me, I'm not looking for volunteers to model.
Discretion being the better part of valor...I think I'll pass.
What is most crucial to my analogy of the five fingers as the five major continents, is that each of us in the U.S. -- the long middle finger -- must be careful that when we extend our arm in either a business or political sense, we take pains to assure we are giving a hand...not the finger. Sometimes this is very difficult. Because the U.S. -- the middle finger -- sticks out so much, we can send the wrong message unintentionally.
Unfortunately, I think this is how the rest of the world looks at the U.S. right now. Not as part of the hand -- giving strength and purpose to the rest of the fingers -- but, instead, scratching our nose and sending a far different signal.
I'd challenge each of you to think about how critically important it is for every finger on your hand to rise and bend together. You cannot simply "allow" the other four fingers to rise only when you want them to. If you've ever even tried to do that, you know how clumsy and uncoordinated it is.
My point here is that it's not enough just to understand that the other fingers coexist. We've got to consciously and actively ensure that every one of them stands tall together, or that they bend together when needed.
This is an interesting excerpt from Indra Nooyi's (CFO of PepsiCo) Graduation remarks at Columbia University
As I grew up and started to study geography, I remember being told that the five fingers can be thought of as the five major continents: Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South America. Now, let me issue a profound apology to both Australia and Antarctica. I bear neither of these continents any ill will. It's just that we humans have only five fingers on each hand, so my analogy doesn't work with seven continents.
Clearly, the point of my story is more important that geographical accuracy!
First, let's consider our little finger. Think of this finger as Africa. Africa is the little finger not because of Africa's size, but because of its place on the world's stage. From an economic standpoint, Africa has yet to catch up with her sister continents. And yet, when our little finger hurts, it affects the whole hand.
Our thumb is Asia: strong, powerful, and ready to assert herself as a major player on the world's economic stage.
Our index, or pointer finger, is Europe. Europe is the cradle of democracy and pointed the way for western civilization and the laws we use in conducting global business.
The ring finger is South America, including Latin America. Is this appropriate, or what? The ring finger symbolizes love and commitment to another person. Both Latin and South America are hot, passionate, and filled with the sensuous beats of the mambo, samba, and tango: three dances that -- if done right -- can almost guarantee you and your partner will be buying furniture together.
This analogy of the five fingers as the five major continents leaves the long, middle finger for North America, and, in particular, the United States. As the longest of the fingers, it really stands out. The middle finger anchors every function that the hand performs and is the key to all of the fingers working together efficiently and effectively. This is a really good thing, and has given the U.S. a leg up in global business since the end of World War I.
However, if used inappropriately -- just like the U.S. itself -- the middle finger can convey a negative message and get us in trouble. You know what I'm talking about. In fact, I suspect you're hoping that I'll demonstrate what I mean. And trust me, I'm not looking for volunteers to model.
Discretion being the better part of valor...I think I'll pass.
What is most crucial to my analogy of the five fingers as the five major continents, is that each of us in the U.S. -- the long middle finger -- must be careful that when we extend our arm in either a business or political sense, we take pains to assure we are giving a hand...not the finger. Sometimes this is very difficult. Because the U.S. -- the middle finger -- sticks out so much, we can send the wrong message unintentionally.
Unfortunately, I think this is how the rest of the world looks at the U.S. right now. Not as part of the hand -- giving strength and purpose to the rest of the fingers -- but, instead, scratching our nose and sending a far different signal.
I'd challenge each of you to think about how critically important it is for every finger on your hand to rise and bend together. You cannot simply "allow" the other four fingers to rise only when you want them to. If you've ever even tried to do that, you know how clumsy and uncoordinated it is.
My point here is that it's not enough just to understand that the other fingers coexist. We've got to consciously and actively ensure that every one of them stands tall together, or that they bend together when needed.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
The Art of Napkin Marketing
Sitting in that American Airlines flight from Dallas to Detroit and 35000 ft. up in the air, I could definitely see the future of advertising and marketing. I guess a picture is a thousand words, so here is what I mean
Imagine the influence, the cost ,the simplicity and the power of the medium. We’ve come so far from the days of Billboards and newspaper ads to the generation of Internet advertising and omnipresent marketing. What has been the evolution, customization for one, but also novelty and new areas of gathering a larger attention span of a prospective customer?
Another thing that has always fascinated me in the “Sports Page” on top of the Urinal in a lot of public places. Come on guys, lets be honest, I’ve never focused my attention on an ad so much ever in the past than I did when I first saw this concept, in my initial few days in this country.
Bottom-line is, how far are corporations willing to go, to attract this attention span. I am sure we would be constantly amused by this in the future :)
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