Posts Tagged: iphone

google / observatory / strategy / technology — 4 Comments
26
Aug 10

Battle of the philosophies

Any right-thinking person has to believe that competition is good. As Apple and Google go about thrashing one another, we all reap the benefits. And right up front, I do have to admit (gasp) that I’ve now tried a few Android phones, and in my superficial test drive they felt pretty good.

However, the philosophies behind the platforms remain night and day. To some, this means nothing — legitimately, they may only care about the phone in their hand. To others, it means a lot — because it affects the way they the platform is managed and perceived around the world.

Apple, as many point out, is into the control thing. This is exactly why so many people love their iPhones. Apple guarantees the experience by crafting both the OS and the hardware, and polices the App Store to at least attempt some quality control. The dark side of Apple’s approach is the perception that they are stifling freedom. (225,000 apps be damned.)

The world of Android is very different. Google supplies the OS while a legion of manufacturers compete with one another to make the hardware. This guarantees choice. But the dark side is the potential for fragmentation, where certain phones run certain versions of Android, some are missing features, upgrades can be delayed or unavailable, etc.

In fact, it’s hard to classify this as “potential” anymore. In the short time Android phones have been among us, fragmentation is already rearing its ugly head. PC Magazine just observed that the rollout of Android 2.2 was a mess. To paraphrase:

• The first Android 2.2 (Froyo) upgrades to Droid failed to deliver Flash. An upgrade to the upgrade will shortly fix that.
• The overseas Droid (called Milestone) gets Froyo in late Q4, but only in Europe and Korea. Froyo is “under evaluation” for Canada, Latin America and Mexico.
• Motorola phones with pre-2.1 versions of Android won’t get Froyo anytime soon.
• The Motorola Cliq, Cliq XT and Backflip are waiting for Android 2.1, but the Devour won’t get it.
• Owners of the Droid Incredible are still waiting for their upgrade.
• The brand-spanking-new Dell Streak was delivered with Android 1.6 and won’t get an upgrade till the end of the year.
• Samsung Galaxy phones are expected to get Froyo, but no one knows when.
• The only company to “ace” the Froyo launch was … Google. Nexus One users got their upgrades back at the end of June.

Like I said, none of this matters if you love the phone in your hand and could care less about the guy sitting next to you. But if you’re a fan of simplicity — or even democracy — it’s hard not to be turned off by the fragmentation of Android.

apple / iPhone / mac / observatory — 2 Comments
24
Aug 10

The more things change…

Sometimes I get all wispy and sentimental thinking about how our little industry has grown up. Things were so innocent when that angelic Bill Gates stood behind Macintosh.

Bill Gates: admiring Mac fan in 1984

While the various players and their market shares have changed, certain things haven’t. Take Apple-bashing, for instance.

Back in the old days, hating Apple was a simple thing. It was all about the technology. Some people attached to their PCs looked down their nose at Macintosh. That childish mouse just wasn’t serious enough.

Today’s Apple-haters have branched out. They still dislike the technology, but now they have two new things to hate. First, of course, is Apple’s raging success. This doesn’t reconcile with the fact that Apple sucks, so clearly the world has gone mad. They must carry the flag of freedom to stop Apple from controlling our lives and ruling the world.

The real nut-jobs have evolved even further. They hate those who use the technology more than the technology itself. Apple users are smug and arrogant, so Apple must be destroyed. Won’t they look silly when Apple discovers the secret of eternal life.

But back to history. Over time, it’s interesting to see how certain advantages have changed hands.

Back when Apple was dying a grizzly death, the weapon most used to bludgeon it was the PC software advantage. CompUSA had rows and rows of PC titles, but only a tiny rack of Mac offerings. It took a while, but this advantage became less relevant over time — until iPhone came along. iPhone’s biggest selling point quickly became its huge, indisputable lead in apps.

Unfortunately for Apple, they won’t keep this advantage as long as PCs did. Android is already up to 60,000 apps and its upside potential is a big lure for developers.

As things settle down though, iPhone vs. Android starts feeling eerily reminiscent of Mac vs. PC.

Like Mac, iPhone shook up the market by reinventing the interface and opening up new possibilities. Like PCs, the smartphone manufacturers jumped on the bandwagon and started churning out the alternatives. The participants have all picked up familiar roles. Android plays the part of Windows, the smartphone makers become the PC companies and Apple gets to play the part of … Apple.

iPhone will remain the “walled garden,” with Apple’s control of hardware and software offering a certain kind of experience. The Android side will exploit its openness — reincarnating the best and worst of the PC model. Already, the Android market is splintered with different phones running different versions, and upgrades offered to some but not others. Some carriers are even starting to stuff their phones with crapware demos, just like the good old days. When margins are smaller, they have to do something to make a few extra bucks.

So, technology may have evolved tremendously in the last 20 years, but the nature of the competition has not. It’s a safe bet that quantity and quality will forever be locked in mortal combat.

advertising / creative / observatory — 1 Comment
19
Aug 10

BlackBerry’s little dream world

In this world, dreams and aspirations come in every size and shape.

Look hard enough and you’ll find a brain surgeon who wants to be a toreador. Or a truck driver who wants to be a nun. Maybe even a BlackBerry that dreams of being the life of the party.

Well, that’s weird. Here’s that BlackBerry now. AT&T just started running this ad for the new Torch. They sum it up like this: “Business, meet fun. Fun, business.”

It’s a curious approach, because business and fun have not only been meeting for three years — they’ve been shamelessly involved in a wild, passionate affair for all to see. It’s only RIM, maker of BlackBerry, who’s been watching from afar.

But let’s mind our manners, and first lavish this commercial with the creative praise it deserves. It’s tremendously cool. The concept is fantastic. The production is first-rate, the soundtrack is quirkily fitting, and I smile every time I watch it.

Unfortunately, this Torch ad is in serious danger of proving an old marketing adage. That is, nothing kills a bad product faster than a great commercial. Drawing a large crowd can be fatal if the crowd is largely disappointed.

No matter how you twist your reasoning, it’s hard to escape the basic fact: Torch ain’t fun. In fact, it’s shockingly un-fun when compared to iPhone and Android. On the day it was released, it was panned for its underpowered processor and undersized, low-res display (Gizmodo: “like going back to standard definition after a year on HD”). If apps are any indicator of fun, iPhone offers 225,000, Android 100,000 and BlackBerry only 8,000 — most of which aren’t even compatible with the BlackBerry 6 OS at the core of Torch.

Seemingly determined to prove the fun, those mirth-makers at RIM have done just the opposite. They’ve shipped Torch with a version of the 20-year-old arcade game, Sonic the Hedgehog. (Engadget: “the experience is abysmal. Slowdowns, garbled audio, horrible controls. It’s actually kind of sad.”)

Given the grim reality, Torch’s sluggish initial sales are understandable. During opening weekend, there were no lines and no sellouts. Total sales were only a small fraction of what iPhone and Android have seen.

Comparisons to Torch’s competitors are so one-sided, AT&T can’t possibly be talking to the general public with this ad. They have to be talking to long-term BlackBerry customers who have the itch to upgrade, but are being distracted by those flirtatious newcomers. If this is the case, they really mean to describe Torch as “relatively fun.” Compared to the humorless old BlackBerrys many of these people are carrying, the Torch is a laugh riot.

In the end, Torch is a stopgap measure at best. It can only hope to stem the tide of BlackBerry defectors, but clearly it has no hope of stealing customers from iPhone and Android. That’s bad news, considering iPhone and Android are rolling in cash by stealing customers from RIM.

Clearly RIM needs to be less concerned about the party clothes, and more concerned about what’s beneath.

advertising / strategy / technology — 4 Comments
17
Jun 10

Welcome, iAds … maybe

One juicy part of the new iOS platform is iAds. Presented with much fanfare, iAds let developers put ads inside their apps, so people can plunge into an ad without leaving the app. Apple owns a burgeoning new in-app ad market, and developers own a new revenue stream.

Only one flaw with this plan: we have to look at the ads. In the frenzy over all the money this will make — for developers and for Apple — it’s easy to forget a basic fact of marketing. Nobody actually likes ads.

I’m reminded of the project briefs that were handed out to creative teams at one of my previous agencies. Every brief started with the same paragraph, which went something like this:

The customers don’t like you. They didn’t invite you in. They resent the intrusion. They wish you’d just go away. Now then … what were you going to say to them?

My point is, ads aren’t exactly the #1 draw in customers’ minds.

Sure, ads help make the world go ’round. But they’re also the number one cause of distraction and clutter. It’s not just you and me who think ads get in the way. Apple thinks it too. One of the coolest new features in Safari 5 is Reader — which allows the reader to strip the ads out of articles, making them easier to read.

So on one hand, Apple creates a whole new way to get ads into our lives. On the other, they create a whole new way to take ads out of our lives.

This gives my inner cynic a lot to work with.

First there’s the fact that Apple takes a cool 40% cut on every iAd, while they have zero financial interest in the ads Safari strips away. Second, there’s the perception that the iAd platform is so cool, the ads will be cool. Uh, right. And then there’s the idea that the added revenue from iAds will help developers keep their app prices down, or even make them free. Don’t hold your breath for that one.

Mind you, I’m not complaining — just pointing out some sobering truths. Ads are a fact of life, and Apple has done a great job of creating a rich platform they can control and profit by. I just don’t expect to be squealing with delight as iAds begin to sprout up across all my favorite apps.

apple news / naming / technology — 9 Comments
9
Jun 10

Welcome, iPhone 4

Despite the lost prototype fiasco, I thought the iPhone 4 intro was still pretty darn interesting. Guess there’s a bit of a difference between Gizmodo ripping the cover off and Steve Jobs walking us through the features. Some quick reactions to the phone, the event and the marketing:

A4 processor. Thank you! If iPhone performance = iPad performance, I will be euphoric.

24% thinner. Excellent. I hereby cease secretly envying my son’s iPod touch.

FaceTime, the technology. Totally love it. Dual switchable cameras and no-setup software are so very Apple. And tremendously cool.

FaceTime, the video. Anyone notice that Apple seems to be getting sappier as it gets bigger? I miss the edgier stuff. Whatever, maybe I know too much about how ads get made for my own good. Since the phone isn’t shipping yet, I assume we’re looking at actors from central casting getting misty-eyed on cue. But that’s just me.

iPhone 4, the video. Polished and professional. But, as noted in the past, these launch videos have become formulaic. Same cast of characters, familiar hyperbole. Wish they’d stray just once to prove it can be done. Apple = creativity.

The Glitch. It’s a shame, but meaningless in the end. Once, when Bill Gates publicly suffered a horrible tech problem on stage, we agency mischief-makers turned it into a 30-second ad for Apple. Steve wasn’t interested. “This stuff happens to all of us,” he said. Let’s see if the courtesy is returned.

Renaming the OS. In a post back at launch time, I thought it odd that something called iPhone OS would power things that weren’t phones. That mismatch is indicative of the thinking in effect when the moniker was selected. This was just a no-brainer — with three i-devices running the same OS, the new name is perfect. iOS forever.

Retina Display. Can’t wait to see it in person.

5-Megapixel Camera. Pixels aren’t everything, but all the camera improvements together should bump up the quality nicely. I may actually start using this camera.

iMovie. I love surprises. iMovie for iPhone was a good one. In glorious 30fps 720p. Well done.

Unified Mailbox. Good lord, what took you so long.

Folders. My app screens had become agonizingly complicated. Much appreciated.

iBookstore. Will please many, but not me. I’ve tried to read on an iPhone and it’s too damn tiny. If the gods meant us to read on iPhone, they would never have given us iPad.

strategy — 5 Comments
31
Mar 10

The joy of having a backbone

Last week Apple acquired the iPad trademark from Fujitsu, about two months after they launched iPad. Three years ago they acquired the iPhone trademark from Cisco, about a month after they launched iPhone.

Yikes. Any armchair lawyer could tell you this isn’t the ideal way to go about securing a product name. Once you’ve launched, your negotiating position pretty much evaporates.

So which is it? Does Apple have an incredible knack for getting itself into dicey situations? Or does it simply have a backbone?

The truth is, Apple often succeeds because it is willing to stand up for what it wants. Sometimes that requires going up against other companies. Other times, it likely involves going up against its own lawyers — who surely wouldn’t advise launching a product without first securing the name.

Steve Jobs has a refreshing attitude about lawyers. He listens to them carefully, and then he makes a decision based on many factors, including his long-term vision and short-term marketing goals. He wants to understand the risk, but he will decide if the risk is worth it. And oftentimes it is.

This just doesn’t happen in most places. Certainly not on such a visible level. When a company’s legal department issues a ruling, it’s all over. And since it’s the lawyers’ job to keep the company out of the courts, their opinions are invariably conservative. Some of the feistiest clients I’ve known would never dream of pushing back against the lawyers — even if it’s to discuss the wording of a legal disclaimer.

I can’t imagine IBM, Dell, Intel or any technology company exposing themselves to lawsuits over a product name. It’s unthinkable. But that’s exactly the kind of thing Apple does think about. Over and over, they prove that a little backbone can go a long way.

advertising / creative / strategy — 6 Comments
9
Mar 10

Palm Pre: hanging on for dear life

[Sorry, the commercial I featured in this post has mysteriously disappeared from YouTube.]

It would be tough for Palm CEO Jon Rubenstein to have nightmares scarier than his everyday reality. Under-budgeted and under-technologied, he must do battle with iPhone, BlackBerry and the League of Android.

Yet the show must go on. So the ad agency is tasked with somehow stirring up interest for the Palm Pre Plus, making enough noise to give this little fella a fighting chance. What would you do? Rhetorical question. But I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t be the above.

This ad, creatively entitled Features, is exactly that: a fairly dry list of features. This wisp of an idea is actually more of prayer: maybe, possibly, if we list enough distinguishing features, people will start lining up to buy this thing.

Sorry Palm, it doesn’t work that way. First, if these really are your best features, you might as well hang it up right now. Signature styling? Smart notifications? Integrated calendar view? An app that turns your phone into a mobile hot spot? Oh. Well that last one’s actually pretty cool. But a single shiny thing is hardly going to steal your quarry from the clutches of iPhone or Android. Second, creativity is your friend. At least it should be. You just made a movie with an email-sized idea.

This spot is further proof of something that hardly needs more proving: most companies do not take risks at times of crisis — even if that might be their best chance for recovery. They operate on logic. They play it safe when, more than anything, they need to capture people’s imaginations. There is no imagination-capturing going on here. Spots like this are born of rooms filled with nervous people.

Only a creative idea can command attention and change perceptions. Or, I should say, a creative idea with a budget that lets you play with the big boys. The more Palm churns out harmless ads like this, the farther into the hole they sink.

strategy / technology — 9 Comments
20
Jan 10

Nexus One: the world’s fastest price cut

Everything's fine ... really

Well, that didn’t take long. Just nine days after the launch of the Nexus One phone, Google and T-Mobile announced a $100 price drop. Only catch: it’s not for everyone.

Existing T-Mobile customers only. Account active for 22 months only. Individuals only. No business or family accounts. No phones numbers ending in 7 or 2. Okay, just kidding about the last one — but it doesn’t feel so out of place with the actual restrictions.

In its email to customers, Google is outright cheery: “Good news! The upgrade pricing for existing T-Mobile users with data plans has changed from $379 to $279.”

Not to throw cold water on the merriment, but “good news” like this normally happens only after bad news reaches the CEO’s desk. Like puny first-week sales of 20,000 (vs. iPhone 3GS’s first-week sales of 1.6 million). Or a customer uprising due to lack of tech support.

How different companies respond to similar circumstances is revealing. Remember when the first iPhone met with pricing resistance? Just two months after launch, Apple responded with a price cut. But theirs applied to all customers — $200 off for new purchases and $100 Apple Store coupons for those who’d already bought. Some felt that Apple actually ended up with a net positive for being forthright and fair.

Google and T-Mobile, however, have chosen to zero in on a subset of their customers: upgraders only. It’s as if someone had calculated the least possible thing they could do to help right the ship — which actually diminishes the good will generated by offering a discount in the first place.

strategy / technology — 6 Comments
11
Jan 10

Overlooking the obvious


slabInvest in Android. Check. Sign up telco partners for Android. Check. Develop our own Google-branded phone. Check. Rehearse big launch event for Nexus One. Check. Open online store. Check. Set up customer support system. Uh… whoops.

Looks like someone at Google forgot their Boy Scout motto. Thanks to a surprising lack of preparedness, Google’s support forums are now flooded with Nexus One owners searching for answers. No luck with T-Mobile either — they just send you back to Google, where the best you can do is send an email and wait up to 48 hours for a response.

Chalk this up to Google’s rookie status in the hardware biz. It took Apple many years to build a seamless, positive customer path from ads to Apple Store to packaging to post-purchase care. At this point, Google’s phone business is, to be kind, just a wee a bit looser.

No company battling for the hearts and minds of customers can rest on the the laurels of hardware or software. They have to build a rich and happy customer experience. There are many ways Google can do this — but they might start by answering their phone.

strategy / technology — 5 Comments
7
Jan 10

Some fine print from Google

nexus_one_asteriskAndy Rubin is the founder of Android and currently VP of Engineering at Google. In the afterglow of the Nexus One unveiling, the Washington Post ran an article noting his similarities to Steve Jobs.

Unfortunately, our friend Andy is actually sounding more like Steve Ballmer.

When asked when existing Android phones will be upgraded to be on par with Nexus One, Andy explained that “older” Android handsets may not be able to support the “full experience” of the newer Android releases — just as older PCs may not be able to run the newest version of Windows.

Come again? I could have sworn that the planet’s entire supply of Android phones was less than six months old. (Turns out HTC, manufacturer of Nexus One, did start making them at the end of 2008.) Whatever, it seems incredibly early to be talking about creeping obsolescence.

Remain calm, Droid enthusiasts. Motorola says you’re definitely getting the upgrade. As for the others, Google says they’ll make the software available within days, but it’s up to each manufacturer to decide when — and if — the update gets rolled out to their devices.

So. If Google was indeed harboring dreams of becoming the Microsoft of the phone world, I’d say they’re well on their way.

This should further fuel the debate over open systems (Android) vs. closed systems (iPhone). Yes, you get a lot more choices when you shoot for ubiquity — but things can get messy quick.

A Nexus One Q&A, including Andy Rubin’s comments, can be found at Computerworld.

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