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September 3rd, 2009
Next Thursday (September 10th) I’ll be blogging from GigaOM’s Mobilize 09 conference and watching to see how well the mobile industry is looking out for the entire consumer experience–and not just how good a product they can put out. Check back here for my observations.
Better yet, click here and sign up to attend (at a 15% discount). I’ve attended the conference (as well as other GigaOM events) in past years and can heartily recommend them. Om packs a lot into a single 12 hour day! It’s a great conference to get up to speed with the state of the industry right now as well as what the next six to nine months hold.
Also, unlike some conferences held in the bowels of a some giant hotel (with generic chandeliers, carpets, halls, etc. that we are all too familiar with), the venue: The Mission Bay Conference Center is beautiful and full of sunlight. It was designed by award-winning architect Ricardo Legoretta.
Filed under: Mobile,Mobilize
August 27th, 2009
This past Tuesday, Sony announced the Sony Reader Daily Edition. By many accounts so far, a worthwhile challenger to the 
latest Kindle (or at least it will be when it is available in about four months).
As someone who has been critical of Sony product names in the past (as have others), I first have to praise Sony for coming up with a name (rather than a model number) for its latest Reader. It’s nice to see the people who came up with “Walkman” back on track with naming.
On the other hand…
One of the most basic launch rules is “Don’t launch a product until its ready.” so what I can’t understand is why Sony would launch this product when:
Compare this to how Bose and Amazon and Apple all launch products.
Bose: Bose announced its QuiteComfort 15 noise canceling headphones on Wednesday, August 19th. They were available in stores the next day. In addition, on the 19th Bose.com prominently featured the product on its front page and had a complete product page ready (with product details, tech support info, etc.) Reporters were able to go into Bose stores a day before to do an on-site test/preview.
Amazon: Amazon announced the Kindle 2 on February 9 and although it would not ship for two weeks, they immediately began taking pre-orders. Reporters at the launch event were given hands-on time with the product.
Apple: Apple is rumored to be having an event on September 9th. Immediately following this event, I encourage you to read the news coverage then look on Apple.com. If past patterns hold true, the new products will be there front and center… and they will be available for consumers within two weeks… if not immediately.
Announce vs. Launch
In this post I have used announce and launch interchangeably. I have done this deliberately because when consumers see a news article about a new product they don’t differentiate the announcement from the launch. Yes, occasionally, a product can be announced to the industry (with a consumer launch following) but in those (rare) cases coverage does not end up in Business Week, on local TV news or in the Arts section of the Times.
Launch when ready!
Filed under: Don't launch until ready,Mobile,eBook
July 31st, 2009
The Jitterbug is a cell phone that is often describe as “the phone for Seniors”–the company behind it likes to say it’s for “any generation” or “for Boomers and beyond.” Either way, this company gets it when it comes to consumers. Especially in the “less is more” category.
The headline on its newspaper advertisement reads, “It doesn’t play music, take pictures or surf the 
Internet.” Bravo! This company understands that for many consumers more features means more complexity, a harder to use product and in the end more frustration.
The company also understands that less is more when it comes to consumer choice. You can get the phone in White or Graphite. That’s the only product decision. No need to choose memory size, feature sets, carriers, etc. Pick the color and your done. Again, fewer decisions means fewer frustrations.
While many tech-savvy consumers are racing to smart phones there is a whole world of non-tech savvy consumers (young and old) who are being dragged into the technological world that has emerged over the past few years. These consumers should be given technologies that add to their lives but do not cause frustration.
The Jitterbug is meeting this need (and in the process its been getting praised by the industry and the press for its feature set and ease of use. Recognitions include the 2009 Wireless-Life Sciences and Triple Tree I Award for “Best Consumer Experience” and very positive comments in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and the Washington Post.)
It would be nice to see the philosophy behind the Jitterbug phone applied to more products–either by the folks behind Jitterbug or by other companies.
(Disclosure: In the past, I have done some advising for the PR agency working with Jitterbug)
Filed under: Jitterbug,Less is more,Mobile
