The Trinity of Device success

Tap your pockets, glance around the room. Chances are you will register a few electronic devices of a modern persuasion. They are big business with Smartphones alone shipping 491.4 million units in 2011. We revel in the availability of well integrated electronic solutions to everyday challenges and would most likely be a little socially disadvantaged without them.

But what makes a successful device? Be it tablet computer, desktop, laptop or mobile handset, it’s no simple task for retailers to shoe-horn devices into a crowded market. It occurred to me that for a device to be successful it needs to lean firmly on a triangle of factors. The first is the hardware. Consumers are sharp on comparison of the numbers (even if they don’t know what they mean). Processor speeds for phones, pixel volumes for screens; contrast ratios for TV’s are all now bartering benchmarks now which not too long ago were solely the reserve of geeks and the technicians who designed them. It really is crucial to build a device with appropriate hardware. Over spec-ing will price you out of the market, and underperforming hardware gets little sympathy from the modern consumer. Many early Smartphones were loaded with features that their frail mobile processor just couldn’t handle, and some still argue the inflated price of Apple hardware is due largely to the choice of high grade hardware of questionable suitability.

The second pillar of importance for Businesses in the electronics sector is the software. When the shiny brick falls out of the block, the wide-eyed consumer is waiting for the moment when it lights up and starts to perform. At this point proper testing of software pre-installed on the device is crucial with usability and reliability being instantly scrutinised by the proud owner. If businesses get this wrong then it doesn’t matter how shiny the device, it will likely end up going through a window or on eBay. The HP TouchPad had what many considered to be a good software deployment, but it just turned people off. Something about the function of the inbuilt operating system built just never flew. On the flipside custom manufacturer deployments of the Android platform on suitable tablet hardware have taken the market by storm and brought many outsiders into the fold of mobile computing.

Finally, Businesses who want to stay the current maelstrom of electronic device retail need to get their after-sales support together. Arguably the most important of the three, it’s not just about what you sit around a development table and build in at the factory any more. Users don’t want to feel out in the cold once they have bought your product. They want to feel like they are just beginning on a journey of fun and productivity by buying it. To give them a great experience and secure a future for your next product Businesses absolutely must consider updates after the point of sale. The Blackberry playbook is a great value bit of kit with solid hardware and a good initial software setup, but it’s likely to be strangled off the shelves because its app store will never get up to speed. Alternatively staunch advocates of Apple products profess that they will forever retain unsurpassed access to apps and replacement/repair support because of the companies continued commitment to after sales engagement.

Depending on the chosen positioning strategy it is of course appropriate to lean on these three in varying degrees, but I challenge any manufacturer to ignore any one of them and still deliver a successful device.

The Spread of Information Poverty

The digital world is marching on, and most are happily jumping on board and enjoying the benefits of a more connected lifestyle with everything from smartphones to Oyster cards. Being of a (reasonably) new generation myself I have enjoyed growing up with this kind of technology along with my peers.

Mobile Phones, Game Boys, broadband, and digital cameras have all been born in my lifetime, and frankly every new product brings a certain degree of schoolboy-like excitement as I join the clamber to have the first go on the newest gadget or sign up for yet another life-altering on-line service.

However there is a divide forming in our nation, and across the World. Known as the Digital Divide it has gained press in recent years as the gulf has widened. Whilst some of us revel in digital harmony, others are becoming more and more disconnected in relative terms. Recent figures suggest that around 25% of UK homes still do not have an internet connection. In an age where the internet can facilitate thousands of daily activities we are beginning to face a new social conundrum, that of Information Poverty.

Broadband and many other technologies which facilitate the flow of daily consumable information are relatively cheap, and could be be funded monthly by diverting the funds from a few spared pints in the local. I do not believe it is the cost of technology which puts many off, but a fear of its complexity and bizarre nuances. Resorting to IT as a first port of call is something that has become ubiquitous in the younger generation during their studies, and the older generation as a powerful Business tool. Those who have not yet made the jump tend to reside in the more mature age groups, or those in less close affiliation with education or dynamic places of work.

Technologies such as the 'Basic Phone' have found a niche in the market for those wanting to forgo the hurdles and guessing games of modern, feature rich mobiles, instead simply making calls and staying connected. This opens up what many would consider a basic right for telephone access, to a market of older people or those who struggle to learn complex software. Similarly a software house has recently released a package aimed at helping those who are older or have memory problems to interface with a simplified yet functional daily planner in digital format. This helps them to harness the power of digital organisation which many of us now rely on.

It is exciting times for those of us riding the technology bandwagon, but as the digital society begins to take over, we have a duty to make sure people are not unwittingly left behind.

The curse of Technological lobotomy

Every day I get emails telling me about the next amazing feature of X, or new release of Y. I like to dabble in some of the muddier ponds of technology available in this fine age so you could say that I am looking for trouble by continually scouring the internet for the next gadget or software trick to double efficiency. I'm sure many of us can relate to this in some degree, as it would seem that Business and Personal lives are inescapably governed by what technology allows us to do.


My question is, are we really working smarter and faster? Or does every auto-complete or keyboard short cut make us that little bit stupider?


The age-old head slap moment where you forget to attach a file to that all important email. I sat down to compose on my Gmail account yesterday and intended to send an attachment to a colleague. Upon clicking "Send" I was politely informed by Gmail that I "had used the word 'attached' in my email, but I had not attached a file". Now at first I was heartened by this gentle, if slightly condescending remark. Much like the firm reminder from a Primary School teacher that writing primarily in crayon was not going to cut it when I moved on in life. Don't get me wrong, I like this feature, what concerns me is that next time I will kick back and let the computer check for my mistakes. With nothing but a red underline or a last minute warning message screening us from professional embarrassment, how long before we fall foul?


The branding trend of slipping in the term "Smart" could be a bit of a misnomer. 'Smart cars' promise a revolution in city transport and assist those who struggle with space or parking (http://tinyurl.com/63a34b3). 'SMART' interactive whiteboards with interactive touch screens and virtual pens profess to aid presentation skills and bring media together to improve teaching effectiveness (http://tinyurl.com/5sfkxjh). Voice dialling on now ubiquitous 'Smartphones' claim to alleviate the tiresome need for us to use our hands. So the general consensus seems to be that if we bolt on certain technology, then we become smarter in the way we work?


Well my argument would be that we are wandering a fine line. There are 3 camps who I would suggest most people fall into. First your non-adopters and your technophobics. (Laggards, your elderly father who still doesn't trust radio waves let alone iPads). Second you have those who take what they are given and pick up gadgets and efficiency tricks as they become common place and not before (Late majority, your average mobile phone user who dabbles with apps and downloads). Thirdly you have your gadget hunters who go out of their way to find "Smart" ways of getting the job done (Early adopters, like your mate Dave who regularly presents you with something flashy and largely useless, but nevertheless admirable). The more you gravitate towards the third camp, the greater the risk of what I call Technological lobotomy.

Being of the third order camp myself I do hope that I will retain my mental faculties long enough to reach retirement. However I fear there is a good chance me and many others will wind up drooling in a lazy-boy with only a tablet PC and a VR headset for company if we let computers do too many things for us without thinking. A fellow blogger also points out that technology fundamentally allows us to be physically unfit in everyday life which should also be thrown into the mix (http://wooga.drbacchus.com/technology-makes-us-dumber).


If you are concerned about your rapidly declining IQ as you read this, fear not, simply perform this test: When you next write an email, turn off the spellcheck and see if you can still formulate basic words and sentences. If you are horrified by the results then a brief spell of Neo-Luddism might be in order (http://tinyurl.com/ycnj9n9)


**Update 2/1/11: Nukes and babies protected by AI: http://tinyurl.com/5rcs4vt
**Update 5/2/11: Good software = stupid? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11263559