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  • The Paradox of Consumer Choice
    A few years ago I read a book called The Paradox of Choice: Why Less is More by Barry Schwartz. His anecdotes were insightful and pointed to truths about the amount of choice the free market has laid on us as consumers. Of course free markets and consumer choice should be good things, but there are certainly experiences I have had where the overwhelming sense of having too many options made it difficult to actually make a decision. I related to much of what the book was saying, particularly with the experience of picking out a DVD to watch from my massive collection. I recall staring at a wall of DVDs and having the most difficult time deciding what to watch. The decision-making process when faced with so many good choices was simply immobilizing.  
  • The Future of PC and Mobile Processors

    I've spent a lot of time with a number of hardware manufacturers recently, trying to get a glimpse into the next generation of processors and the ways in which they'll impact future gadgets and PCs. In all my meetings, one term has arisen time and again: SOC, or system-on-a-chip.

    Traditionally, chips have been created independently and then coupled together to provide multiple computing features. For example, a manufacturer would create a core processor like an Intel Centrino with a built-in Wi-Fi radio, and then attach that to a systems board, perhaps linking it together with a separate graphics co-processor, in order to deliver enhanced PC graphics. Another might take an ARM core processor and then add on additional features like extended graphics to enhance device functionality.

  • Apple's iPad: Live up the Hype? It Will....
    It was interesting to hear all the chatter after last week's iPad launch. Most reactions I heard from other analysts and media were lukewarm at best...which was what I expected. If you think about it, how can anything live up to the kind of hype leading up to this launch? But there was a lot missed in the media about the event and the product that I hope to share in order to maintain our perspective on not only the iPad but on Apple and their products.  
  • Innovation Abounds - CES 2010 Post Show Analysis

    This year's CES was very interesting. I had felt for the past few years that CES was sorely lacking in the innovation department. But this year it looks like things have changed in the technology industry. Technology companies have realized that to reach the consumer the pace of innovation needs to accelerate, and this year's CES was a start in that direction.  Several things stuck out that I'd like to highlight:  

Creative Strategies - Strategic Thinking

Apple's iPad and its Impact on Competitors

Thursday, 29 July 2010 15:19

When Apple introduced the iPad this week, most of the world was mainly focused on it becoming a new version of a tablet, a mobile computing form factor that has been on the market for almost 20 years. And while it is a more consumer friendly version of a tablet, I believe the iPad will have a more far-reaching impact on the mobile computing market and all of Apple’s competitors.

What Apple did is nothing short of introducing a completely new concept of portable computing. The iPad clearly will work well in the slate or tablet mode. However, in that mode, it is mostly a device for accessing and viewing content. And contrary to what Steve Jobs says about the virtual keyboard being great for input, it is not very likely that people will use it for any serious data input while in the tablet mode. But they had three pieces of technology tied to it that does extend its functionality and allows it to deliver a completely new concept in portable computing.

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Use Case Computing - How Consumers Approach Products

Thursday, 29 July 2010 15:19

We have been writing and talking with our clients for at least a few years now about this idea of purpose-built computing. The general idea is that consumer electronics hardware OEM’s and ODM’s need to think more about the purpose of the product and begin making decisions at the component level which accomplish that purpose. 

 

Another great way of thinking about this is outlined by Scott Anthony, co-founder of Innosight, in his latest book “The Silver Lining.”  He outlines in chapter two a concept that explains that consumers don’t buy products, they hire them to get jobs done. This is an excellent way to think about the value needed in a product as well as think through the task or tasks it is being hired for to get the job done. This job can be e-mail, mobile web surfing, entertainment, information, and more, but the point is consumers hire products to get jobs done and there are

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Next Clash of Titans: Microsoft vs. Adobe

Thursday, 29 July 2010 15:19

Microsoft’s battles over the years, with companies like Apple, Sun and most recently Google, are the stuff of software legend. The next competitor to visit the woodshed: Adobe.

Microsoft is the largest software company in the world and its products touch the lives of millions of consumers and businesspeople each day. Despite its dominance, Microsoft still faces very tough software competition from many different directions.

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