Posts Tagged ‘iphone’

$YHOO #Axis is Dead On Arrival if they …..

Thursday, May 24th, 2012

don’t address Go to market/distribution and mobile browser use cases!

 

 

Typically, companies spend a lot of time on product, features and problems that they are solving for the end user but don’t think through the Go to market and distribution to get their customers/users to the product. This is a problem – whether you are a startup or a dinosaur like Yahoo!
Yahoo! Axis mobile browser is great …..but don’t know if they thought through the aspect of how mobile users get to the browser!

It feels like Yahoo! started working on Axis pre “Mobile App Proliferation on iPhone/Android” age and by the time they release their product, the opportunity already passed? Akin to Motorola Iridium Satellite venture ?

While the product seems well though through here are few suggestions as they continue to figure out how to get user to use their product -

  • Smartphone mobile users rarely start with a mobile browser – at least by the 80/20 rule, most of them start with an application. If users are starting with Apps, why not work with App publishers and strike deals to embed your browser in their Apps; This way, your users are exposed to unique features Axis provides and that creates easy discovery and dependency?
  • At least in Android, I think there is a way to set a default mobile browser. Encouraging your users to set Axis browser as default might be one way to get some more traction but no one will make yours a default without compelling reasons!
  • Microsoft Bing Search (http://www.bing.com) started incentivizing its users by giving “credits” that could be used for Game App downloads, Mp3, etc. Incentivizing new users to try out your browser might be another way and encourage them to set your browser as default (for additional incentives).

As I always say, its not just the product that will make your product successful! Nail the go to market strategy before you release your product!

@Vsistla

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Posted in Bing, Go To Market, Innovation, Productization, Yahoo | 1 Comment »

$Goog vs $Aapl: worse than kid fights!

Saturday, October 22nd, 2011

When kids fight with each other, at least parents step into to calm them down. When grown men fight with their egos, who can knock some sense into them?

Regardless of who stole what from whom, Steve Jobs wanting to destroy Android is very reminiscent of two boys fighting over a toy.

Regardless of how successful Android becomes, iPhone, Apple and Steve Jobs and their legacy will be etched in the history. $40 Billion in cash and biggest company by market cap – Apple and Steve have made history.

When boys fight, parents on both side ask them to compromise and make peace. Legal and judicial systems cannot play such a paternal role for big boys!

Boys are boys, even after becoming adults!

Alas …..

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Posted in Innovation | No Comments »

Comparing Kindle Fire, iPhone & iPod – disruptive entries!

Thursday, September 29th, 2011

That’s right – its not a typo! @business_design @claychristensen @RobertWheeler27 I am not comparing Kindle Fire with iPad. I am comparing Kindle Fire’s entry into tablet market with iPod and iPhone from a disruptive entry standpoint. 

This is motivated by article published by Rob Wheeler- @RobertWheeler27 titled - http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/09/amazon_kindle_fire_scare_apple.html . 

Very interesting article – especially Rob talks about disruptive innovation – drawing from Clayton Christensen’s (@claychristensen) seminal work in this space. 

Rob is “right on” when he says Kindle Fire’s entry is a low end competitor to compete head on with iPad’s market share in future.  That is very much akin to when Apple introduced first generation iPhone without 3G or camera or any of the then “advanced” features offered by the then smart phones from Nokia and the like. There were umpteen articles and research published knocking first generation iPhone as a “pinch hit” to the then smart phones. It only took less than 5 years for iPhone to completely disrupt the smart phone market place. 

Most disruptions – especially those very well researched and documented by Christensen are low end disruptors which moved the up market and wiped out incumbents. 

BUT …then……. iPod is doozie 

If you look at the two “criteria” for disruptions, I feel iPod doesn’t fit that definition. iPod actually is a high end product that wiped out low end incumbents. People questioned why would anyone need that many gigabytes of storage on your mp3 player and why would anyone spend upwards of $200 for an MP3 player when all other MP3 players were available for sub $100 and in some case much less than $40. 

So, disruptions can also be brought with a high end innovation that will ultimately wipe out the market for low end products? Where will such disruptions fit into “Disruptive Innovation” theory?  

Thoughts? …..

@Vsistla

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Posted in Innovation | No Comments »

Publisher App Store via App Store in future through iPhone? …maybe…

Friday, October 2nd, 2009

Did you ever notice that the “App Store” icon is listed with other Apps on the home page instead of at the bottom along with Phone, Mail, Safari and iPod? Did Apple decide to leave the “App Store” Icon along with other Apps because of lack of space at the bottom – too hard to put the 5th icon in there? Then again, they also short changed Settings, iTunes, Messages and Camera – by leaving them along with other Apps.

Regardless of where the App Store Icon is, I wonder if there is a future, where brands and publishers can create “Publisher Stores” – similar to “App Store” – where they Catalog all their own branded Apps – conveniently located in one location – for users to select all and download all and pay for all them at the same time.

For example Sony Music Entertainment has deployed 6 iPhone Apps on the App store. Instead of downloading each of those 6 Apps separately, wouldn’t it be cool to download all Sony’s Apps with one click?

Enter Publisher App Store !!!!

With Apps on App Store reaching 100,000 in next few months, it becomes critical for Apple to consolidate as well as make it easier for iPhone users to download Apps. Users don’t have to search for different sub brands multiple times. If you are looking for all super hero comic apps, all you need to download is Marvel App Store.

Then again, does the Publisher App Store need to be a downloadable App OR could it be an aggregated list of apps via a microsite available through Apple’s App Store?

Download or webapp – doesn’t matter – there is a huge need for such a feature. Its long due …..

Why limit this concept to just grouping within a publisher? Aggregator can group Genre specific Apps in one location and give option for their user to search, download through one interface.  There could be App stores for all free casual games, all card games, all music apps and all news apps ….

Ideation

There is a start up idea right there …..what are the challenges? Well, for one, Apple might not approve such an App!!!!

No harm in giving it a try. Create a shell App and let all these brands customize the Shell App the way they want to and list out their on deck Apps, Icons, descriptions, and hook it up to iTunes store.

Even if Apple doesn’t approve such an App, at least publishers can start creating such Microsites and let user’s download ….Disney has around 12 iPhones Apps on the App Store. Couldn’t Disney or Sony or some of these big brand names build microsites by partnering with Apple – giving options for fans to download all the Apps in one go?

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Posted in App Store, Apple, Apple TV, Apps, Constant Innovation, Handset, Innovation, iPhone, mobile, Product Evolution, Productization, Publisher | No Comments »