Apple’s “ Hunger marketing” still works!?
Everyone knows that Apple is one of the organisations that use the “Hunger marketing”. For those who do not know what that means, read the following quote:
“Hunger marketing” refers to a kind of marketing strategy where the commodity provider reduces production in order to create demand. If the product is popular, this strategy will allow the provider to achieve control of supply and demand while maintaining a high commodity price and profit purpose.
Source: China daily 2011 (http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2011-05/09/content_12473412.htm)
Apple was quite successful using this marketing strategy in the previous years. IPhones and I Pads where great innovative product. These devices were always new to phone (/gadget) market, have the newest and coolest stuff installed, and not to forget the devices have one of the better designs, when they were introduced. Everyone wants it! Therefore, Apple “was not able” to supply sufficiently. Which makes the customers even want it more.
Well, nice strategy! However, as we all have experienced during the last two years. Apple did not come with something that contains groundbreaking innovations, at least I haven’t noticed for the phone and tablet market. My IPhone 5 was just a longer version of IPhone 4 with some extra processing speed and better camera, and more expensive, that’s it.
Furthermore, in the recent years, it seems that Samsung did catch up in the race with Apple. The phones and tablets introduced by Samsung aren’t that bad anymore in the perception of the consumers and maybe even better than the apple devices in the eyes of some consumers. It is a fact that Samsung took over some of the Apple’s market in the past few years.
Moreover, there are also other electronic devices manufactures, probably not Nokia, but large player in China such as Huawei and Coolpad could become serious competitors for Apple and Samsung. These Chinese electronic devices manufactures have already a very large market share in China (with 1.3 billion people!) and became rich in there. Now they are trying to introduce their devices to the Global market. Once they are able to create brand awareness and overcome the bad perceptions of the Chinese products. They can become serious competitors of Apple and Samsung.
Facing the fierce competition from Samsung and other players in the electronic device market. Apple is still using the Hunger marketing. During the introduction of IPhone 5S, it was sold out in the first weekend. Well the question is, is it still smart to market the product this way? Now the competitors are able to introduce similar product. Once the customers switch to another, they might never come back!
Source:
– Finance.Ce.cn
– http://www.beurs.nl/nieuws/Buitenland/3253420/apple-iphone-5s-uitverkocht-in-eerste-weekend
The road to becoming a robot.
Recently a bio-medical engineer by the name of Theodore Berger has made some astonishing progress in the field of brain implants. For decades he has focused his work on deciphering the human brain and specifically the part of the brain that triggers memories (the hippocampus). He is now at a point where he is able to trigger memories in the brain of a mouse or monkey. He does this by using a computer chip which mimics the signals a hippocampus uses to trigger a memory. For now this silicon chip is still on the outside of the body and no testing has been done yet on humans. Imagine though what it could mean if Berger manages to develop a model which you can plant in your brain that will help you to recall memories. Alzheimer patients will have less issues with forgetting the names of their beloved ones, to give one example.
If this would become reality, and this is a big if, it would be a pretty large step forward in biomedical technology. But let’s take it a step further, what if we could build chips that will allow us to start dreaming at command or which will be able to feed our brain all kinds of information in a matter of seconds? Once we have unlocked the code of the brain this process could be very fast. It will probably be the ethical side of it which will slow it down. And now that we are fantasizing anyway, what about the other way around? We can put machines in our minds, but can we put our minds into a machine? According to Ray Kurzweil, director of engineering at Google, this will also be possible in a matter of years. It all comes down to computing power for this particular challenge. It’s estimated that by 2045 we will be able to store our minds on a computer and therefore achieve (digital) immortality.
However, this means your mind will be stored on some sort of datacenter, or perhaps in a virtual reality somewhere, but you won’t actually be able to put your mind in a new body. Which is where Bergers findings and Kurzweils predictions come together. Kurzweil thinks that by 2090 all the biological parts of our body will be replaceable by manufactured body parts. Combine this with a mind you can store and download in a manufactured brain, and you have really achieved immortality.
The implications of these kinds of technologies on our society would be enormous and I’m interested to hear how you guys would feel about techniques as these.
Personally, I only need to find a way to keep myself alive until 2090.
Sources:
Cohen, J. (2013) Memory Impants, MIT Technology Review, http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/513681/memory-implants/
Woollaston, V (2013) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2344398/Google-futurist-claims-uploading-entire-MINDS-computers-2045-bodies-replaced-machines-90-years.html
The US government damages itself by launching its own site
As we all know, president Obama has been trying to launch his healthcare act “Obamacare” for quite some time. This act would provide health insurance to tens of millions of uninsured US citizens.
The US government tried to make this easier by running its own healthcare insurance eCommerce website, called Healthcare.gov. On this website, can apply for healthcare insurance that satisfies their needs. Frankly, it was actually unnecessary for the government to build this website. Many startups were already capable of providing such a service. However, the US government decided to build its own website to protect consumers, because private companies would then have access to income data. This seems an invalid argument because there were already private companies that have access to such data, for tax purposes for instance.
When the US government did launch its own website, it was full of glitches and crashes. This scared away potential customers, thereby tarnishing the government’s reputation even further.
More on this story can be found here : http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/20/how-healthcare-gov-doomed-itself-by-screwing-startups/
A Google Engineer Explains Why Google+ Sucks: Platforms vs. Products
You probably remember the guest lecture on platform-mediated networks by Prof. Marshall van Alstyne, right? He also shared some slides, and this one on Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos caught my attention:
Bezos Platform Mandate. Source: http://www.slideshare.net/InfoEcon/platform-strategy-ibm-72511
I googled this so-called “Bezos Platform Mandate” to learn more about it. I expected it to be part of an article Bezos published, or maybe a presentation he did.
As it turns out, the quote is part of an infamous rant by Google engineer Steve Yegge, that was accidentally made public. It was meant as an internal memo, highlighting some key differences between Amazon and Google. It provides an honest, uncensored and at times hilarious insight into the differences between these companies in terms of culture.
Why choose LINUX
It is common knowledge that the Linux operating system was developed and released for distribution as open source freeware and when it was first introduced it was thought to have very little real life application.
However years since the trip started Linux operating system are seen worldwide , it’s on our smartphones our tablets our PC the banks from where we have our credit cards use it, universities and government agencies.
1.It’s free
Who does not think free is a very good price ? While Linux is free the competitors for commercially available products come with pricey tags for their operating system. If you consider the economy it’s worth the while for your company and even yourself to get used it and more importantly “it doesn’t cost anything to try it” as the saying goes.
2.Customization
Customization is one of the defining traits of Linux and includes not just choice of distribution but also the desktop environment you prefer. New developments have made so that you the interface adapts to your actions therefore you are free from other OS makers and you can build your interface to your heart’s desire.
3.Modest requirements
Where other OS such as Windows forces the user to keep upgrading hardware to keep up with the software requirement Linux does the opposite . It runs flawlessly even on older resource computers due to the simplicity of the software and the minimum resource usage and as a bonus you can spend that money for something else.
4.Think of the future IT manager in you
Linux Os has very attractive features for both public and private sectors , adopting Linux users are less probable to be faced with a lock-in from proprietary platforms. On the long run these benefits are important for computing environments where large users have the option to customize their software.
5. Reliable
The main reason why so many companies turn to Linux is the strong characteristic of reliability. Using Linux OS means no more loss of data due to unforeseen crashes where you spent hours on your work and thus a result in productivity and a decrease in the level of personal stress.
The Linux has seen it’s share of increase in familiarity due to the appearance on desktop environments that have been introduced to consumers. We could argue that there is no perfect operating system but when it comes to giving the user the ability to change the system to its preferences but as far as the available options currently on the market Linux takes the lead by a landslide.
Sources:
Can the “superphone” Ubuntu Edge succeed
This summer, Canonical tried to raise $32 million for its Ubuntu Edge smartphone, a high-powered device meant to close the gap between mobile devices and desktop computers.
Even if the market launch in 2013 was labeled as failure due to falling short of $19 million Indiegogo is still confident that the project will succeed in 2014, with reassuring statement “12.8 million is still the biggest fixed crowdfunding campaign”.
Though not having appeared on the market Canonical is pleased that the media had a very big coverage of Ubuntu Edge and they attracted the interested of not only many buyers but also manufacturers . The company has been able to negotiate better hardware component prices for future Ubuntu-powered devices .In an article from Silicon Angle readers would become immediately become attracted by the subtle description of Ubuntu Edge “By this time next year, there could very well be one very elegant looking, monstrously powerful smartphone that can actually become a computer”.
One reason of the failure states the founder Mark Shuttleworth is “we would have been bringing the future forward a year or two at last “. The concept of a desktop replacement smartphone proven to spark interests in the community and within a few years $13 million will probably be enough to start a production line in China . In addition the Ubuntu Edge compared to a regular smartphone will be able to work as a desktop computer when connected to a monitor keyboard and a mouse which could have significant appeal for mobile workers. One of the phones specifications that I would particularly enjoy : Sapphire Glass , meaning no more scratches on the display you carry diamonds in your pocket.
The Ubuntu phones are expected to enter the market in the first quarter of 2014 expecting to compete with Firefox OS phones in the mid-range sector .The question if it will succeed or fail again will still need to be answered but the future looks bright for Ubuntu enthusiasts as new Indiegogo record has been set and the project will redefine the notion of mobile computing .
Video presentation of Ubuntu Edge:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQLe3iIMN7k
Sources :
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ubuntu-edge
http://www.ubuntu.com/phone/features
The Google Art Project continues to expand
As you may know, Google employees are encouraged to spend 20% of their time on their own ideas. As a result of this, Amit Sood came up with the idea of collecting artworks of museums all over the world on one single website. This resulted in the Google Art Project.
Since february 2011, Google is working on collecting high-resolution artworks from museums all over the world. At the moment, Google has partnerships with hundreds of museums that are eager to show their artworks online, including the MoMA, the Uffizi, the Hermitage and the Rijksmuseum. At the moment there are 49,020 items available, of which some are in ultra high resolution at about 10 billion pixels.
One popular feature of the website is “My galleries”, which allows the user to compose and share a personal set of art works of the website. Interestingly, visitors look at the works for an average time of one minute, which is three times as much as in actual museums, according to Google. In addition to this Art Project, the Google Cultural Institute is also working on the World Wonders project and Archive Exhibitions, that allows museums to make their (normally temporary) exhibitions available online.
You might ask yourself now: “what’s in it for Google?”. Fair question, as they do not display any advertisements or charge the museums or users. Google says: “Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” Probably this idealistic project is good marketing and does not cost too much.
Similarly, the Italian Lamborghini Museum just opened their doors to Google. This museum will not be on show in the Art Project, but in Google Maps’ Street View, allowing you to “test the seats” by virtually taking place in the cars. The Art Project uses the same Street View engine to provide virtual tours through the partnering museums.
http://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/
http://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2013/10/14/op-je-computer-naar-het-lamborghini-museum-en-de-stoelen-testen/
http://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2013/04/15/google-art-we-kijken-langer-naar-kunst-en-het-meest-naar-van-gogh/
The Digital Agenda for Europe
The best place in the world to go to if you have a tech-startup is Silicon Valley. But Europe wants to change this!
They see tech-startups leave Europe in order to go to Silicon Valley since there is a lot more support and money for these companies on the other side of the ocean. In the USA there is a very different mentality when it comes down to startups and their success. Here in Europe it is difficult to get financial support for your business idea, and if you’ve had a business failure before the chances you will get a loan are close to zero. Whilst in the US it is seen as a good thing if you’ve had businesses before even if it failed because they see entrepreneurship as a learning process; you learn from your mistakes.
One of the Europe commissioners who is engaged in the digital agenda of Europe is Neelie Kroes (Vice-President of the European Commission). She thinks we should focus more on success-stories of Tech- startups and create a better business environment for entrepreneurs. A few successful European companies are for example Spotify, Rovio (Angry Birds), and Skype. Neelie Kroes started The Startup Europe Leaders Club which is an independent group of founders in the field of tech entrepreneurship. This group has the goal to inspire others and share experiences and best practices. In the end they want to change the business environment for tech- entrepreneurs so they will start and stay in Europe. These companies can help strengthen the economy of Europe since according to BCG the growth rates of the Internet Economy will far outpace the traditional economic sectors.
So if you want to start your own tech/internet company there are better times coming in terms of financial and other forms of support. But for now the best places in Europe to be with your tech-startup are London, Berlin, and Stockholm.
This is a recent episode of DWDD with Neelie Kroes: http://dewerelddraaitdoor.vara.nl/media/302182
Here you find the blog of Neelie Kroes so you can follow her actions: http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/kroes/en/blog/
Last but not least: http://startupmanifesto.eu/
How gamers help medical research
Figuring out the shape and misshape of proteins contributes to research on causes of and cures for cancer, Alzheimer’s, immune deficiencies and a host of other disorders, as well as to environmental work on biofuels. Fold-it is an online protein folding game that was created by computer scientists at the University of Washington Center for Game Science in collaboration with the Baker lab. In less than three weeks the gamers have helped discover the structure of an enzyme that had the scientific community baffled for a decade.
Scientists, despite using advanced crystallography technology, kept encountering roadblocks while trying to piece together the structure of a protein-cutting enzyme from an AIDS-like virus. This lack of success led the scientists to challenge the gamers to produce an accurate model of the enzyme. “We wanted to see if human intuition could succeed where automated methods had failed,” said Dr. Firas Khatib from the Department of Biochemistry at UW.
Gamers applied critical reasoning and spatial intelligence to a problem traditionally dominated by subject matter experts. Seth Cooper, lead designer and developer of Foldit, said that the players’ lack of biochemistry backgrounds may have actually worked to their advantage. Unaware of traditional rules governing biochemistry, Foldit players were able “to be really creative and come up with a lot of different interesting solutions.”
Overall, Foldit is in many ways a game-changing concept. It provides a platform for gamers from all walks of life to interact, and potentially solve, pressing issues in the real world. This is the first instance that the researchers are aware of in which gamers solved a longstanding scientific problem.
References:
http://fold.it/portal/info/science
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110918144955.htm
http://www.forbes.com/sites/sarikabansal/2011/09/28/crowdsourcing-gamers-solve-protein/
Factors that affect willingness to buy of a smart watch – a market research
Apart from iWatch which is still in progress, there are already several market players released their smart watches. The most well-known two are Sony SmartWatch 2 and Sumsung Galaxy Gear.
After Reading the post from brentbodenhorst (https://informationstrategyrsm.wordpress.com/2013/10/18/smartwatch-future-essential-accessory-or-just-a-gadget/), I would like to share some of our market research result about customer needs of smart watch here. The insights about what smart watch matter the customers are listed below:
Insight 1: Social value fit problem
Fundamentally, smart watch is a watch; while for many people in current society, watch is a symbol of status (e.g. business man and politician) and sometimes is a luxury accessory that of the identity of jewelry. But smart watch and Apple’s brand image do not have these characteristics. This social misfit might prevent people from wearing an smart watch in many occasions.
Insight 2: smart watch is expected at the position of exhibit in-time information.
Consumers who has the need of checking information updates frequently like business man, stock trader etc. might be interested in smart watch since information update can be captured constantly simply by glancing at hand.
Insight 3: Compatibility for other products.
As a complementary product for iOS/Android, smart watch can be a useful reminder of incoming SMS, emails and phone calls. Smart watch can even become a remote controller for apple TV.
Insight 4: Price still matters even when smart watch is sufficiently ideal.
Acceptable price for a ideal smart watch is roughly around 100~250 EURO, or between the price of iPod nano and iPhone.
Insight 5: Screen size is a critical limitation of smart watch.
Small screen limits the information exchange between users and smart watch due to limited amount of information exhibit at a time and the problem of information input.
Insight 6: Battery capacity will be an important criterion for consumers to making purchasing decision.
People have a perception that watches need charge only after years of use. And it is wired to charge a watch frequently. Innovative technology might be required for extending the life of battery such as solar energy charge technique.
Insight 7: Aesthetic design becomes important because numerous people will consider watch as an accessory.
To wrap up, the major concern for customers is “magnifying the property of portable and attachibility”.Besides these known needs, companies ought to think further in order to explore the unaware needs and save their smart watch from current low usability situation.
Is the Chromecast answer to the apple TV?
After failing attempts with Google TV en the Nexus Q, Google still tries to enter in the TV market. This times Google introduced the Chromecast. With this device Google tries to force a piece of the TV-market and compete with apple TV. As you can see in the picture below, the device looks a large USB stick you a HDMI output.
When the Chromecast is attached to a TV, it allows other devices to send the video contents to TV and stream those on the TV. The Chromecast is able to play online and offline contents. So it basically functions as an Apple TV. However, unlike Apple TV, the Chromecast is a multiplatform device, its control system (app) is compatible with Android, Windows and Mac. In addition it cost only 35 dollar.
HBO GO, Vimeo, RTL XL and Uitzending Gemist have already confirmed to work on the supporting system for the Chromecast. So, what do you think, will Google succeed finally succeed this time with Chrome cast?
Source: http://www.nu.nl/gadgets/3606193/chromecast-mogelijk-binnenkort-in-nederland-verkrijgbaar.html
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