Monday, July 20, 2009
In mobile... always follow fashion
When someone in your organization asks you "are you abandoning your blog?", you realize it is time to post something... I have many excuses, from traveling abroad, losing some important piece of equipment (thanks Malpensa people for taking advantage of an idiot) and being under a significant pressure... But that's my normal workload, so I should not complain ;-) I will definitely post more in the next weeks.I was looking at a graph about iPhone 3G buyers from Nielsen's Q2 2009 Mobile Insights Survey, and I realized many people noticed different things. Here it is. It shows what phone did the users have before buying the iPhone. What stands out for you?
The figure that looks disproportionate to me is the Motorola number. Yes, Motorola has a shrinking market share but it has never been that big to justify the largest share.
Why are RAZR users flocking to the iPhone? It is a huge jump, from the most basic device to the most featured. The RAZR has the worst possible user interface, while the iPhone has the best one. It is somehow counter-intuitive... You would expect people with advanced feature phones to upgrade to the iPhone.
I believe the answer is fashion. The iPhone looks good. It is the coolest device in town.
If you go back in memory and think about all the people that bought that pink RAZR, you realize the driver was exactly the same. The RAZR looked good. It was the slimmest device in town. Nobody cared about the crappy user interface. The RAZR was a show-me-ohh-cool device.
Same for the iPhone.
The Google Tmobile G1 phone could have all the features in the world, the best screen, the best UI, the best Google integration. But if you take it out of your pocket and people say "What's that, a garage door opener?", you won't feel much cool (unless you are a geek and you start going on for an hour talking about multi-threading and the like, but please remember that you are part of a tiny percentage of the population).
When you look at the market in mobile, never forget fashion. Your mobile phone is an essential component of your image. It speaks about who you are, what you like, and tells the world if you are cool or not.
Same as your latest pair of shoes. Who cares if they are comfortable or not? I do, but I am a geek.
Posted by Fabrizio at 17:15
7 Comments:
jackr said...
Speaking as a Treo-to-iPhone switcher, I think you're spot on. "Sexy styling" is exactly what I though the moment the RAZR entered the discussion.
Of course, maybe it's "mutilated spelling" that unites RAZR and iPhone…
Comment Posted at 17:50
Alessio said...
Well when it comes to tech devices it's all about fashion for the most of population...
the same idea applies to portable media player and so on...
Anyway, I do think most of the people out there spending big money in mobiles don't really need the features... they just need a cool device, that's it!
Comment Posted at 22:21
andraz said...
completely agree with the fashion statement. RAZR was just over the top GUI crap.
At the same time, this graph, I believe, is america only? I doubt that it can be easily ported to EU market which is bigger, more advanced, brand picky and at the same crazy about iPhone as well.
Comment Posted at 06:39
Fabrizio said...
Hi Andraz,
yes, I believe it is US only.
fabrizio
Comment Posted at 07:49
theregoesdave said...
What you're missing is that until last year, the RAZR actually had a higher share of mobile Web users than the iPhone. These are people that are already accustomed to having Internet access on their phone and are ready to step up to the next level.
Comment Posted at 09:31
its not just about fashion though, the iphone is being sold extremely cheap now, in comparison to when it first came out, and at least in terms of bang for buck its up there with one of the best.
Also, im sure most of the switchers from motorola, samsung, nokia, LG, and Other, are probably SyncML devices that aren't "smart" phones. There aren't many cheap, great devices out there for going truly mobile. The N97 for example is extremely expensive at $700...
What I found interesting here is how many BB users switched to iPhone, in my experience both iPhone and BB users are extremely brand loyal!
Comment Posted at 11:42
Cell Phone Jammers said...
I want know following things about this model:- flash, expandable memory upto, video formats, mobile tracker. Is there any new model launched same as Samsung - SGH-D780 or another company with same feature? Thanks.
