What a week for tech. The last time this happened was that week in June when announcements were made for the Retina Macbook Pro, Microsoft Surface, and Google Nexus 7. The holy triumvirate of the tech world. This week was more about the return of the has-beens and the rise of an up-and-comer. Let's cover them in more detail.
Nokia
This was widely regarded as a make or break for Nokia. The former foremost phonemaker in the world is now holding on to dear life after jumping from the burning platform to treacherous yet lukewarm waters. Add to that the confusion that came with Microsoft's announcement that Windows Phone 7 will no longer be compatible with newer systems. The Lumia 800 and 900 were both beautifully designed handsets dragged down by the inherent software limitations. With the 920, Nokia has finally played catch-up. And what a way to do so. Windows Phone 8, Snapdragon S4 processor, 4.5 inch HD screen, Pureview camera, and wireless charging... The technical and design capabilities of the former great fully come into the fore with this device. Unfortunately, I also think Nokia is one of the worst marketing companies in tech. That's a big reason for their troubles.
To start off, they announce this Superphone less than two weeks before the next godphone from Apple is announced. What's even worse is that they failed to include the release dates and price. Given the fast cycles and short memories of the tech world, all the excitement for the product will have fizzled out by then. Also compounding their troubles is that they lost the trust of the early adopters and most loyal consumers. For those who bought the Lumia 900 when it was released last March, they not only get a dead OS but also a phone that is severely outmatched by a successor five months later. The biggest fail however is Pureview. Faking the videos is one thing, faking the entire brand is another. Why did they even release a Pureview phone a few months before? What's the point of doing so when they completely change the definition a few months later? Their CEO claims that Pureview simply stands for a commitment to advanced camera technologies. What's the point of branding a commitment? Everyone was wowed with fhe out of this world 41 megapixel sensor on the original Pureview. Too bad it was on a clunky phone with a dead OS. But people had high expectations for the brand. Ot was synonymous with the 41 megapixel oversampling tech. That was just how it stuck to people's minds. Isnt the basic marketing tenet to underpromise and overdeliver? Who cares if the new Pureview has the best optical image stabilization? It's still just another asvanced mobile camera. Nothing recolutionary. They made people expect too much with the Pureview. They wasted the potential of both the technology and the brand. If I were the CEO, what I would have done is release a standalone Pureview camera. Im pretty sure it would generate higher sales than the Pureview on Symbian. Then, once the revolution has gone underway, they release Nokia Lumias with Pureview Pocket or some other subbrand. That way, it doesn't deceive the consumers but they still make it known that Nokia has the best camera technologies.
Motorola
It was a moderately successful announcement. I think Moto is finally going in the right direction by riding on the strength of the Razr brand. It has consolidated its phones with a unifor, design across two high end and one midrange phone. The Razr HDs seem like excellent phones, and they will fill a gaping market need for long battery life. I also like that they have pretty light skins. With the revamped design of Android, I think this is the right way forward for Android phones. Razr M also looks like a tasty proposition at the midrange. This is just the first step, but we can now confidently say, Welcome back Motorola.
Amazon
Paperwhite display. Immersive Reading. X-Ray. Kindle Serials. Authors Program. They have pulled off the impossible and made reading cool again. And that's just the tip of the iceberg in what was probably the most impressive string of announcements in recent memory. The next Steve Jobs is here... I really think that Jeff Bezos is the most innovative man in tech right now. He's definitely been the most disruptive. On his first act with Amazon.com, he basically invented e-commerce. On his second act with the Kindle e-reader, he killed off bookstores and introduced to us a new way to read. Now on his third act with the Kindle Fires, he intends to shake the consumer electronics market with bargain basement pricing and high-quality experiences. How can he pull off this kind of pricing then? It has everything to do with integration. Amazon is simply a master at it.
First off is their investment in cloud computing and web services. This enables them to have extremely low-cost storage and bandwidth for their cloud services like AWS and Amazon Prime. It's quite a successful business on its own, but it spills over to the other business lines as well. The economies of scale created by this foundation gives them leeway to price Amazon Prime at an extremely competitive 80 USD a year, which covers both unlimited media, book rentals, and fast deliveries. This subscription sucks the consumer into their ecosystem. Consume more media within Amazon instead of subscribing to other services. Since Amazon offers the convenience of fast delivery, why would I still buy at traditional retail stores? Amazon is playing on its competitive advantage of having everything from A to Z. Its ads are more effective than any other tech giant, because they lead consumers straight to the shopping cart. No more intermediary channels. Amazon is the closest to the consumer's pocket. And that's why it needs a gateway for all that. A heavily subsidized gateway - the Kindle Fire. They entice consumers with the extremely low pricing and killer hardware specs. In turn, they expect the consumer to only swim in Amazon's ecosystem, which anyway also provides value and convenience. Win-win business strategy at its best. Another great asset they have is that they control the world's most popular storefront so the Kindle Fire can ride on the practically free promotion right there. They own more credit card numbers than most banks and they have the most embedded supply chain. So production and delivery to consumers are a cinch to them. Nobody else has these competitive advantages, that's why only Amazon can offer them. That's why other tablet makers except for Apple are dead in the water. With its announcements, Amazon not only showcased its care for consumers but its commitment to changing the status quo.
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