Cool innovation from the underdog. Love it!
Along the top edge of the e-ink display are eight LED lights, evenly spaced apart. These are the only lights used make the screen glow evenly and they’re only on the one edge. But the lights don’t shine directly down the display. Instead, the glass display has diffraction grating built-in, causing the light to be spread out across the entire screen surface.
Twitter’s Product, and Policy Update Email
I am not a fan of lengthy text emails that share details about product, and policy updates. So, my initial reaction on seeing this long email from Twitter was WTF? But, in a couple of seconds, I was able to see immense value in this email.
- Twitter did a great job of visually drawing me to product updates in blue. If I am interested in any specific update, I could read more.
- The Privacy Policy, and Terms of Updates for most products, and services are painfully long and in greek. Twitter did a fantastic job of highlighting the main changes in blue, speaking with the customer in plain English, and being honest and transparent about what they track, and what they don’t.
- Finally, providing a way to opt-out of tracking is an awesome way to earn customer trust and confidence. I am not sure what percentage of people opted-out on seeing this email. But, I am sure customers LOVED the option of owning their data, and having the opportunity to opt-out.
How many Apple IDs do you need?
The GigaOM article paints a pretty complicated picture of how many Apple IDs you need per device. In my opinion, it’s actually pretty simple and straightforward.
You only need 1 Apple ID for iTunes for the entire family, and 1 iCloud ID per family member. Sharing 1 iTunes Apple ID will enable the entire family to share music, apps, movies, TV shows, and books. 1 iCloud ID will allow each person to own their email, contacts, calendar, reminders, bookmarks, photo stream, and documents.
I have been using this model ever since iCloud was launched and I haven’t faced a single problem with this. Try it out!
My recent ordeal with the New York Times, and why I Love the Apple iPad Newsstand app
Three reasons why I Love the Apple Newsstand:
- Simple sign-up: Select the magazine or newspaper within the Neewsstand, and purchase a monthly, or annual subscription. It’s that simple. You don’t have to fill any long forms with your name, address, credit card details, etc.
- Environment Friendly/No Junk Mail: If you’ve ever subscribed to a newspaper or magazine, you have experienced receiving tens of renewal offers months after your renewal has expired. Not only is it annoying but it also wastes a lot of paper. Since Apple does not share your information with the newspaper or magazine publisher so no junk mail.
- Anywhere, Anytime Access: I carry my iPad with me all the time so any magazines and newspapers that I subscribe to are always available.
After my recent ordeal with the New York Times I am once again reminded me of the biggest differentiator between subscribing through Apple v/s the publishers - ‘Customer Service’.
The New York Times Ordeal
A few weeks ago, while browsing the New York Times I saw an offer to subscribe to the newspaper. For 99 cents, I would get 28 days access to the New York Times through the iPad Newsstand app. After that they would automatically charge me $35 per month. I like the New York Times, and the offer was awesome so I subscribed to the offer.
Then on day 28, I went online to cancel my subscription and the fun began. First, I couldn’t cancel the subscription online. I had to call an 877 number.
Second, I had to wait on hold for quite a while due to ‘unusually heavy traffic’. Finally, I connected to the agent who gave me 3 offers - each better than the previous offer in order to save my subscription. The 3rd offer got me, $10 per month for reading the New York Times through the iPad Newsstand.
Third, a week after the cancelation I realized that the New York Times had charged me $35 - the amount I had to pay if I hadn’t canceled the 28 day promotion, and $10 - the new promotion i enrolled in. Since then, I have called them thrice, and I get a standard response every time. This shouldn’t happen, we will refund your money. More than a month later, I still haven’t received my refund.
Now, if I would have gone through the iPad Newsstand app, a very simple ‘Cancel’ would have ended all of this in one click.
Observations from my India Trip
I was born and brought up in New Delhi, India. I left when I was 23. In the last 8 years, the country and the people have undergone a massive change yet there are some things that haven’t changed at all. Here are some observations from my recent trip to India on why Indians will continue to be successful, but why India as a country has a long way to go.
Growing up in India, I learnt that things were always unpredictable - how many hours will we get electricity in any given day? how many hours will we get fresh water? will the phone stop working with the monsoon showers? how long will it take to drive from point A to point B? While this unpredictability has a downside of not being able to plan and organize in the most efficient way, it has big upsides - Adaptability and Flexibility. Since almost everything is so unpredictable, you learn early on to be flexible and to adapt to changing conditions. Those who have perfected this skill are doing very well. Culturally, they are able to combine the best of Indian and western values making them true global citizens. Professionally, they are able to adapt to a rapidly changing world where the most successful people and firms thrive on being able to adapt quickly. Maybe this is a big reason why a lot of Indians work in technology industries where change is a fact of life.
The ability to find opportunities where most see a problem is another skill that will make Indians successful in the next few decades. Most people who live in India or have visited India will tell you how many problems the country has. Those who are able to convert these problems into opportunities are the ones who will be successful not only in India but globally. That is why you are seeing a mad rush of western companies investing in India, Indian companies expanding into areas they had never considered before, and the rise of the Indian Entrepreneur. Tata Nano, Airtel, Flipkart, Snapdeal, eChoupal are all great examples of homegrown solutions that have solved complicated problems like owning a cheap but reliable mode of transportation, communicating at a very low cost, eCommerce, and increasing farmer productivity and quality of life. If you are an entrepreneur and have a passion for driving change, you will never get bored in India.
While the above will help Indians be successful in India and abroad, there are two things that are holding India back from being successful as a country - the corrupt and divisive government, and the ”chalta hai” (indifferent) attitude.
The Indian government has proven to be orthodox, anti-change, and non-progressive. There are two key problems with the Indian government: Corruption and Divisive politics. The Indian government remains one of the most corrupt government in the world. The last couple of years have seen some the biggest scams in the history of independent India. Common Wealth Games and Spectrum allocation are just two examples of the magnitude of corruption in the government. We are not a resource poor nation. We are a nation whose government is so corrupt that every year hundreds of billions of dollars are stolen by politicians. The money that should be spent on building infrastructure, educational institutions, hospitals, sports academies, and boosting entrepreneurship is instead diverted to politicians bank accounts.
The second problem with the government is vote bank politics. Today the caste system is almost dead, and people don’t really care about what your religion. People care about development, they care about improving their quality of life. Over the last 2 decades more people have seen their quality of life improve, and hence people are optimistic that with hard work they can do better. However, our politicians continue to use the caste system and religion to divide people because it helps them divert attention from corruption, and lack of reforms.
So why can the government get away with the above? Because the “Chalta Hai” (indifferent) attitude of the average Indian has not changed over the last few decades. Indifference promotes mediocrity and imperfection. It doesn’t encourage people to push hard enough. If you look at the big picture, indifference not only impacts the quality of work, it also decays the culture. There is a reason why people don’t give way to an ambulance in India. They simply don’t care. This attitude has permeated into everything we do. While not true for every Indian, it is true for a significant majority. And this mass indifference let’s the government get away with corruption and divisive politics.
So, what is the solution to these problems? One way to fix the above issues is a grassroots movement focussed on providing a balanced education that not only teaches “maths and science” but encourages overall personality building, and leadership development. Tata, Infosys, Wipro, Mahindra, Bharti, ITC, and countless other firms are best situated to support such a movement. This will be a small investment on their part but will benefit them by improving the quality of life of the average Indian, increasing quality of output from their workforce, and lowering corruption in the government. All 3 benefits lead to increased revenues and profits. In my mind it’s a win-win solution. As an individual, I contribute in my own small way by donating to institutions like Nanhi Kali that educate children from economically poor families so that these children can grow up to have a life like you and I have. I would love to learn more about what others are doing to make a difference…
Google - Don't Be Evil, Really!
The threat to the freedom of the internet comes, he claims, from a combination of governments increasingly trying to control access and communication by their citizens, the entertainment industry’s attempts to crack down on piracy, and the rise of “restrictive” walled gardens such as Facebook and Apple, which tightly control what software can be released on their platforms.
Every single day, I use Google services like Search, Gmail, Maps, and YouTube. I love these services because they make me productive, have a nice design, and work very well on my iPhone and iPad. Needless to say, I like Google. But, the above comment by Sergey Brin sounds wrong.
It sounds like: We (Google) created Google+ but still can’t compete with Facebook. We (Google) bought Android, and gave it an iOS like design, it’s selling in great numbers but we still can’t figure out how to monetize the platform and get developer attention. So, let’s berate our competition because that’s easier than competing. Sad!
April 19 Update - GigaOM Pro: Google doesn’t like walled gardens — except its own
http://pro.gigaom.com/2012/04/google-doesnt-like-walled-gardens-except-its-own/
Quick read on GigaOM PRO about how Google is building it’s own walled garden in Google+, changing search results to favor Google+, and being a hypocrite in criticizing Facebook, and Apple.
This fee will help us continue to provide customers with the level of service and support they have come to expect which includes Wireless Workshops, online educational tools, and consultations with experts who provide advice and guidance on devices that are more sophisticated than ever.
Source: 9to5mac.com
The irony of this bites hard: our government may be on the verge of killing real competition in order to save the appearance of competition. This would be tragic for all of us who value books and the culture they support.
John Sargent, Macmillan CEO on the US DOJ lawsuit.
Not sure what is worse - Amazon’s monopoly on the eBooks market by selling eBooks at a loss until they gain enough market share to dictate prices OR Apple, and the publishers colluding as the DOJ claims.
The Nokia Lumia Marketing Campaign - Good or Bad?
My initial reaction to Nokia’s marketing:
If the marketing pitch is that I should buy your device because other devices suck, your product probably doesn’t have too much to talk about. If you truly believe in your product you should be talking about how awesome your product is, and why a customer should buy it.
But on second thoughts:
When your product is the leading product, you generally avoid negative marketing. That is because by doing so you only bring attention to your competitor’s products. But, when you are at the bottom of the pile (Noka, Windows Phone) then you don’t have anything to loose. In fact negative marketing may work in your favor.
If Nokia were to come out and talk about how awesome the Lumia 900 is chances are few people will pay attention even if the Lumia is the best phone on the planet. But, by indulging in negative marketing Nokia has a chance of grabbing attention, especially of those customers who have a problem with their iPhone or Android phone. It also catches attention from iPhone, Android customers who absolutely love their devices, and wouldn’t even have looked at the Lumia otherwise.
Now, if Nokia follows this negative marketing campaign with an amazing campaign that showcases the features of the Lumia, and explains why a customer should buy it, that would be the perfect marketing strategy.
After that the success of the Lumia depends on how good the phone really is, and the app ecosystem that supports the phone.
[April 3 Update] -
Walt Mossberg’s review of the Nokia Lumia 900
If you’re looking for a $100, high-end smartphone, or are a Windows Phone fan who has been waiting for better hardware, the Lumia 900 is worth considering. But the phone had just too many drawbacks in my tests to best its chief competitors.
Joshua Topolsky’s review of the Nokia Lumia 900.
I’ve already said this, but it bears repeating. I really wanted to love this phone. From a design standpoint, the Lumia 900 was immediately enticing. I’d already been salivating over Nokia’s N9 and Lumia 800, so knowing that a slightly larger (but more feature packed) version of that device was headed our way was fairly encouraging. But while the hardware — at least externally — delivers, the phone as a whole does not.
I think Nokia made a lot of the right decisions, but it’s almost impossible to move beyond some of Windows Phone’s shortcomings this late in the game. Try as I might to envision the Lumia 900 as my daily driver, the math never added up. There’s just too much missing, or too much that feels unfulfilling.
Don’t misunderstand me, Windows Phone offers some very good experiences in its core apps, and it’s probably the most gorgeous and cohesive piece of software Microsoft has ever released. But after nearly two years on the market, I struggled to find a single thing this platform could do better than Android 4.0 or iOS 5.1.
Let me just put this bluntly: I think it’s time to stop giving Windows Phone a pass. I think it’s time to stop talking about how beautifully designed it is, and what a departure it’s been for Microsoft, and how hard the company is working to add features. I am very aware of the hard work and dedication Microsoft has put into this platform, but at the end of the day, Windows Phone is just not as competitive with iOS and Android as it should be right now.
Apple's business model, and why it works
Really good explanation of Apple’s business model, and why it works
Apple makes its money over the long term not just by introducing disruption, which would mean flash-in-the-pan products that spark and then fizzle, but by seeing disruption through into stable releases, each with significant improvements that appear to be incremental to a product’s design and capabilities.
I shared similar thoughts a few weeks ago in this post. Apple is really good at sticking to a product lifecycle approach of disruptive innovation, followed by periods of incremental innovation. Disruptive innovation attracts the tech savvy consumers, and incremental innovation slowly attracts the average consumer. iPod, iPhone, and iPad are all perfect examples of this.
Because Apple stays generally near the top of the hardware feature curve, front-loads future headroom for upgrades, and charges more for its goods, it doesn’t need to push existing users to purchase each model upgrade. The company certainly doesn’t stint on marketing and hyperbole, but it never, ever tells existing customers that the hardware they own is now so much old trash.
When you buy a non-Apple device, the biggest “features” that are most commonly advertised are the screen size, CPU, and RAM. To begin with these are not features, these are hardware specs. But, if you think about it the moment these competitors release a new model with a faster CPU, or more RAM the marketing makes existing consumers feel that their 3 month old device is already obsolete. That’s not a great feeling especially as we all have 2 year contracts. In case of Apple, they have perfected the iPhone/iPad lifecycle to 2 years, which is perfect from a contract renewal timing.
This loyalty is hard for people who don’t own recent Apple products to understand. It’s just not that Apple’s designs are cool, and slick, and seamless, and oh-so-fashionable. That is often the case, but it’s not the point. Rather, the reason for staying with Apple gear is that the company’s integrated manufacturing, upgrade cycle, and warranty philosophy is structured around long-term ownership by both the original purchaser and that person’s extended network.
One thing the author doesn’t mention here is “Customer Experience”. When I purchased my first MacBook, the hard drive crashed in 9 months. I went to the Genius Bar and without any questions asked they replaced my hard drive, and set the new PC up. They even offered to put my data if I had it on a backup hard drive. A friend of mine had an under warranty MacBook, and his daughter broke the screen. He went to the Genius Bar and they replaced the screen for free. This would have costed him $500 otherwise. Another friend’s son dropped a 3+ year old out-of-warranty MacBook, and shattered the whole laptop. He took it to the Genius bar. The cost of repairs $1,100. Because he had never come to Apple with a problem in the 3 year warranty period, they just gave him a new MacBook. What do you think these people will buy when they are in the market for a new phone, tablet, or PC? Apple. Such exceptional customer service builds irrevocable loyalty.
Handset makers are still shipping versions of Android that are as much as 3 years old, and six months after the launch of Android 4, it’s in less than 2 percent of currently active devices.
When you buy an iPhone or iPad, have you ever asked or even cared about which iOS the device is running? No. Because, you know that when you buy a new iDevice, it comes with the latest iOS. With Android, you could buy a brand new $299 with contract device only to find out that you are running a 2 year old OS.
This battle over pushing for upgrades more frequently also leads to some computer and smartphone makers awkwardly larding their hardware with features that aren’t ready for prime time or that are overhyped. For instance, smartphones with 4G LTE radios were available a year ago but were roundly panned in the marketplace because of their short battery life. Several smartphone makers offer screens much larger than the iPhone’s, but a bigger screen means a bigger, heavier battery or a shorter, more frustrating battery life. Competing with Apple products purely on specs, as the latest craze of quad-core tablets attempt to do, is a sure sign that the device’s user experience won’t stand out on its own.
Good device specs help the end user meet their needs, and are to some extent future proof, i.e. have enough margin that the device doesn’t become spec obsolete in the short term. That’s the purpose of specs. But, when you use specs as a key differentiator and in doing so you sacrifice customer experience, that approach is sure to bite back.
Lastly, this product lifecycle approach also drives down theTotal Cost of Ownership (TCO) for the consumer. Because the life of an Apple product is longer than a competitive product, and because Apple devices usually fetch a good resale price, your TCO is much lower than the initial price tag of the device indicates. For example, i bought a MacBook for $1,100 in 2007. I sold it for $700 in 2011. That equates to $100 for each year I owned the MacBook. Imagine buying a MacBook quality PC that has a TCO of $100 per year. And this is not a one-off example. In the last 3 years, I have sold 2 iPads, and 3 iPhones. All at a 75%-80% price at which I bought the device for. Which competitive devices give you such a strong resale value?
