I was recently due for a new phone when I renewed my contract with Sprint this summer. I’m not going to lie, I am not technology savvy. Yes, I own a Mac, which makes me look a lot cooler than I am. I use it for about four things – the Internet, Word, PowerPoint, and storing photos (which only happened recently because I “killed” my old digital camera). The main reason my parents even purchased my Mac when I came to college was so I wouldn’t download any viruses and fry my hard drive (please refer to the two previous computers that I “killed” along with my digital camera). So, back to the phone – all I needed was a device that will allow me to place calls, make texts, and has an alarm clock. Does that type of device exist anymore?
No. Not even close.
The final choice I came to was the Palm Pre with feature likes Sprint TV and Microsoft Documents, just in case I decide to type this blog on my phone instead of my laptop. It has applications like Facebook, Email, HotSync, IM, and countless other features I do not use. But even though I don’t use these features, I am still amazed that if I really wanted to, I could type this blog on my cell phone, upload it to the course website, while checking my Facebook, editing photos and videos, and ordering a new pair of shoes from Macy’s.
Apple’s iPhone, the device that shaped the path for smart phones like the Palm Pre, is one of the most interesting and creative innovations that has occurred in the last few years and it still continues to outline the path for other devices like it. It was truly the first of its kind and is persistent in being the most creative and innovative phone through its use of technology and applications. For example, the accelerometer allows the iPhone to respond to motion and when a customer rotates the phone from portrait to landscape and then changes the display accordingly. That is just one feature of many that Apple has identified through research that customers enjoy. And no other phone that I know of offers a feature like this. It is something simple, but it sets Apple apart in their creativity and innovation. Apple has also partnered with Nike and created a product in which customers can place a sensor into their shoe and their iPhone measures their workout. The iPhone has now transformed into a personal trainer. Talk about innovation and creativity.
Apple is a company with truly great insights into their customers. Through these insights they are able to gain much better understanding of how their customers behave and what they want. These insights give products and marketing efforts a better shot at success when introducing new and innovative items such as phones with touch screen, ITunes, voice control, Google Maps… I could keep going. Just on the website Apple has listed several different features that come with the 3GS (I’m still wondering what 3GS even means).
The new shift toward collecting data instantly from research done through the Internet has allowed companies like Apple to test new ideas and technologies right away. They also try new things because the cost of failure is much lower than typical research methodology. This ultimately has better results for customer because their preferences have much more of an impact on a company’s decisions since they can gather this information instantaneously. Apple can test new gaming applications online by allowing customers a trial run and gauge the interest of potential customers. This will have explosive potential in the future as more and more companies follow in Apple’s lead and harness the power of customers’ insights through the Internet.
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