Hugh is Artist 2.0

I so feel these…

Reading Hugh’s cartoons is like browsing a menu of items to find consonance with the day’s mind’s corners. This is an enjoyable catharsis I’ve lost myself in now half a dozen times. On this occasion I figured I’d blog the ones that hit home on this day. Cheers.

Audiovox is kicking, and alive

This Gizmodo post shows some of the latest products coming from the Audiovox group of companies.

For those who may not know (I didn’t until I checked their website), Audiovox maintains the following brands: Audiovox, Jensen, Advent, Acoustic Research, Phase Linear, and most recently, the accessory business from RCA, which they acquired from Thomson.

Alive Matters is particularly interested in how the market reacts to the AWD210 which will be branded Acoustic Research.  Can it deliver a better experience than the old 900 MHz stuff they offered?

Stay tuned…

Floppyhead reveiws the RF-WHTIB. Sees the value.

Not sure who Floppyhead are, but they wrote a pretty good review of the Rocketfish RF-WHTIB. They write with a bit more journalistic tone than AliveMatters, if not a bit less transparency. Who are they, and why do they care so much about HTPCs and getting advertising revenue? Anyways…

Good passage here that sums up the wireless surround sound pain point, and the solution:

The wireless speaker kit is a great idea for apartments or situtations where you cannot run wires through the walls. Several months ago I went to a Superbowl party at a friend’s apartment who had a surround sound system not set-up because the wires would have to run across two door openings. His plasma TV was definitely lonely.

With the Wireless Speaker kit in hand I went over to his apartment last week. We set-up the system in about 10 minutes. The receiver and the transmitter are linked at the factory so there is almost no set-up required. Connect the speakers to the wireless units and turn on your surround sound receiver. That’s about it.

Follow the link to see some pics of the RF-WHTIB in action.

Sony embraces iPod, makes no apologies. Models ICF-C1iP and ZS-S2iP lend credence to speaker-dock segment.

Today, Sony announced two new models, the ICF-C1iP and ZS-S2iP, that directly support Apple’s iPod. From the looks of things, Sony is bringing maturity and classic design to a crowded space. One would hope they help raise the bar of what consumers should expect in terms of features, sound quality, and reliability. I do continue to hope this is so.

This quote acknowledges Sony’s acceptance of iPod’s dominance (as previously discussed here), and expresses Sony’s commitment to differentiating themselves in this ever-crowding space:

“Consumers are treating the iPod as a format, like the compact disc, which is why Sony is now delivering audio products to support it,” said Andrew Sivori, director of personal audio products in the Digital Imaging and Audio Division at Sony Electronics. “High-quality sound, unique features, and exceptional design set our new boombox and clock radio apart.”

It’s refreshing to hear how Sivori expresses his view… Alive Matters commented back in November that the world should begin embracing the view that iPods (and PAPs in general) are the modern replacement for audio storage media, rather than “devices” in the traditional sense. Because of this, the mainstream product architectures would undergo an evolution:

The speaker-dock market, as I’ll refer to it, is exploding. Naturally, we have Apple’s iPod to thank for this. I dunno how many people realise it, but portable audio players, themselves, have become the de facto portable audio storage medium. I dunno if people associate their iPod with the Sony Walkman or with the cassette tape? With the Discman or the CD?

Media formats have determined the shape of personal audio systems for years — vinyl record turn-tables, cassette decks and Walkmans, laserdisc players, CD players & discman, MD players, … and so now naturally, with music being stored on harddrives and flashdrives, right before our eyes, we are witnessing “device-evolution.” It’s pretty cool if you think about it. Device form factors are adapting to a disruption in media formats. Home audio rendering devices have to pull source material from a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and interfaces as portable audio player makers build on-the-go devices that are so smart and handy, they beg to be used at home as well.

As the speaker-dock segment continues to mature, expect to see more and more traditional players brining their twist on the platform. Sony was not the first… Harman Kardon and Onkyo did so in the past year, joining Apple, Bose, JBL, and the hordes of keyboard/mice/protective-case/accessory makers who aspire to milk the giant cow (at the risk of saturating the market with substandard product).

When might Panasonic, Denon, Yamaha, Kenwood, Philips, enter the fray…and what will they offer the consumers to set them apart?

UPDATE 7/20: Welcome, Philips with 4 models that sport built in docks.

UPDATE 7/26: Welcome, Denon S-32 at $499 and the S-52 at $699(!!) due in October.

Aftershock…

I’m in Narita airport on a layover to Singapore.  I slept about 8 hours on my flight here from DC, so I am only moderately loopy at this point.

Happy to report at least the area here shows no ill effects from what was otherwise a serious rattle.  Brings to mind a great Murakami collection, After the Quake.  Again though, a giant battle between Frog and Worm doesn’t seem looming to keep me from boarding my next flight.

Personally, this will be my first trip to Singapore.  A short one.

What is the extent of the iPhone + at&t exclusive?

-.-. .- -. .- -. -.– — -. . -.. . -.-. — -.. . .– …. .- – .. … .-. . .- .-.. .-.. -.– -… . …. .. -. -.. – …. .. … .. .–. …. — -. . .- -. -.. .- – - -.. . .- .-.. ..–..

Has anyone seen any mention of at&t exclusive on the iPhone beyond the current iPhone model?

If you read the official press releases that announced the exclusive arrangement, no where at all does it mention a multi-model lock-up. Only a multi-year agreement… From Apple:

MACWORLD SAN FRANCISCO—January 9, 2007—Apple® and Cingular announced that Cingular, the largest wireless carrier in the US, will be Apple’s exclusive US carrier partner for Apple’s revolutionary iPhone unveiled today. As part of this multi-year partnership, Apple and Cingular are working together to provide innovative new features to mobile phone users, such as iPhone’s pioneering and unique Visual Voicemail, a first on any mobile phone in the world.

“Apple chose Cingular because they are the best and most popular carrier in the US,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We are thrilled to be offering our revolutionary new iPhone exclusively with Cingular, and look forward to working together with them to create some wonderful new features for our customers.”

“By partnering with Apple, we are continuing our commitment to raising the bar for customers,” said Stan Sigman, Cingular’s president and CEO. “We think the iPhone is one of the most innovative devices ever created, and we look forward to letting our customers be the first in the world to experience the future of mobile phones.”

From at&t:

Apple has chosen AT&T, the best and most popular carrier in the US with over 62 million subscribers, to be Apple’s exclusive carrier partner for iPhone in the United States.

With this multi-year exclusive partnership, iPhone will only be available with wireless service from AT&T. Working together ensures seamless integration between network and device.

Am I missing something? All the statements seem limited in scope, if not broad in impact.

I am not sure I need to mention the significance of this… but if true, anyone who bemoans the at&t “feature” of the iPhone may be relieved if future models — like say an HSDPA or EV-DO, true 3G version is announced next year… or a iPhone mini… or a iPhone Pro with corporate email and mechanical keyboard — are available on their current carriers.

A May 21st USA Today article reported (seemingly confirmed, but not definitively so) that Apple was barred from developing a CDMA-version of the iPhone. The article was interpreted as speculation by a number of blogs, which triggered a bunch of unintelligent fan-boy vs Apple-hater discussions, instead of any meaty confirmation.

I simply cannot believe Apple was shortsighted enough to grant at&t such a long runway. Five years in the mobile phone industry is an eternity. USA Today asserted:

Apple is barred for that time from developing a version of the iPhone for CDMA wireless networks.

What they refer to as a “version of the iPhone” is certainly way too loose language to suit Apple legal I’ve got to imagine.

What’s the real story here? I’m just asking.

Fundamentally, this blog post is driven by my feelings as a consumer in a free market. I want buyers to have choice. In particular, I hate lock-ups of hardware and specific mobile networks – this coupling has not benefited consumers in any measurable way, yet somehow the mobile phone market is under the illusion that the network really matters. The crazy network infrastructure economics – and resultant shareholder pressures on network operators has distorted the consumer experience in a bad way. The product and service offerings are a strange supply-side amalgam based little on the demand-side realities of end-user experiences.

No need for me to get too wound up. It doesn’t even affect me today. I am not anxious to ditch my BlackBerry, and I am certainly not willing to deal with at&t customer service anytime soon. The Verizon angle doesn’t phase me… I am not a CDMA customer today, in fact I am a T-Mobile customer, but perhaps what is most relevant is that I am an ex-at&t customer, and I am not going back anytime soon.

Smartphone pie, XXL please

Good coverage on RIM today. In the wake of the iPhone launch hype, it is good to see folks showing some love to BlackBerry. While iPhone has buzzed the consumer consciousness regarding smartphones, BlackBerry for the better part of the last 5 years has been the only company genuinely delivering on the promise of smartphones. It’s breakthrough integration with corporate email servers, and the multiple generations of tweaking their user interface has made the BlackBerry one of the most successful portable devices, ever.

IPhone mania is great and all, and I admit it’s pretty awe inspiring. The fact that Apple pulled off such a hype campaign is a testament to their past successes in delivering great end-user experiences. But, their track record of making great connections with consumers’ emotions also sets a very high bar for themselves. Which is to say that the iPhone, however pretty, better darn well deliver a killer user experience, or it will be nothing short of a letdown.  People seem to ignore the fact that Apple is not alone in this space. It’s also not yet obvious how the iPhone’s innovations will create any sustainable advantage in the smartphone market.  What are the apps that people truly believe Apple has revolutionized?  Here are my early judgements on the iPhone’s wannabe killer apps.

Web Browsing? Still too small of a screen, and not much better than on other smartphones. EDGE isn’t gonna knock anyone’s socks off. No Flash. Verdict: While it looks prettier than other phone browsers, is web-lite ever a killer experience?

Email? Lack of corporate email integration is an issue. Soft keyboard is an annoyance. I suspect future iPhone models will have hard qwerty keys in the future — their corporate HCI guys won’t put up with software gee-whiz for long. Verdict: Not even close to killer. Lose the touchscreen keyboard, support exchange server, then we’ll talk.

Maps? Hardly a killer app that justifies a smartphone. BlackBerry, LG, and Samsung are already ahead in terms of GPS integration, and so far, no location-based services have been implemented or deemed vital… And again, what can Apple deliver uniquely that Google/BlackBerry/MS can’t? Verdict: Not killer… not yet at least.  Let’s see more here.

Integrated iPod? I just don’t buy it. My iPod is still a better device, right? I find it hard to believe that Apple thinks they can leverage their iPod platform to make a smartphone indespensible. These functions have not shown to benefit from any coupling in the past, and it isn’t apparent why they should be combined going forward. Verdict: Not killer.

My opinions… time will tell.  But I don’t think a bunch of “pretty neato” features cobbled together make a homerun device.  There has to be something that the iPhone does better than any other device.  Early reports do not signal this has happened.

Apple has educated a whole new swath of the market in a big way. So the iPhone is goodness for the whole smartphone market, enlarging the pie, not just taking a bigger a slice.

I had the feeling this was so, and recent articles confirm that RIM-themselves are thankful. Competition breeds innovation, and RIM, let’s face it, is plenty poised to give Apple a run. They have a robust pipeline, reasonable costs, a loyal user-base (Stats say that less than 6% of iPhone buyers were previously BlackBerry users), and a focus on the enterprise user, which is where multi-purpose devices today deliver immense value.

RIM is moving forward from a position of strength, an affordable, capable platform with a bona fide killer app, and a relatively loyal captive market. Apple moves forward on reputation and software usability street-cred, which loyalists will love.  But can it alone revolutionize the segment and lead to market domination?

Whispers of RIMM shares headed to $300 don’t seem that far fetched.