Tuesday, June 26, 2007
iPhone and Convergence
AdAge's Al Ries explains "Why the iPhone Will Fail"
Okay, I'll admit it. I've been an Apple fan for some time, living through at least on of their most heinous failures (coughNewton!cough). I never bought a "Classic" Mac, mainly because they were underpowered for what I needed to do at the time (I'm a Computer Science nerd; compilers ran slow back in those days when you had to run all those fancy graphics). As everyone could find out, Apple really turned a corner with the convergent actions of placing Steve Jobs back at the helm and integrating NextStep, the operating system that Steve Jobs thought Macs should have but had to go off an lose a bunch of his own (and other peoples') money to create, into the new Mac.
But what does any of this stuff have to do with being conscious about media?
Well, a few things. One is that I couldn't talk directly back to the article, even after registering, because I never got my confirmation email. Stuff happens. Email delivery isn't guaranteed. So be it. More importantly, I think Al overlooks a key component of Apple's "special sauce". This component is present in the new Mac, the iPod, and the new iPhone. I don't know about anyone else, but I got chills when I saw the 20-minute walk-through of how to use the iPhone. It was the same sensation that I got when I first booted up my PowerBook 3 years ago (still in service with decent battery life; thank you Apple!). It was the sensation I had when I first opened my iPod and used iTMS to download music to it. It is the sensation of seeing a product that closes the loops that are typically left open by other companies in both the computer and consumer electronics industry.
What does it mean to "close the loops" for the iPhone, and what does that have to do with convergence? It's simple, and Al, I hope you're reading. Some convergent devices have been terrible hybrids resembling genetic mutants. On this, I agree. I really don't need a toilet paper dispenser/clock radio. However, convergent devices do work when they revolve around a central theme. I used to work for a large printer company (you do the math). Well, that company invested heavily in convergent print/scan/fax devices. And it paid off, because people who print stuff naturally want to take printed stuff in, too. These multi-purpose, print-oriented devices are still pretty popular. If you take Al's premise that divergence and not convergence drives new products, then I should expect people to buy a 4x6 photo printer, a scanner, a FAX machine, a laser printer, and a color document printer. But that formula doesn't add up, because you have to spend time and money maintaining all of these things, when you can get good (or even great) performance across all these paper-y functions with a single device for which you can buy a single set of ink cartridges. Me, I don't use a scanner very often, but man, when I need it, I love that it's attached to my printer. I almost never FAX. But when I need to, it's great that I can. And I really didn't pay anything for these features, maybe a small premium. These printer companies provide me a closed loop system for paper handling. And the world is good.
Now, let's talk about another kind of media --- audio. The iPhone converges my need for instant voice communication (phone), delayed voice communication (voice mail), entertainment (iPod), and "yellow pages" (Google Maps). When you watch the video, really think about how Apple has closed all these loops. You can go from a need (Calamari, a famous example) to the yellow pages, directly to calling, all while managing the "ambient" audio experience of the iPod track playing in the background. That's a loop. Now consider when you hook up your iPhone to your car. You can walk through the same steps, but throw in playing your favorite music or audio book. Today, I can use my phone, iPod, and Bluetooth connection in my car, but it's a mess. With the iPhone, when someone calls me, my iPhone will fade out my music and let me take a call! I can't tell you how much this improves my own experience. I hate searching for the pause button and missing the "reveal" in a good mystery or thriller. Or missing my favorite guitar riff because I need to stop for milk. Car manufacturers have figured out this loop, but not one of them has closed it as well as the iPhone does.
I haven't done a full analysis of these loops, but Apple has impressed me, as usual, with its attention to these details. I first learned to look at the world this way when working on a web site for a large consumer pharmaceutical company. An "Information Architect" started drawing these things out on a set of those 2' x 3' Post-It notes. By the time he was done drawing the "List my Work" function, we had about 8 of these huge drawings, all connected. It was beautiful in its completeness and its simplicity. Just like the iPhone, convergence and all.
Okay, I'll admit it. I've been an Apple fan for some time, living through at least on of their most heinous failures (coughNewton!cough). I never bought a "Classic" Mac, mainly because they were underpowered for what I needed to do at the time (I'm a Computer Science nerd; compilers ran slow back in those days when you had to run all those fancy graphics). As everyone could find out, Apple really turned a corner with the convergent actions of placing Steve Jobs back at the helm and integrating NextStep, the operating system that Steve Jobs thought Macs should have but had to go off an lose a bunch of his own (and other peoples') money to create, into the new Mac.
But what does any of this stuff have to do with being conscious about media?
Well, a few things. One is that I couldn't talk directly back to the article, even after registering, because I never got my confirmation email. Stuff happens. Email delivery isn't guaranteed. So be it. More importantly, I think Al overlooks a key component of Apple's "special sauce". This component is present in the new Mac, the iPod, and the new iPhone. I don't know about anyone else, but I got chills when I saw the 20-minute walk-through of how to use the iPhone. It was the same sensation that I got when I first booted up my PowerBook 3 years ago (still in service with decent battery life; thank you Apple!). It was the sensation I had when I first opened my iPod and used iTMS to download music to it. It is the sensation of seeing a product that closes the loops that are typically left open by other companies in both the computer and consumer electronics industry.
What does it mean to "close the loops" for the iPhone, and what does that have to do with convergence? It's simple, and Al, I hope you're reading. Some convergent devices have been terrible hybrids resembling genetic mutants. On this, I agree. I really don't need a toilet paper dispenser/clock radio. However, convergent devices do work when they revolve around a central theme. I used to work for a large printer company (you do the math). Well, that company invested heavily in convergent print/scan/fax devices. And it paid off, because people who print stuff naturally want to take printed stuff in, too. These multi-purpose, print-oriented devices are still pretty popular. If you take Al's premise that divergence and not convergence drives new products, then I should expect people to buy a 4x6 photo printer, a scanner, a FAX machine, a laser printer, and a color document printer. But that formula doesn't add up, because you have to spend time and money maintaining all of these things, when you can get good (or even great) performance across all these paper-y functions with a single device for which you can buy a single set of ink cartridges. Me, I don't use a scanner very often, but man, when I need it, I love that it's attached to my printer. I almost never FAX. But when I need to, it's great that I can. And I really didn't pay anything for these features, maybe a small premium. These printer companies provide me a closed loop system for paper handling. And the world is good.
Now, let's talk about another kind of media --- audio. The iPhone converges my need for instant voice communication (phone), delayed voice communication (voice mail), entertainment (iPod), and "yellow pages" (Google Maps). When you watch the video, really think about how Apple has closed all these loops. You can go from a need (Calamari, a famous example) to the yellow pages, directly to calling, all while managing the "ambient" audio experience of the iPod track playing in the background. That's a loop. Now consider when you hook up your iPhone to your car. You can walk through the same steps, but throw in playing your favorite music or audio book. Today, I can use my phone, iPod, and Bluetooth connection in my car, but it's a mess. With the iPhone, when someone calls me, my iPhone will fade out my music and let me take a call! I can't tell you how much this improves my own experience. I hate searching for the pause button and missing the "reveal" in a good mystery or thriller. Or missing my favorite guitar riff because I need to stop for milk. Car manufacturers have figured out this loop, but not one of them has closed it as well as the iPhone does.
I haven't done a full analysis of these loops, but Apple has impressed me, as usual, with its attention to these details. I first learned to look at the world this way when working on a web site for a large consumer pharmaceutical company. An "Information Architect" started drawing these things out on a set of those 2' x 3' Post-It notes. By the time he was done drawing the "List my Work" function, we had about 8 of these huge drawings, all connected. It was beautiful in its completeness and its simplicity. Just like the iPhone, convergence and all.
Labels: apple, audio, aural, convergence, iphone, iTMS, visual
