Feb 19
What’s more important - to do more, or to do better? That’s a debate that crops up regularly in technology innovation, and a can of worms that’s been opened again by Nicholas Negroponte, founder of the One Laptop Per Child association. He’s accused manufacturers of “a general obesity in the electronics industry”, and it’s quite easy to see his point. I recently purchased a Nokia N95, and was promised a mobile experience like no other - and then sold the phone on eBay 2 days later, after realising my mistake. A cumbersome interface, lag time on such simple tasks as opening a new SMS message, and a whole host of half-finished features. And now I have my iPhone, which some have accused of “not doing enough”, but is a toned Adonis next to the obese and clunky Nokia device. Apple decided to innovate on the DNA of the mobile phone experience, instead of trying to shoehorn as many applications and functions as possible into a already bloated device.
Imagine, if you will, that you aren’t very handy in the kitchen. What on earth do you do? You could a) try to cook everything you’ve ever heard of, and hope you get good at them somehow, or b) choose about 3 recipes, really learn how to cook them well and have those dishes so lip-smacking that you will leave your guests aghast at your culinary skills.
It’s b), of course. And for those who I’ve entertained in times past, if you’ve ever had chicken risotto, toad in the hole or chickpea curry, then now you know …
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This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 19th, 2008 at 5:22 pm and is filed under Food, Innovation, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, trackback from your own site or share this post
5 Comments to “Putting Technology On A Diet”
[...] The Innovation Diaries wrote an interesting post today on Putting Technology On A DietHere’s a quick excerptAnd now I have my iPhone, which some have accused of “not doing enough”,… [...]
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I couldn’t stop myself and also bought an iPhone in Australia. Maybe it doesn’t have all the fandangled goodness of the latest Nokia godsend but I couldn’t care less. You’ll be amused to know that the “hacked” iPhones being sold in countries still waiting for the launch (like Oz) do potentially even less than their international counterparts. But, to continue with your culinary theme, I’m always more interested in beautiful simplicity. A simple pasta made from great home grown tomatoes & garlic, a fantastic robust olive oil and a sharp Peccorino will always trump the fancy pants dish at my table.
So too, does Apple iPhone’s beautiful simplicity matter more to me than Nokia’s increased functionality & extra goodness.
I have already seen the next phone I want, it’s a remake of Marc Newson’s Japanese mobile phone that basically does nothing except let you make & receive calls and send & receive texts. But it’s a beautiful thing.
I’m as geek as the next person but you can have too much of a good thing. A stunning handset that just does the basics in a beautiful way? I’d like to see more of that.
There’s a lot to be said at the idea of stripping things back to their basics - it’s far easier to just go “harder, better, faster, stronger”, and it takes real bravery to stand up and say “we’re going to do things differently”. Apple’s stance with the iPhone almost mirrors that of Nintendo, leaving the console arms race to innovate in their own inimitable way …
Not tomato and garlic with pecorino again!
But if I follow the logic of your analogy, Jen, then I’d see things a little differently: the really brave thing for Apple to do would have been to develop a phone that simply made and received calls better than anyone thought possible - like your pasta dish - perfection in simplicity. All they have really done is stretch their (rightly) successful user interface across another platform, and they’ve signalled that TV and movies will be next.
The brave and risky way forward would have been to abandon the iPod model and ignore the technology convergence trend, just as the brave and risky way forward for innovation agencies is to never again mention Apple as an example of great innovation.
In my opinion, what’s driving Apple’s success is the badge value of the brand in what has become a pluralistic consumer space; you’re either with Apple and their great leader or against them. It’s the same pluralism exploited by Virgin, Aussie Home Loans, and, previously, Nudie.
And Jen, don’t you secretly wish that your iPhone had the same GPS-mapping capability enjoyed by your Nokia-wielding friends?