My del.icio.us links and notes.
- Our Google+ Conundrum by John Battelle | exactly the conundrum I see. – has google + and their definition of search corrupted what we really want as results. my experience is google is less useful.
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I’ve been selling iPhones as each new generation comes along. In December I upgraded to an Apple unlocked iPhone 4S. So I had a spare iPhone 4 32GB to sell. I thought about taking it to India, as I’ve gotten good money on my old ones in the past. Yet in the end I decided to put it on Craigslist. Generally they were priced around $350 for one with box and all original accessories. I priced mine at $325 hoping to get rid of it quickly. Which I did.
Of note. All the calls I got were from people with friends overseas, or for someone not in the US. I stated in my Craigslist add that my iPhone was running iOS 5.01 with the latest modem firmware etc. To my knowledge you can jailbreak it today although unlocking is difficult to impossible. I tried, for the technically minded, I have SHSH blobs recorded and should have been able to revert to earlier iOS 4 software and then one of the unlocks. After a few hours of playing around – it just wasn’t worth it.
Some potential buyers know all the right questions. Some apparently didn’t. I don’t know what the plan was for the final buyer that collected my phone. It was sold AT&T locked without SIM. I got the impression it was going to the middle east. They didn’t ask me about what I know about jailbreaks or unlocks and after so many calls I stopped providing advice. My guess is they have someone that can do it and that’s the difference between someone that does a little messing around on the web hunting for solutions and someone who’s making a living out of repurposing these devices.
How do I see the economics. I bought three iPhone 4′s on the first day of it’s original release. It cost with subsidy about $250 each. I’ve run mine for 18 months approx. My contracts on all accounts clear at the end of February. I don’t really want to renew. I needed an unlocked phone for travel. I typically carry an Android – Samsung Galaxy S for that purpose. However, I always found I was just using it as a hotspot to keep on using the iPhone. So I may as well slip a sim in the iPhone. The new iPhone 4s wasn’t cheap. From Apple (the only real unlocked ones) it cost $811. So my outlay is now 811 – 325 or $486.
Now my guess is… when the next iPhone arrives I will get about the same value – around $500 for this “factory unlocked” phone. So other than my interest (nothing) and tie up of capital, I get the latest iPhone 4S experience for almost nothing, little risk and no additional carrier lock-in. We could look further forward. Then new iPhone 5? will require another out of pocket. $300 plus although that’s similar to what AT&T will charge me subsidized while locking me in for years.
Trading in and trading up has been common practice in many other countries around the world. In watching prices over the last few years in India traditionally Nokia phones provided this type of resale. Today I’m sure that is iPhone and one of the reasons is… even the 3GS is still being sold.
I’m pleased with the choice I made. I know this is a luxury item. I also wanted this upgrade more than an iPad2 or upgrading my 2008 15inch MacBook Pro. Those I can make do with. The 4S – it is the thing that is bringing new experiences and behaviors. That’s much more important to me.
On the other hand… I should really be getting a lower rate from AT&T on my plan as they are no longer providing a subsidy.
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I’m sure I saw a comment or fact the other day on how mobile is impacting and changing the way we purchase services. I think the example was movies. The data point reminded me to write up why mobile will quickly (it is already for some users) become the dominant medium for interacting and buying services, booking restaurants, going to the movies, airlines, and why it is already changing shopping etc.
You may have remembered sitting in the kitchen a few years ago and talking about movies. Which one will we see? You then went off to the PC/Desktop to confirm what you had seen in the paper, the times and to try and secure a few seats. You may have been using Fandango or anther service. You’d print out the details after and be ready to go later. It took a few minutes and eliminated the risk of not getting a seat.
Now contrast it with the mobile experience. The mobile comes out and the conversation almost seamlessly moves to times and movies. There’s no need to move, find a PC or boot it up. Fandango is launched, it already knows your location, and provides details on all the theaters around. Various listings of movies appear. It is easy to share the “trailer” and collectively make a choice. This little act is an example of where the mobile creates a better conversation, saves time, and is more responsive – re environment, task at hand, and easy to use than the PC. Which means the mobile has an inbuilt conversion potential vs the PC that accelerates the adoption of online services. Add to that the pervasive nature of mobiles and their always on capability and we have a tsunami in the making.
This shift is effectively a one time deal. Assuming you once booked a movie on a PC, once you have booked one on your smartphone using an App like Fandango, you will probably never go back. As for breaking movies… unless you are a real buff it easier to find the trailers on the phone than on the PC when you don’t know what to search for. There are plenty of apps for that.
What’s my point?
- Mobile Apps are creating new conversational moments and exchanges that require or present opportunities for more responsive services.
- The PC is no longer the main delivery vehicle or mechanism for these services
- The “when I’m out” use case may now be the most important – spur of the moment.
- Easy to use, simplicity is in. Simplify! Simplify some more.
- Get a strategy for getting your APP on smart phones. Then keep it relevant.
- Occasional use is ok.
Really none of this is really new. The reason for making the point today is my perception that we have hit a tipping point, and the result will redefine many services over the next few years.
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Dear Apple,
I’m really impressed with the latest iPhone 4S video camera. It’s close to passing my on the move motorcycle torture test. Yet fails at the most basic level. In video mode it won’t let my bluetooth headset act as the mic and so all opportunity for live narration is lost and so is much of my interest and joy.
Now I want you to think about the 100′s (even thousands) of adventure tourers out there on big BMW bikes. Some of them are wearing Hero Cam’s on their helmets to capture the action. Yet all around everything from Zumo’s to cameras is being replaced by a trusty smartphone mounted to the dash. You can find the Ram Mount I use here although I still have to reposition it so using the iPhone in landscape mode will be high enough to capture the street ahead.
When on the bike I wear an Sena SMH-10 bluetooth headset. You would like the design. Simple controls, easy to use on the move. I’ve now mastered using Siri for music, and making calls etc. without touching my phone. Where we have problems is when the video is used. I can’t use the bluetooth mic. This is also true with programs like Skype. (I will admit to running FaceTime over 3G on an earlier iPhone 4 and that worked well to broadcast live video of the road ahead. When will I get this again? Scary? Then perhaps the uStream adventurer would be a possibility).
While motorcycling may be dangerous, and using headsets may even be illegal in some places, the point here is you have a camera with great stabilization, and opportunity to use it in so many more ways… if only videographers could connect it to a bluetooth mic. In the video below I am traveling approximately 60mph on a rural road north of Napa. It proof rather than a best practice video. All we can hear is the purr of the bike and wind noise from the iPhone microphone.
So in the next iteration of iOS please process a simple little update. Make the camera work with a bluetooth headset. Even better, let Siri turn the video camera on and off and choose the camera front and back. It would also be nice if other developers could start integrating their apps with bluetooth too.
You may wonder why I even bother writing this. Simply, I’m getting tired of some of the restrictions. See also my post on iOS Safari and Photo Uploads. I’ve really taken photography on board with the 4S. It’s actually possible to get reasonable pictures now. That’s an incentive to think about all the things I could be taking. I’d love to be capturing the backroads of California and a commentary. I have other ideas for wearable devices too. Eg Looxcie Video Camera which while interesting doesn’t have the camera definition of the 4s. And you can see a series on how I could use re ethnography.
Ah well. Progress is never as fast as we want it. However, I’m not asking for complexity here. I’m asking for something very simple to be activated. We both know it is a minor software tweak. I think it is time for you to accelerate your feature roll-outs.
Regards
A somewhat frustrated and mostly loyal user in the Bay Area
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Time to consider a place I shop at least once a week and ask “Why isn’t there a Safeway App for that?” That’s right there’s been no real advance in Supermarket shopping in ages. Well a some stores have tried self-checkout (I’ve seen it more in Britain). Most have some form of loyalty program. Gee I get discounts for keying in my number. Then if I don’t have a number the clerk keys one in anyways. Then that rash of stupid printed coupons when I’m leaving. Where’s the trash?
Now how perhaps should this all work?
- Well Siri does a good job on my shopping list. So lobby for adding Siri access to my Safeway app. Let other members in the family also add to that list. Make sure that when anyone goes into Safeway… they get the family desires list!. Activate that list when they go inside the shop or perhaps are nearby.
- Incent me to turn on my Safeway App or link to my reminders so that I get a location based notification when I enter the store. This should have my list, special deal options, and have you forgotten based on my passed history and recent monthly purchase behavior.
- Make it easy for me to scan my cart as I pick up stuff. Eliminate my waiting in line to get out. Let me bag as I go. Random scan me when I go out from time to time. Offer up things like easy to read nutrition or label details as I scan things. (too hard to read too many labels… make them phone friendly summaries.
- Consider new type of price offers. Eg you bought 12 last year. Buy 10 now and pick them up when you want…. In other words. Introduce some pre-ordering opportunities to increase Safeway’s buying efficiencies. Eg confirm a buy in the future.
- Keep things like a running total of spend. Provide opportunities to save money or improve my budgeting and meal planning. Consider opportunities to let the app speak to me. Help me with recipes there and then. Help me with meal ideas. Make the Safeway brand really work for me.
- Enable me to order “hot food” for quick pick-up. Let the app notify you when I am within x minutes of pickup. Move the register to my phone again!
- Provide me with details on how I shop and what I buy.
- Let me make requests? Eg that special marmalade, or mustard. Offer my request to others like me. Poll us… to see what we can buy or what can be sent for special pickup. Let me request things I see in other stores. Let me scan those items and submit.
- Then there are those last minute deals. Eg dated product or what soon will be. Do I want to rush on over? Some will. Butchery discounts etc.
The future grocery is one that shops better for me and my family while making life easier and adding in some fun. Grocery shops today have all sorts of fresh foods and specials. Make it easier to pick them up on the way home. Make the experience more personalized and more responsive to me. I know you have my data and my eating habits. I also know you are leaving a lot of dollars off the table.
I get a Safeway flyer in the mail. I never look at it. Some do. We don’t. Straight in the trash. It’s not motivation to shop although I may pick up the end aisle deal from time to time. Right now Safeway you really don’t have a way to promote to me. For what I ask/suggest above, it wouldn’t seem hard to get a quick and easy payout on the app development and deployment. What’s it worth? How many dollars per week? How many would consider using it? I know you are scared of me promoting great deals in store on Twitter or Facebook. I equally may say something bad. Still isn’t this an opportunity? Any opportunity to sign up for a shop with your friends? I might just go and shop with Rich and we can compare wine labels and go out the door spending a whole lot more. What about all those other meet ups and local money raising things done for the community?
As a matter of interest – when you search Safeway mobile apps – it turns out they are looking for a senior mobile developer. On it’s own that may not be enough although I have no way to tell. I just liked it as an example.
A final few notes.
- When users start scanning and a store takes this type of purchase approach. The idea of NFC for transacting a payment is almost ludicrous. My details are/will be on file.
- When Safeway creates an account where I might spend $000′s per year. They create many other opportunities in the future. Eg I could lend to them / place savings. Accrue savings… like stamps etc. One day use this account elsewhere. Eg the gas station etc.
So, Safeway. What’s your mobile strategy going forward? How do you think users want you to develop the conversation in their pocket?
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WordPress isn’t just for “Blogging”. WordPress enables the ethnographer to capture a whole new world of information. At Convo we use WordPress for all sorts of things. It’s used for our Website, used for client blographies, for capturing notes, engaging participants etc. Till now, I’ve not been a big mobile WordPress fan. The app always seemed a little clunky. Yet for quick recording of on the job notes and a picture it’s great. It can also allow on the go approvals and updates when working with respondents.
Blogs enable you to categorize your activities. Tag too. With the wordpress app you can also add location dimensions. I’ve believed for years that blogs are underestimated as a reporting too. Eg Field Sales or Visit Reports. However, it was frankly impractical when limited to the laptop. Similarly, lack of pictures or video meant that capture to curation lost the immediacy and became a chore to do. Today, the mobile is making that simpler. Creating the record where you are and in the moment could never be easier. Creating a Post as an Event – makes it easier to follow-through. Using some of the other Ethnographer Tools I’ve mentioned can then be quickly integrated into that post after the event.
I’m making it one of my “new year’s resolutions” to move my blogging to my iPhone. I want to write or dictate more blogs while on the move. Siri will make that easier. Photo’s will help to bring it alive too. I feel a key element in making recording more effective is to think about the event and the recording tools that may be used as part of the set-up. Start simple and see how you go.
How to get started? If you have never had a blog before go to WordPress and create one. Use it as a test site to begin. Download the appropriate WordPress app. They exist for iPhone, Android, etc. Create some posts. You can aways delete them later.
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