The iPhone has made two things possible: the mobile Web and user
experience-driven product innovation. The mobile Web up to the iPhone has
been a series of promises, hype and sub-par user experiences from handset
manufactures and platform providers.
The iPhone seems to change the conversation entirely, offering a solution that finally offers truly desirable mobile usability to users.
(Disclaimer: I am not an Apple enthusiast nor do I worship Microsoft products. I also do not own an iPhone, I carry a BlackBerry).
For many product managers, the iPhone also means innovation and capturing the compelling aspects of the iPhone's user experience.
Alain Breillatt in The Pragmatic Marketer (PM), highlights 5 Things Apple does to innovate:
- Apple does not do market research.
- Apple has a very small team who designs their major products.
- Apple owns their entire system.
- Apple focuses on a select group of products.
- Apple has a maniacal focus on perfection.
Breillatt is spot on when he says: "Forget about innovating like Apple unless you are willing to invest significantly and heavily to establish a culture of innovation like Apple’s". Companies don't make products, development cultures do. And if you don't believe that, look at this week's news from the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona...
Copy-cat iPhone devices are lacking intuitiveness. "The world's biggest handsets makers are trying to do with new copycat phones and services that are key features of the iPhone...Analysts say the clones often perform slowly and are less intuitive for users than the iPhone".
"Imagination is expensive in a year such as this," said Richard Windsor, a technology analyst at the conference who is with Nomura Securities in London.
Source: The Pragmatic Marketer: You Can't Innovate Like Apple
Reuters: iPhone features everywhere in rivals' new phones
Frank Spillers' Comment:
I wanted to share this viewpoint based on what I have seen with my BlackBerry going head to head with an iPhone in real world information searches (on a client trip in a strange city). I have also noticed that some of the teams I work with are trying to pay attention to what factors make the iPhone so compelling.
With regard to the mobile Web, I have never been satisfied by the mobile usability of Nokia, Treo and BlackBerry handsets I have owned and used for web access. While some were more usable than others, they have never been desirable...and in the case of the BlackBerry Pearl, Web surfing is painful.
The Pragmatic Marketer (PM) article points to messiah-like qualities in Steve Jobs' leadership, similar to the Simpson's parody of "Steve Mobs, he's like a God who knows what we want". However, it is well known that Apple's user experience efforts (on the product device side) include the direction of Jonathan Ive, user experience teams inside Apple and external usability consultants providing input to the product development process.
The PM article concludes by highlighting the importance of Apple's use of field studies or behavioral research, over market research:
The point is to go immerse yourself in their environment and ask lots of “why” questions until you have thoroughly explored the ins and outs of their decision making, needs, wants, and problems. At that point, you should be able to break their needs and the opportunities down into a few simple statements of truth".
In my experience, the time spent in the field with customers performing day-in-the-life studies, is directly proportional to how well a usability team is benefiting from user centered design methodology.
Related: Case study- Experience Dynamics helps Key Bank connect to customer Personas with Field Studies
Blog: Multi-modal design: Gesture, touch and mobile devices- next big thing?