Hi-Tech and Why-Tech

The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus released today. Many people got up early to get in line to purchase this new technology. It is interesting to see how technology evolves and to see how people respond to it. It is also interesting to see how technology is positioned.

The iPhone 6 was positioned as being bigger and better than the previous iPhones. The iPhone 6 Plus was even bigger than that. It is interesting to look back a few years to see a time when Apple’s promotions positioned larger smartphones as more “why-tech” than hi-tech. They made you question why you would ever consider a larger phone device when they point out what is “common sense”. You see this clearly in the following video:

Of course, many people do like the larger form factors. The larger screen size makes doing tasks such as email and web surfing much easier. We’ll see with time how the larger iPhones do beyond the standard Apple fan-base.

In the area of Why-Tech, there is one other mobile communication device that was announced on September 9th. This is a mobile communication device that never needs charged, can be used by all ages, and they claim it really works. Having used something similar in the past, I believe their claims are accurate. This is the iCup communication device, which will be exclusively available on Kicstarter. This device is the iCup:

iCup

It comes in a variety of skews including a version optimized for privacy (with a 32-inch string), and one for longer distance calling (128-inch string).

A Take-Away

It is interesting to see Apple offer the larger iPhones after pointing out the common sense screen size. It comes down to the fact that sometimes we overlook common sense to add functionality that people will use. Sometimes that functionality works, and sometimes it gets out of hand.

On the flip side, there are times when adding functionality isn’t necessarily the answer. There are times when going back to the basics and thinking back to simpler times can result in a product that does what we need. While I don’t have an iCup (yet), I will admit that I had earlier versions of a similar device as a kid, and it did what I needed without needing a bunch of flashing bells and crazy alarms. Sometimes simpler with a bit of common sense works.

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