Visionary or already being implemented?
So I hear tell of a new cell phone vending machine being implemented by motorola. Where to begin... There are so many things about society, technology, and business that have changed so rapidly and so completely to make a machine like this viable. To begin with, the idea that techonology is "throw-away" or consumable is only made possible by the exponential curve of techonological change. Not only is your cell phone becoming outdated very quickly, the rate at which it is becoming outdated is increasing. Another aspect of this is the trust society as a whole places in technology. Ten years ago, no one - no one - would have been buying cutting edge technology from a vending machine. While it may seem like a stretch to call cellular technology cutting edge, let's look at what makes it so.
Size: as cell phones converge between fashion and pragmatism, their size becomes a huge issue. We see companies pushing the bar to create smaller designs that remain ergonomic and chic. What makes that possible? Technology.
Reliability: cell phones are not for emergencies. Period. They have become so ingrained in daily life that some people have even gone as far as cancelling their landlines. This exemplifies the trust they hastily profer to these relatively new technologies. In the past, all new technologies were treated with a healthy dose of skepticism. Today, we see acclimation to new technologies happening faster and faster.
Finally, consumability: the idea that buying a cell-phone is not an investment. This is a direct result of the rapidity of change. If the other points have not convinced you that cellular technology is cutting edge, then here is your caveat. Research shows that the number of new cell phones people are buying over a year is increasing. Why? Because they are just like any other fashion. You use it while it's in style, then when it's fallen out of fashion, you move onto the next trend. So what does this say about the techonology. Well you don't see any new editions of the stapler coming out. A toaster oven 3.5? What about an advancement in CRT technology? That's been around for decades.
So what has made this consumability possible? It is most definitely the pervasiveness of the computer. Technology is no longer a supplement to living, it is staple. As I mentioned previously, while cell phones were originally almost exclusively for emergencies ( bulky, expensive, very limited minutes, poor service etc.), they have become entirely essential to a functioning business as well as becoming increasingly necessary to personal life.
Another example of this pervasiveness is online shopping. Fifteen years ago, the internet did not exist. In 2005, "eCommerce sales for 2005 were $86.3 billion..." That is in a market that did not exist only 15 years ago. Initially, onlnine business did not fare so well, as I mentioned in a previous post. This was due to a lack of consumer confidence, which caused the great dot-com bubble of the early millenium to burst. So what changed over these years? As more and more people use computers at home, in the workplace, and on the go, it is no longer a foreign object. The demystification process has picked up the pace as the dissemination of information and general consumer awareness improves, but ultimately the ease-of-use and accessiblity of internet commerce has slowly made it more attractive. Couple that with growing support in general business practices making it smoother, safer, and easier, ubiquitous computing has helped generate an $86 billion market that otherwise would not have existed.
Comments
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Posted on: September 26, 2006 03:00 AM
Good work. Adding links is an excellent idea—add some pictures and multimedia too. Your picture on top will be great too. | Michel
Posted by: Tracey Simpson
Posted on: April 23, 2007 07:19 AM
Great post! For ecommerce to become the future, merchants realised that online shopping needed to be as quick and as simple as possible! At one time, when shopping carts didn't exist, customer could buy only one item at a time. To compete effectively, merchants are continuing to make the online experience seamless.
Posted by: ken
Posted on: December 3, 2007 07:05 PM
I enjoyed this post very much -- especially the part about cell phones become fashion. As a tech geek, I tend to learn towards the function ... is it a smart phone, etc., more than fashion. But there are more of them than there are of us! The technology that is enabling these expansive jumps is quite fantastic. Thanks for the Business Week link as well.
Ken
web geek
http://shop.bluehaven.com