I have made a lot of money selling on craigslist. If I ever planned to have kids, I’d name my first boy “Craig”. Seriously. It really launched me on a path of entrepreneurship.
But like with anything, there are strings attached. And such strings sometimes make me want to quit Craigslist.
Decided I'd put together a set of profiles of people you commonly come into on Craigslist.
The person who always asks “Is it in good condition?” – Much like being functional, good condition is typically implied when you list something and don’t state otherwise. Then, when you mention the littlest nick or scratch they want a discount from the price. When you’re on Craigslist, you’re typically buying used. Unless I wore kid gloves while using it and never let it go anywhere but a climate-controlled, dust-free environment, you’re going to find an imperfection of some sort on anything you buy used. It goes without exception.
The person who always asks “Is it working?” – A counterpart to “is it in good condition?” – it’s quite implied when an item is listed. I wouldn’t list it for the same price as other working ones if it wasn’t working.
The person who is miles upon miles away – If you happen to be situated in the middle of a large city, you will always get people from suburbs that are a million miles away from where you are, asking you to bring it to them. It states quite clearly in my ad where I’m at, if you think it’s an inconvenience to come down to where I am, how do you think I feel when you expect me to take pity on you for being far away from me? It’s not my problem that you live on the moon, and I really don’t appreciate your making it my problem by turning down the deal because I won’t bring it to you. It’s your choice to live out there – and you have to accept the associated realities, such as the fact that only a very small percentage of the craigslist community will even know where your area is, and even a smaller percentage will be willing to come anywhere near you.
The person who always asks “How old is it?” – whether it’s a week or a year old, the general product profile does not change at all. If you like it, you like it. It shouldn’t matter how old it is. You’re not trying to see if it’s the right age to date one of your children, you’re not trying to figure out your compatabilility with the item based on its zodiac sign, and you’re especially not going to throw it a surprise party when it turns x years old. When I say an iPod touch – you know it’s an iPod touch. You know that it plays music, it holds 8, 16, or 32 gigabytes, whichever one I had stated in the ad, you know that when you turn it sideways, it will display the album covers so you can flow through them, and you know that you can install games on it that can function based on the movement of the iPod. This isn’t rocket science. Things like iPods are a commodity. We all know that the iPod touch has been out about a year and a half now, so it really can’t be much older than that, can it?
The person who negotiates the price down on you, and then pulls out a pocket full of cash to pay you – these people are positively sadistic. They want to see you groan and reluctantly accept their offer that they made just for the heck of it. Then, they take out a pocket full of cash, a nice wad of several dozen notes, topped off by a nice pink or brown one. It’s quite clear that they have money – they just get a kick out of getting the best of someone and coming out a winner with a better price.
I actually had one guy while I was running a garage sale I had advertised on craigslist, who went up to me and asked about these speakers I had and what I wanted for them. I said I wanted $5.00. Then he asks me if I'd take $3.00, and I accepted. He paid me with a $5.00 bill! It provokes thought. When you clearly have the ability to pay me my full asking price (which was quite reasonable and well below what I had paid for them not too long ago in the same condition, never having been used) don't insult me by showing me that you had no good reason to negotiate with me on price.
The person who agrees with you on a price and then tries to whittle you down in person – When you’re talking on the phone, you have a verbal contract for whatever price they agreed to pay you. If they make no comment on the price, or no attempt to haggle, it is implied they are willing to pay the full asking price. When they meet up with you in person, they’ll look it over for any possible reason to negotiate in price. “Oh, there’s a scratch here”. “Oh, I thought it would come with a zillion different accessories”. Then they go knocking some bucks off the price. You seemed to be fine with our original price over the phone – what in the heck were you expecting to get that I’m not delivering on now? Then, some of them actually back out of the deal over a $10 or $20 difference. That’s right – they came over from the other side of the city and are actually willing to lose all that time and gas money over absolutely nothing. Not only that, but they wasted your time as well, and they seem to think it’s your fault for not delivering on what you had “promised” them.
The person who offers you an insanely low price – I’m not saying that I don’t negotiate in prices. I’ll negotiate $200 from $250. I’ll negotiate $40 from $50. But I will never negotiate $15 from $60. It actually happened to me! This guy sends me an email, saying he’ll pick it up right away. He didn’t get a response. He doesn’t even deserve the respect of being recognized as a human being for actually thinking he can get away with such a price.
The person who is absolutely clueless about the product that you’re selling them – I had a guy buying a blackberry from me once, and the first question he asked me is, “how do you type?”. There are THIRTY FIVE KEYS IN FRONT OF YOU! God forbid that one of them might actually input information upon being stricken?
The person who asks about accessories they’ll never even use – “do you have a case for this?” “do you have a car charger?” “do you have headphones for this?” – all of said lines are negotiating tools. For some reason it’s protocol to include a case with each and every phone or iPod you might sell somebody. If you don’t have it, then it’s no deal, or you’re going to have to lower the price. You know what they’ll use the money they saved on it for? They’ll spend it on food. They’ll spend it on gas. They’ll put it in their pocket so they can spend it otherwise. They have no intention for using a case – they just want to make it seem as though they need one, and the lack of one seems to justify a price reduction.
The person who claims they can get a better price elsewhere – if you can get a better price elsewhere, then why are you coming to me? If I’m selling you a phone for $60, and you can get the same phone for $30, why the heck would you pay double for it? I once received two emails in a row from the same person regarding two different phones. One said for the first ad (a pair of phones for $120) “I can get these phones for $75. Can you give me a better price?” – the subsequent email for a $100 phone said “I can get this phone for $60. Can you give me a better price?” – I sent an email back to them and said “I got both your emails, and it seems as though you can get some really good prices on phones. Why don’t I buy them from you?” Do you think I heard back from them? Of course not. Because I might have offended them by not taking their absurdly low offer? No. Because that source does not exist? You catch on quickly. They’re just trying to get you to “compete” for their business. Something I’ve learned in business is that there will always be someone selling something cheaper than you are selling it for. My price is my price, and that’s how it is. If you’re contacting me, you obviously have some intention to purchase my product – so don’t go backing out over nothing.
The person who says they’ll call you back, and never do, and then when you try to call them, they don’t pick up – I know it’s a formality to say you’ll call someone back, whether or not you have an intention to do so. But when you’re trying to take something off someone’s hands, your leaving them hanging just isn’t nice. If the product is “too old”, “doesn’t come with the right things”, “isn’t in good condition” or “costs too much” – just say that’s the case. If you tell me you’ll call me back – that means that I will be receiving a telephone call from you, regarding the item in question, within a reasonable period of time. If you say that you are not interested, all obligations, and assumed potential sales are called off. When you say you’ll call me back, and I never hear back from you, it’s only natural that I’m going to call you back. Everybody has caller ID. It’s not like I don’t know your number. Then, when you get all offended that I called you back (or kept trying since you weren’t picking up), don’t tell me that you’re going to call me back, when you have no intention of speaking with me again! If you want me to stop calling, just tell me you’re not interested. Then I have no reason to call you, right?
The person who emails or text messages you a habitual message of theirs with no actual interest in the item being sold - *I receive a text message* “Hi, I’m interested in your BlackBerry. Is it in good condition?” I call them up – no answer. Text them back, “Yes it is in good condition” – that’s EXACTLY what they want to hear. They don’t want to hear anything else. Why? They didn’t ASK for anything else. I answered their question in the best way possible, and you can’t even text me back to say if you’re interested or not? What do you expect of me? What will it take for you just to buy the damned BlackBerry off of me? You saw the ad, you’re interested, you ask if it’s in good condition, and I tell you it is. What more do you want? I’m even taking the liberty of dialing you up for you. And you can’t even pick up the phone when you texted me 2 minutes ago? That means your phone is obviously on, and you’re beside it. Nothing is being hidden.
Person who calls on blocked to ask redundant questions – much like the person fitting the above profile (and the one above that) – they’ll call you and ask if it’s in good condition, if it works, if the price is negotiable, etc. Then, they say they’ll call you back NO MATTER WHAT YOUR ANSWER IS. Well, I can’t call you back because you’re on blocked. So, you’re obviously calling just to waste my time.
Person who calls about a lot of items, wanting only one, and for that one to be at the same price as the unit price in the whole lot – “Hi, I’m calling about your BlackBerries.” It’s a lot of 10 of them for $85 each, so $850 for the lot “I’m interested in just one… it’s $85.00, right?” how lame can you be to price an item in increments of $5.00 when talking individually? When I buy and sell in bulk, it goes down to every dime in the way of precision. Because a $0.25 difference may seem miniscule normally, but when talking about 50 units, that’s $12.50. That can buy you lunch at a sit down restaurant. We’re going to have to reconsider something here. It’s not just the precision in price – it’s the fact that she actually thought that what I sell 10 of them for, each, I’ll sell her one of them for. Then when I told her it’s $100.00 for an individual phone, she got all insulted as though the $85.00 per unit on a lot of 10 was somewhat a gag price, or a bait and switch price. It’s like walking into a grocery store, seeing a 12 pack of juice boxes for $2.99 (that’s $0.25 each) and offering the clerk $0.25 for the juice box because you only need one. They’d tell you to take a hike. So why’s it any different for a phone?
The person who calls you asking if it’s brand new, and if it’s not, comparing how much a brand new one would cost them in stores – “Hi, there, are you selling the iPod?” “It’s $150.00, right?” “Would you take $100.00? Because it costs only $179.99 in the stores, so for $30.00 more than your asking price, I could get a brand new one” – they have NO intention whatsoever in buying a new one. Anybody who haggles like that doesn’t buy brand new. Ever. That also shows ignorance, because there are taxes on that $179.99. Here in Ontario, it’s 13%. $179.99 x 1.13 = $203.39. In reality, it costs them $53.39 more. But as they have likely never bought anything of substance in a store, they haven’t factored those costs in – only what they see on websites and in flyers.
Person who asks "does it have a camera, manual, mp3 player, software cds, over-ear Bose headphones, a professional quality massage pad, a pilates instructor, a high-definition screen, a place to hold your drink with a nice, metallic pretzel bowl, and front row seats to the Raptors game?" -
Hmm… let me think… we’re talking about a $100.00 phone here, that’s off-lease from a large corporation, and is a few years old, and despite what the ad says about what’s included, I’m going to have to give you a big, fat NO. Even though everything after “software CDs” is facetious and exaggerated – it’s not quite far off what these people expect of you.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
BlackBerry Javelin 8900 Review
I picked one up on March 26th for $340.00 CAD plus one of my BlackBerry 8700s.
A very sexy looking phone. In my opinion, it’s the Bold’s younger sibling. Same generation, only smaller.
It is quite comparable to the Bold in terms of appearance (i.e. dominantly black color scheme), but with a few exceptions. Such included a thicker metal lip around the bottom, and the back has a brushed black metal appearance, rather than the simulated leather feel of the Bold. This seems as though it would scratch quite easily. When I first saw the Bold, I thought it to be the sexiest phone possible because of its back, but the vertical lines on the back of the Javelin, along with a camera in a matching color that does not protrude from the surface give it a much cleaner, streamlined appearance.
The #1 thing I noticed when looking over the phone was the camera. Not just in how well it blends in with the body, nor the fact that it has flash, but the fact that it is 3.2 megapixels – 37.5% better resolution than the Bold’s camera.
Looking up and down the sides, I came into something that broke the norm of all BlackBerries for me. I’ve used pretty much every model in recent existence. I’ve sold hundreds of older BlackBerries. Every single one of them used a mini USB plug for charging and syncing. This phone used a USB interface that I have only ever seen on one other phone (Nokia N81) – the Micro USB. Internet rumors indicate that the Micro USB port will take over the cell phone market gradually. From my experience using it, it’s a much better port than mini USB. The performance rate does not differ, but it is also much slimmer, allowing for more compact adapters, and it holds its place a lot better physically. To remove it, you really need to give it a good tug – much like the difference between the charging ports on the PowerBooks and iBooks, as opposed to the new MagSafe adapters that hold the port in magnetically on the MacBook line.
Something I found interesting about this phone is that it has dedicated keyboard lock and silence keys. The silence key is nothing new, but I find the lock one to be the most interesting. It leaves the left and right convenience keys to be programmed – whereas on any other BlackBerry I have used, I have had to sacrifice a convenience key in order to have a keyboard lock on the fly. Disadvantage: The lock key can also be used to UNLOCK the phone, which, in essence, kind of defeats the purpose (to prevent it from being operated while in your pocket). After having used it for a few hours, I found that it’s almost impossible to press the lock button inadvertently – and is quite possibly my favorite feature of the phone. It’s designed so that the lock key is right near where your finger is depending on where you hold it. Think they picked that up from the iPhone?
The software is the same as any other BlackBerry of this generation, a much sexier version of its predecessor, with a few more features for efficiency. Such include the general layout, more comprehensive setup wizards, and a more versatile camera function with lots of options.
Surprisingly, this phone does NOT support 3G. I made the blunder of indicating so in my unrevised review of the product - but after having confirmed on CrackBerry and GSMarena - it's true that there is NO 3G support on this phone. Although I have never felt any inclination to have 3G speeds on my handset (EDGE seems to work fine for me), all the hype about the Bold was 3G, so it's kind of misleading when you think about it, that the 8900 does not have it.
For experienced Blackberry users, I think that the only reason that is valid to upgrade to this phone is either the appearance or the better camera. If you’re all about glamour when it comes to phones – regardless of whether or not you’re an enterprise user – this is probably the sexiest, easiest to use BlackBerry available. Reason I’m not saying it about the Bold is the size difference.
Reason I’m not saying it about the Pearl Flip is because of the more difficult to use keyboard (unless you’re into that sort of thing. It can serve a dual purpose of easier typing and space saving – but that keyboard takes a long time to get used to).
I really do believe that the lock button at the top of the phone is what I like most about it. It’s a really sexy phone, exact same width as the iPhone, and overall, scores a 4.25/5 stars, or an 85% with me.
Wired: Sexiest BlackBerry out there. Keyboard is pretty easy to type on, camera takes excellent photos, dedicated lock button takes away the need for a lost convenience key (now I have two to program to whatever I want), has WiFi, so I don’t have to murder my data plan. Smaller than the Bold. A real winner.
Tired: As I say with all newer BlackBerries – the little ball in the middle is incredibly difficult to use. Vibration is quite weak. Found that the battery isn’t easy to take out. YouTube does NOT run natively. No 3G.
OK, so I can’t think up many reasons as to why one wouldn’t like the Javelin – I can’t tell you how tempted I was to just keep it, as it’s such a great phone. But nothing will ever beat the iPhone. I have found that BlackBerry requires a lot of expertise to fully master, so for basic things such as determining which applications go on the front page, us seasoned users all know to hold down the Alt button and click on the selected application you want something done about and move it to the top row of the main screen of applications and it’s the first thing you see on the homepage – but on the iPhone… you just hold your finger on an application and drag it down to the silver dock on the bottom. This is what I think is in the way of more sales for RIM. Lack of comprehensibility.
Next steps: Look at what the iPhone is doing right. I know you can’t steal too many ideas – but there are a few elements of simplicity that I feel are missing.
Bottom line: If you’re a BlackBerry kind of person – this is a phone for you. I would recommend it over the Bold. Want to turn heads? This is the right phone for you.
Unfortunately, on account of my short period of ownership, I am unable to comment on the battery life. I will tell you, though, that it only went down one bar after 4 or so hours of constant use, including about 30 minutes of talk time, 3 YouTube videos, about 10 web pages and a few dozen text messages.
Also might show a photo of my pen holder taken with the Javelin's camera. Decided to take this AFTER I took my SIM card out. Then I tried to email it to myself. No email set up. Great. Now I have to Facebook it to myself. Have to set that up. Not happening. So, I finally go downstairs and get a Bluetooth Dongle - and it synced successfully.
Reason that I did the pen holder was that it has an engraved surface to it, and I wanted to show off just how good the focus is on the camera. It's not every day you can get such a good quality picture from a phone, let alone a BlackBerry - which I'm yet to see a great picture come off of.
A very sexy looking phone. In my opinion, it’s the Bold’s younger sibling. Same generation, only smaller.
It is quite comparable to the Bold in terms of appearance (i.e. dominantly black color scheme), but with a few exceptions. Such included a thicker metal lip around the bottom, and the back has a brushed black metal appearance, rather than the simulated leather feel of the Bold. This seems as though it would scratch quite easily. When I first saw the Bold, I thought it to be the sexiest phone possible because of its back, but the vertical lines on the back of the Javelin, along with a camera in a matching color that does not protrude from the surface give it a much cleaner, streamlined appearance.
The #1 thing I noticed when looking over the phone was the camera. Not just in how well it blends in with the body, nor the fact that it has flash, but the fact that it is 3.2 megapixels – 37.5% better resolution than the Bold’s camera.
Looking up and down the sides, I came into something that broke the norm of all BlackBerries for me. I’ve used pretty much every model in recent existence. I’ve sold hundreds of older BlackBerries. Every single one of them used a mini USB plug for charging and syncing. This phone used a USB interface that I have only ever seen on one other phone (Nokia N81) – the Micro USB. Internet rumors indicate that the Micro USB port will take over the cell phone market gradually. From my experience using it, it’s a much better port than mini USB. The performance rate does not differ, but it is also much slimmer, allowing for more compact adapters, and it holds its place a lot better physically. To remove it, you really need to give it a good tug – much like the difference between the charging ports on the PowerBooks and iBooks, as opposed to the new MagSafe adapters that hold the port in magnetically on the MacBook line.
Something I found interesting about this phone is that it has dedicated keyboard lock and silence keys. The silence key is nothing new, but I find the lock one to be the most interesting. It leaves the left and right convenience keys to be programmed – whereas on any other BlackBerry I have used, I have had to sacrifice a convenience key in order to have a keyboard lock on the fly. Disadvantage: The lock key can also be used to UNLOCK the phone, which, in essence, kind of defeats the purpose (to prevent it from being operated while in your pocket). After having used it for a few hours, I found that it’s almost impossible to press the lock button inadvertently – and is quite possibly my favorite feature of the phone. It’s designed so that the lock key is right near where your finger is depending on where you hold it. Think they picked that up from the iPhone?
The software is the same as any other BlackBerry of this generation, a much sexier version of its predecessor, with a few more features for efficiency. Such include the general layout, more comprehensive setup wizards, and a more versatile camera function with lots of options.
Surprisingly, this phone does NOT support 3G. I made the blunder of indicating so in my unrevised review of the product - but after having confirmed on CrackBerry and GSMarena - it's true that there is NO 3G support on this phone. Although I have never felt any inclination to have 3G speeds on my handset (EDGE seems to work fine for me), all the hype about the Bold was 3G, so it's kind of misleading when you think about it, that the 8900 does not have it.
For experienced Blackberry users, I think that the only reason that is valid to upgrade to this phone is either the appearance or the better camera. If you’re all about glamour when it comes to phones – regardless of whether or not you’re an enterprise user – this is probably the sexiest, easiest to use BlackBerry available. Reason I’m not saying it about the Bold is the size difference.
Reason I’m not saying it about the Pearl Flip is because of the more difficult to use keyboard (unless you’re into that sort of thing. It can serve a dual purpose of easier typing and space saving – but that keyboard takes a long time to get used to).
I really do believe that the lock button at the top of the phone is what I like most about it. It’s a really sexy phone, exact same width as the iPhone, and overall, scores a 4.25/5 stars, or an 85% with me.
Wired: Sexiest BlackBerry out there. Keyboard is pretty easy to type on, camera takes excellent photos, dedicated lock button takes away the need for a lost convenience key (now I have two to program to whatever I want), has WiFi, so I don’t have to murder my data plan. Smaller than the Bold. A real winner.
Tired: As I say with all newer BlackBerries – the little ball in the middle is incredibly difficult to use. Vibration is quite weak. Found that the battery isn’t easy to take out. YouTube does NOT run natively. No 3G.
OK, so I can’t think up many reasons as to why one wouldn’t like the Javelin – I can’t tell you how tempted I was to just keep it, as it’s such a great phone. But nothing will ever beat the iPhone. I have found that BlackBerry requires a lot of expertise to fully master, so for basic things such as determining which applications go on the front page, us seasoned users all know to hold down the Alt button and click on the selected application you want something done about and move it to the top row of the main screen of applications and it’s the first thing you see on the homepage – but on the iPhone… you just hold your finger on an application and drag it down to the silver dock on the bottom. This is what I think is in the way of more sales for RIM. Lack of comprehensibility.
Next steps: Look at what the iPhone is doing right. I know you can’t steal too many ideas – but there are a few elements of simplicity that I feel are missing.
Bottom line: If you’re a BlackBerry kind of person – this is a phone for you. I would recommend it over the Bold. Want to turn heads? This is the right phone for you.
Unfortunately, on account of my short period of ownership, I am unable to comment on the battery life. I will tell you, though, that it only went down one bar after 4 or so hours of constant use, including about 30 minutes of talk time, 3 YouTube videos, about 10 web pages and a few dozen text messages.
Also might show a photo of my pen holder taken with the Javelin's camera. Decided to take this AFTER I took my SIM card out. Then I tried to email it to myself. No email set up. Great. Now I have to Facebook it to myself. Have to set that up. Not happening. So, I finally go downstairs and get a Bluetooth Dongle - and it synced successfully.
Reason that I did the pen holder was that it has an engraved surface to it, and I wanted to show off just how good the focus is on the camera. It's not every day you can get such a good quality picture from a phone, let alone a BlackBerry - which I'm yet to see a great picture come off of.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
iPod Shuffle? Try calling it the iPod Pico! The 1,000 song tie clip is born!
It's not actually called the iPod Pico... I said that as it is a unit of prefix multipliers below the Nano (which is one billionth - Pico is one trillionth). It still bears the name of iPod shuffle.
It has a capacity of 4GB, or approximately 1,000 songs.
Check this baby out
But something I noticed... Is it really that much of a "baby"?
Look at the comparison between the old iPod shuffle and the quarter (below). Compared to the picture above - not much of a size difference is there.
Image is from http://www.sigonlegacy.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/ipod1.jpg
The BlackBerry looks a lot larger right? See below image to compare widths...
Cons: Battery life was reduced by 2 hours. So small that you might lose it. Must use Apple earbuds.
I.e. if somebody really likes Katy Perry's voice, and they want that voice to do the talking when requesting a song name, for $0.29 on top of the cost of the song, Katy Perry's announcement of the song's name can be had as well. All it is on Perry's part is a simple matter of saying "I kissed a girl and I liked it" once - and 10,000 purchases of the add-on = $2,900.00 in extra revenue.
It has a capacity of 4GB, or approximately 1,000 songs.
Check this baby out
But something I noticed... Is it really that much of a "baby"?
Look at the comparison between the old iPod shuffle and the quarter (below). Compared to the picture above - not much of a size difference is there.
Image is from http://www.sigonlegacy.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/ipod1.jpg
Upon researching the dimensions of the two, here is what I discovered:
2nd/3rd generation iPod shuffle: 1.07 inches tall x 1.62 inches wide = 1.7334 square inches
4th generation iPod shuffle: 1.8 inches tall x 0.7 inches wide = 1.26 square inches
This is a difference of a little over 27% - pretty significant - but comparing them head to head, why is it that the new one seems so much smaller?
It's the proportions, combined with the visual changes of taking away the hard controls, which left breathing room in the 2nd and 3rd generations' appearance.
A specific example to prove this theory: I have sold over 150 BlackBerry 7290 cell phones. At $60.00 each, one would think it's being sold at a bargain price. Of those 150 sold - I have had to deal with dozens of rejections that could have turned into potential sales.
Why?
Because I kept getting remarks like this
"It's such an old phone..."
"Too big for me"
"I don't think my wife will want to deal with the bulk of the phone. I'll have to pass."
These were said just by looking at the phone, and never actually touching it.
Some of them had asked me about my iPhone and how I liked it, as they were considering getting one instead when it comes out (this was during a time when the iPhone was not yet officially released in Canada, so everyone was envious).
Rather than to be snide to the customer, I kept it to myself that the 7290 was, indeed, the same size as the iPhone. Seriously. Look at this.
The BlackBerry looks a lot larger right? See below image to compare widths...
The difference: 1.7mm, or 22%. But note how the BlackBerry's height is less than the iPhone's, therefore exaggerating the width.
Much like the hard controls on the shuffle, the buttons on the BlackBerry give it a cluttered, less streamlined appearance, and as such, makes it look larger.
In reality, statistically, they had nothing to complain about in the way of size. Mind you, the BlackBerry is significantly thicker than the iPhone - but if they never even bothered to look the BlackBerry over, they'd never be able to notice the thickness.
Now, enough about the sizing and appearance, let's talk about the functionality.
As I had mentioned, the hard controls have been removed. The instantaneous question would be, "then, how do you change the song being played?".
The smart answer would be "You don't. If you've got a song on your iPod, that means you like it, right? What would your reason for changing it be?"
I've got to adopt that mentality myself. I have 141 songs and listen to 20, maybe 30 of them.
The real answer is that it's all done through headphone-based controls. The standard stuff such as play/pause and skip/previous are there - even volume control. But I believe that the feature that they added to this generation is the one that is going to sell it best, whether they changed the appearance or not.
It talks to you. At the press of a button, you can request that it announces which song is playing, which playlists are available to you, and even the battery life!
Not only that, but it can be done in English - as well as 13 other languages. Check out the
The USA Today review of it can be seen here:
My take:
Pros: Sexiest iPod yet. Can't wait to see the rest of the new lineup. Voiceover feature is a real breakthrough. The price is right at $79 - for 2x the storage of the old shuffle at the same price.
Cons: Battery life was reduced by 2 hours. So small that you might lose it. Must use Apple earbuds.
Next steps: There's an opportunity here to charge an extra x amount for special voiceovers.
I.e. if somebody really likes Katy Perry's voice, and they want that voice to do the talking when requesting a song name, for $0.29 on top of the cost of the song, Katy Perry's announcement of the song's name can be had as well. All it is on Perry's part is a simple matter of saying "I kissed a girl and I liked it" once - and 10,000 purchases of the add-on = $2,900.00 in extra revenue.
Just thought I'd add as a final comment... the sizing of this iPod looks something like what was featured on David Letterman in June of 2007 when he was talking about the iPhone. Size-wise, I do believe he predicted correctly a year and a half later! Here is the video to which I am referring:
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Asus AiGuru SV1 Videophone - great concept - could use some revision
When I saw this, many thoughts rushed through my head...
"THIS is what VoIP has been waiting for! Something simple and sexy that can operate wirelessly"
"Did Cisco Telepresence have a baby?"
"Polycom will make their verison of this. Just you wait."
But having watched the demo, I felt somewhat... shortchanged. As though the hype that its primary characteristics created wasn't done justice by its performance.
The idea of being able to create a Skype ID on the spot I liked - as the consumer market this reaches out to may not necessarily use Skype - and this takes away a lot of friction, making the concept of Skype seem a lot friendlier to this device's users.
The problem here, though, is that typing is strictly directional pad-based. WPM rates will be slashed to minscule percentages of what they are on a regular keyboard. This replaces the friction of having to go onto a computer to create a Skype account.
How could this have been avoided?
Evidently, an alternative input method is the solution here. Its layout doesn't look as though it would permit a full, hard, built in keyboard.
The modern solution would be to accept speech-to-text technology. After all - this is a phone, isn't it? So, the microphone is right up there with the sound output as the most important functions.
I've got a feeling, though, that names could be misinterpreted quite easily, causing frustration, and thus, replacing friction we're trying to remove here.
It's no secret that touchscreen technology is space saving, sexy, and practical. It's also no secret that it's a winner with consumers. I do believe that the iPhone speaks for itself, accompanied by the Nintendo DS, tablet PCs, the BlackBerry Storm, and Palm Pre.
As such, one would think that a touchscreen on a device like this would be highly beneficial. As touchscreen typing involves mostly thumb movement, from what I can see, it has a form factor that would allow you to put your other fingers on the back, to give you a better grip (one you're used to, if you're a frequent touchscreen typist like myself).
Aside from allowing easier input, having a touchscreen would open up a myriad of possibilities. The array of options that can be scrolled through with the directional pad looks just like Cover Flow. Last time I checked, that was a main selling feature of the iPhone and iPod Touch. It also looks right out of PictureFlow on Windows Mobile.
So, you can type more easily, AND navigate more easily. It also adds to its primary characteristics, making it irresistible and an easier sell.
Regardless of whether or not touchscreen was to be there or not, I have one final suggestion for input, and that is an external keyboard.
I know what you're thinking - that just adds bulk and is the last thing anybody is going to want to carry around.
The fact is, though, not everybody wants to type touchscreen (hence all the people who buy BlackBerries off of me), so an external keyboard may be necessary.
Solutions might include having a fold-out one from the base, or half keyboards that fold out on the sides. But I think it should be an accessory.
An external keyboard is an excellent upsell - very high margin. The frustration of d-pad typing could be used to Asus and Skype's advantage - "Want a full keyboard? Only $29.99 extra!"
As for portability - it could be designed so that it can attach to the device smoothly.
Overall, I am quite impressed with the concept - but a V2 should be on the way if they want to make it even more consumer friendly.
Marketing-wise: A demonstration stand at Wal Mart would draw "ooh"s and "ahh"s - even more so than the iPhone.
Why?
a) Video calling hasn't quite been tapped as a consumer solution just yet
b) It wouldn't cost as much, nor require a service agreement as the iPhone does.
Here's a link to the product's page on the Skype website, for reference: http://www.skype.com/intl/en-gb/allfeatures/videophones/
"THIS is what VoIP has been waiting for! Something simple and sexy that can operate wirelessly"
"Did Cisco Telepresence have a baby?"
"Polycom will make their verison of this. Just you wait."
But having watched the demo, I felt somewhat... shortchanged. As though the hype that its primary characteristics created wasn't done justice by its performance.
The idea of being able to create a Skype ID on the spot I liked - as the consumer market this reaches out to may not necessarily use Skype - and this takes away a lot of friction, making the concept of Skype seem a lot friendlier to this device's users.
The problem here, though, is that typing is strictly directional pad-based. WPM rates will be slashed to minscule percentages of what they are on a regular keyboard. This replaces the friction of having to go onto a computer to create a Skype account.
How could this have been avoided?
Evidently, an alternative input method is the solution here. Its layout doesn't look as though it would permit a full, hard, built in keyboard.
The modern solution would be to accept speech-to-text technology. After all - this is a phone, isn't it? So, the microphone is right up there with the sound output as the most important functions.
I've got a feeling, though, that names could be misinterpreted quite easily, causing frustration, and thus, replacing friction we're trying to remove here.
It's no secret that touchscreen technology is space saving, sexy, and practical. It's also no secret that it's a winner with consumers. I do believe that the iPhone speaks for itself, accompanied by the Nintendo DS, tablet PCs, the BlackBerry Storm, and Palm Pre.
As such, one would think that a touchscreen on a device like this would be highly beneficial. As touchscreen typing involves mostly thumb movement, from what I can see, it has a form factor that would allow you to put your other fingers on the back, to give you a better grip (one you're used to, if you're a frequent touchscreen typist like myself).
Aside from allowing easier input, having a touchscreen would open up a myriad of possibilities. The array of options that can be scrolled through with the directional pad looks just like Cover Flow. Last time I checked, that was a main selling feature of the iPhone and iPod Touch. It also looks right out of PictureFlow on Windows Mobile.
So, you can type more easily, AND navigate more easily. It also adds to its primary characteristics, making it irresistible and an easier sell.
Regardless of whether or not touchscreen was to be there or not, I have one final suggestion for input, and that is an external keyboard.
I know what you're thinking - that just adds bulk and is the last thing anybody is going to want to carry around.
The fact is, though, not everybody wants to type touchscreen (hence all the people who buy BlackBerries off of me), so an external keyboard may be necessary.
Solutions might include having a fold-out one from the base, or half keyboards that fold out on the sides. But I think it should be an accessory.
An external keyboard is an excellent upsell - very high margin. The frustration of d-pad typing could be used to Asus and Skype's advantage - "Want a full keyboard? Only $29.99 extra!"
As for portability - it could be designed so that it can attach to the device smoothly.
Overall, I am quite impressed with the concept - but a V2 should be on the way if they want to make it even more consumer friendly.
Marketing-wise: A demonstration stand at Wal Mart would draw "ooh"s and "ahh"s - even more so than the iPhone.
Why?
a) Video calling hasn't quite been tapped as a consumer solution just yet
b) It wouldn't cost as much, nor require a service agreement as the iPhone does.
Here's a link to the product's page on the Skype website, for reference: http://www.skype.com/intl/en-gb/allfeatures/videophones/
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