tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post113212742357810184..comments2024-03-25T21:41:06.801-07:00Comments on Mobile Opportunity: Motorola Rokr: Instant FailureMichael Macehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17966107280587843091noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-1159002800489918312006-09-23T02:13:00.000-07:002006-09-23T02:13:00.000-07:00Very insightful comments Michael. In my opinion th...Very insightful comments Michael. In my opinion there's a factor you didn't mention in relation to converged phone/MP3 players, and that's the proprietary headphone socket. <BR/><BR/>All the phone companies are wedded to the idea of making incremental revenue from selling headsets over time... but that proprietary connector is the #1 reason a phone/MP3 hybrid is WAY less convenient than a dedicated music player. <BR/><BR/>Forget your proprietary headphones? Forget listening to music. It totally undermines the convenience of having an MP3 player that's "always in your pocket". <BR/><BR/>Of course, handset manufacturers argue it's so that a headset can be a handsfree microphone, and have track navigation controls on it. You can't do that through a headphone slot, they say. Well, that's easily fixed... just use a standard headphone + proprietary 'sit beside' connector for your proprietary accessories -- much like the first generation iPod and it's clip-on accessories. <BR/><BR/>Or, you could do down the path that Apple has with the new Shuffle, and redesign the 3.5mm mini DIN connector, so that when standard headphones are plugged in they work as expected, but if a custom 3.5mm mini DIN device with extra rings on the jack is plugged in, additional capabilities are available.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-1133502220950012842005-12-01T21:43:00.000-08:002005-12-01T21:43:00.000-08:00I've had quite a lot of recent experience with thi...I've had quite a lot of recent experience with this whole "convergence" thing... It's great when it works, and lousy when a part fails.<BR/><BR/>We are in the process of replacing a cordless phone/answerer/speakerphone at home. The answerer and speakerphone work great. The phone has developed problems dialing and in sound quality. This is now the THIRD cordless/answerer we've had to replace with a perfectly fine answerering system. But we keep buying...<BR/><BR/>The second recent issue is our HP all-in-one (printer/fax/scanner) stopped faxing after a lightning storm. HP says they don't repair them. We have to buy another one (which they will give us a discount on). Here I'd really, really like the concept of a single device to do all three functions, and I don't have the desk space for three devices. So soon I'm sure I'll be springing for another all-in-one, and praying they all continue to work. In the meantime, I'm getting by with an old fax machine bought used.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-1132185728631105782005-11-16T16:02:00.000-08:002005-11-16T16:02:00.000-08:00Do I view the Treo as a converged device? Yes I d...Do I view the Treo as a converged device? Yes I do. I view it as a converged handheld and Blackberry with a phone thrown in for good measure. It's a lust device for high-end communication-centric people.<BR/><BR/>The interesting thing to me is that it's still getting to only a very tiny percentage of the communication-centric folks (they're maybe 11% of all adults). So either the ultimate communicator isn't here yet, the price needs to drop, or Palm just needs more time to get everyone to buy.<BR/><BR/>I think it's some of each.<BR/><BR/>MikeMichael Macehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17966107280587843091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-1132172130535041352005-11-16T12:15:00.000-08:002005-11-16T12:15:00.000-08:00I remember many eons ago when Apple actually came ...I remember many eons ago when Apple actually came to the small design form where I worked, asking questions about all-in-one business level products.<BR/><BR/>I remember telling them that while combo converged products seemed great, the big problem is that once one part of the combo device dies, the whole device becomes much less useful.<BR/><BR/>I think converging 2 features fully works reasomably well depending upon what those are. I think the Treo is a good exaple of a phone and PDA merged pretty well... but Handspring and Palm worked for many years to get the Treo 650 where it is now and that's often forgotten.<BR/><BR/>In the end its about finding two things that are compatible and work together fully well -- and that's often hard to get right.<BR/><BR/>As for the Rokr, I think Jobs was much less excited about the device than the Nano -- and I do think Jobs would love to do an MP3 phone right, but he also realizes the timing isn't there yet -- much like his statements about handheld video. <BR/><BR/>Maybe if device makers at some point have a better balance against carriers, then we may see decent devices like this emerge that are not crappy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com