Managing Innovation and Technology - Smartphones - Essay Example

Smartphones Introduction Smartphones have now become a part and parcel of our lives, and without them most of our lives are incomplete. This innovation came about at the end of 20th century and since then has become extremely popular all over the world. Younger generation is more attracted towards Smartphones because of the services and applications these phones have to offer. Many companies are manufacturing Smartphones and the competition among them is fierce. All of them are trying to capture the ever growing market of Smartphones. In this paper a discussion will made on the technological innovation of Smartphones. Strengths and weakness of this innovation will be discussed alongside with other aspects of the technology. Smartphones The first Smartphone was launched in 1994 which was developed by IBM. The phone was called IBM Simon and it is regarded as the first Smartphone (Sager, 2012). The concept of Smartphones however dates back to 1970s. IBM Simon was the first commercial cell phone to have a touch screen interface. Since the launch of IBM Simon, the market for Smartphones has grown tremendously. After the launch of I Phone in 2007, the market for Smartphones changed significantly. Companies started to come up with innovative designs and features for customers. I Phone actually showed cell phone manufactures the potential market of Smartphones. Since then the market has grown at a greater pace and many big companies have entered the market of Smartphones like Google and HTC (Market Research, 2012). Smartphones are different from regular cell phones because of their superior features and enhanced connectivity. They are based on mobile operating systems that provide users with greater speed, innovative features, and enhanced internet connectivity. Smartphones usually have touch screen interface which adds to the features and design of the phone. All these unique characteristics of Smartphones make them popular among the general public. Advantages of Smartphones There are many advantages of Smartphones like portability, better internet connectivity, increased memory space, and user friendly operating systems. Smartphones combine, to some degree, features of a regular phone and a computer. They allow users to send and receive emails, and also to browse the internet (Jones, 2012). These phones also have mobile based operating system that allows better integration with applications of different manufacturers. The main advantage of a Smartphone is its portability as one can carry it almost anywhere and can enjoy its features even on the move. Disadvantages of Smartphones Smartphones also have some disadvantages. Smartphones have made us increasingly dependent on technology. There seems to now work life balance in our lives as we are always ‘connected’ to the world. Smartphones also have negative effects on health as users now a day have become more prone to mobile games than actual physical activity. Through Smartphones people always have games at their disposal (Bio Scholar, 2012) and therefore they are not encouraged to play physical sports. Smartphones have also decrease human to human contact as now people prefer texting rather than meeting in person. All these negative contributions of Smartphone technology is changing the society norms and culture which might not be in the wider interest of the society in the longer run. Firm’s Reputation IBM was the firm that introduced Smartphones in the market but the company was no able to make considerable profits from the innovation mainly because the market were not developed for such a device at that time. Apple is the company that took the Smartphone market to a whole new level with their I Phone devices. They were responsible to change the dynamics of cell phone industry as now almost all cell phone companies have their own version of Smartphones. IBM failed to become a successful firm in the cell phone industry. Smartphones and Market Survival Business environment has become more competitive today as consumers are demanding innovative products. In order to survive in the cell phone market, manufacturers had to come up with something new and therefore came the Smartphone. The technological innovation was vital for the industry because consumers were demanding a compact product that would allow them to do most of their daily work easily. This is how Smartphones played a role in market survival of cell phone technology. Characteristics of Smartphones Smartphones are different from regular cell phones as they provide users a variety of services and features. They allow users to surf the internet and browse different website. This allows users to stay in touch with their friends through their cell phones which is not possible through regular cell phones. Touch screen is another characteristic of Smartphones. This feature adds to the overall design and functionality of Smartphones. Using touch screen to navigate gives users a great experience and is one of the reasons of the popularity of Smartphones. Smartphones also allow users to use applications of different companies which also make the innovation desirable. Porter’s 5 forces and Smartphones Rivalry in the industry is very strong as powerful companies like Apple, Google, Samsung, and HTC compete with each other in the industry. Threat of substitute is also very high since in this age of technology it is easy to replicate features. Buying power of consumers is medium because they cannot move the prices down. But consumers can switch to other brand easily and therefore their bargaining power is not low. Bargaining power of suppliers is medium to strong because suppliers can influence prices to a certain degree. Threat of new entrants is not very high since it is difficult to enter in the market which is dominated by companies like Apple, Google, and Samsung. Smartphone industry is set to grow in future (Lane & Manner, 2012) and therefore firms in the industry should try to cater to different segments of the market. Companies should try to increase their product line in order to cater to different consumers. For example low priced Smartphone market can be given attention. Also in future customers are expected to demand more features (The Drum, 2012) and therefore companies in the industry should innovate on a regular basis. Increased battery life is also one of the demands of the consumers and companies should work in this area (Tech Journal, 2012). IBM and Smartphones It is true that IBM was the company that launched Smartphones but Apple is responsible for making really making Smartphone market explode. IBM was not able to succeed in the cell phone industry mainly because of it is an expert in computer hardware technology. Apple, when launched its I Phone, took the industry by storm. The company brought the technology to commercial markets like no other previous company. Complimentary Services and their Availability Complimentary services important for Smartphones are internet, 3g services, and software technology. All these services are in abundant supply and there seems no problem in near future regarding their supplies. In contrast companies are innovating at a greater speed today and new softwares are coming up on a regular basis. This is why there is no threat to the innovation of Smartphone from shortage of complimentary services. Newer innovations are coming up so quickly that sometimes it is difficult for firms to cope up with them. New hardware systems are available almost every week which shows that the industry is set to grow to new heights in future. Conclusion Smartphones have become an integral part of our lives today. This technological innovation has changed the lives of the people by giving them portable devices through which they can stay connected with friends and do many more things. Apple is responsible for setting the standard for commercial success of this technology however it was first designed by IBM way back. Smartphones offer a variety of services to consumers for which they are very popular. The Smartphones market is set to grow significantly in future as well. References Bio Scholar. (2012). Smartphones encouraging use of social media and computer games. Retrieved on July 17, 2012 from http://news.bioscholar.com/2012/06/smartphones-encouraging-use-of-social-media-and-computer-games.html Jones, O. (2012). The Advantages of Smartphones. Salon.com. Retrieved on July 17, 2012 from http://techtips.salon.com/advantages-smartphones-3480.html Lane, W. & Manner, C. (2012). The Impact of Personality Traits on Smartphone Ownership and Use. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 2(17): 22-28 Market Research. (2012). Market Research Projects Smartphone Market Growth at 19% CAGR through 2016. Retrieved on July 17, 2012 from http://finance.yahoo.com/news/market-research-projects-smartphone-market-080800406.html Sager, I. (2009). Before IPhone and Android Came Simon, the First Smartphone. Bloomberg Business Week. Retrieved on July 17, 2012 from http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-06-29/before-iphone-and-android-came-simon-the-first-smartphone Tech Journal. (2012). Smartphone battery life a significant drain on user satisfaction. Retrieved on July 17, 2012 from http://www.techjournal.org/2012/03/smartphone-battery-life-a-significant-drain-on-user-satisfaction/ The Drum UK. (2012). Shoppers will demand more personalisation in the future, with product information communicated through Smartphones. Retrieved on July 17, 2012 from http://www.thedrum.co.uk/news/2012/02/22/shoppers-will-demand-more-personalisation-future-product-information-communicated Read More