When Steve Jobs speaks the world listens. There is always something for everyone. Geeks, Consumers, product companies etc. And Apple’s March 2nd event did too. The fact that Steve showed up sent the stock up. iPad2 was announced as expected, the Smart Covers stole the show. iOS 4.3 was kinda bonus. But the phrase that was used during the presentation had me thinking: “Post PC Era”.
This catchy phrase has a huge impact on the industry. It essentially declares the death of philiosphy of selling to customer via tech spec alone. It basically says that in new world the technology has to be sold to masses and to geeks and different strategy has to be used.
Post PC world is the world where the tech or specs alone will not get the job done. Its the whole package that the consumer is looking for. Product companies can no longer rely on “geekiness factor”. The old adage that if you build it they will come is no longer true. In post PC world, the common man on the street is target, customer and not the geek of the household. In this world, the tech gadgets are sexy, exciting and inviting they are not scary or elitist anymore.
The focus of the successful companies in this era should be to make gadgets that are exciting, easy, inviting to an average consumer. Making them the fastest, biggest, or packing them with features alone will not cut it. That shouldn’t even be the focus. The focus should be on making the case that the gadget gives the superior experience to the consumer by making the routine chores fun, easy and delightful. The gadget should offer the best user experience for the use cases it supports. Technology alone is meaningless to the consumer, they relate to experience.
for example in the PC world you tell the customer to buy your gadget because it has two cores, in post pc world you tell the customer that your gadget is superior because it can do Video calls with lifelike pictures. Telling the consumer that you have a NFC chip that they can use some day doesnt mean anything to the user, But having an app and an eco system to take advantage of it does. Consumer doesnt know what 256KB ram is, but they can relate to the fact that the gadget will allow them to compose and record music.
So in an Post PC era when apple releases a phone with an camera, it is accompanied by facetime, a complete average men’s Video Conferencing system. When they see the beautiful tablet in an ugly case, they up the bar by designing a smart cover for the next version of the tablet. When they release a tablet with the next generation of technology, it has the next generation of apps to go with it to make a case for why that technology make sense for you.
Thus in this era hardware with superior spec is not enough, it has to be accompanied by an matching software, apis for the app developers and an eco system for after market accessories and an distribution framework to reach the consumers directly.
The Post PC era has risen the stakes, the barrier to entry is high. All the pieces of puzzles have to come togather, being the best in just one of the pieces is no longer enough. and as Jobs likes to say its the intersection of technology with liberal arts.
I think this Post PC world is all about me the consumer and I am loving it. Its good to see the product companies working their tails off to seduce me and I like being the center of attraction for a change ;)
