Giving DoCoMo the benefit of the doubt (which I always
hesitate to do), I think this Cmode thing should be viewed
for what it apparently is: a technology demonstration, not
a ready-for-primetime service. And that has uses. Several
of them.
One is the power of "Seeing is believing."
After all, it's one thing to talk about the possibilities, quite
another to see the already-sweating drink-can arrive in the
hopper in response to no more than phone-button presses. If it
takes minutes, and two dozen button-presses, so what?
You've still shown possibilities *concretely*, which is real
food for thought for the technology players who will eventually
make it as convenient as it should be: one pointing action, and
(don't all kill me at once, now) One Click.
It's patently obvious. ;-)
The only remaining question is: why did they screw up so publically?
What's the point of inviting such ridicule? Couldn't it have been
limited to the rigged-demo showroom, in talks with partner
companies?
Well, I think it was Machiavelli who said: you should
want your adversaries to underestimate you. Especially
if you're known to be strong.
So if you were DoCoCaCoMoLa, a partnership of strong,
but not nimble, corporations, only just learning to dance
together, wouldn't you want to appear laughably clumsy
to any non-partner companies, if you actually had some
technology you could take to the bank?
Just a thought.
-michael turner
leap@gol.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Juergen Specht" <js@nooper.com>
To: <keitai-l@appelsiini.net>
Sent: Monday, September 10, 2001 10:48 AM
Subject: (keitai-l) Re: Cmode experience
> > As for incremental change...who can say? Perhaps, so maybe
> > I should shut up and let Coke give themselves more rim
> > jobs over the great sales-n-marketing idea they think they
> > have created with cell phones. If someone has
> > evidence--even circumstantial, like a comment by one of
> > those cMode-chosa girls at 109--that cMode is not totally
> > driven by Coke's perpestuous (it's not in the dictionary)
> > need to make profits, but rather by some genuine market
> > need for the technology, then I will...well I dunno what.
>
> I would not say Cmode is useless. Yes, it's inconvenient,
> yes, they made MAJOR usability mistakes, here is just one
> out of a bunch:
>
> <short lesson in usability>
> Check this picture:
> http://nooper.co.jp/showcase/gallery.php?s=20&p=5&l=en
>
> The vending machine has a simple outline of a Keitai,
> to show how to hold the Keitai to the scanner...now
> watch how the outline looks like...the antenna is
> on the right side, while the screen must point TO the vending
> machine. Unfortunately the most popular phones (N503 series)
> has the antenna on the left side if the screen points to
> the vending machine...now check the picture of the Keitai
> UNDER the outline...even this Keitai, pointed with the
> screen to the vending machine has the antenna on the
> other (wrong) side of the phone. I saw at least 2 people
> (both female) who made the mistake by following the
> outline and held their Keitai with the screen to the
> wrong side, NOT pointing to the vending machine.
>
> If somebody now says: Read the instructions! I say:
> Nobody reads instructions for using a vending machine
> and if you have, you better use a conventional one.
> </short lesson in usability>
>
> But at least Cmode is a trial to find out new uses for
> the Keitai...it's an expensive and pretty bad done trial,
> but it gives us a sense of future and some listmembers
> got good ideas by seeing this...hopefully for a convenient
> Keitai future.
>
> > I once had a dream that I could load an app on my keitai
> > so that it would open my kitchen cabinet door if I had the
> > right softkey programed and another softkey would flush
> > the toilet and another would let me buy a Herald Tribune
> > Rag. And so on. Woopie! Modern Convenience!
>
> This exists already, voila:
>
>
http://asia.cnn.com/2001/TECH/ptech/09/06/ntt.remote.control.idg/index.html
>
> Juergen
> --
> Juergen Specht [Nooper.com - Mobile Services Inc. Tokyo, Japan]
> i-mode consulting, development and testing: http://nooper.co.jp/
>
>
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>
>
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Received on Tue Sep 11 12:08:09 2001