iPhone 2.0 3G: Initial Productivity Assessment

I’ve been able to play around with the iPhone 2.0 3G for the past few days.

It’s definitely a great phone. Apple fanboys will really play this up, another reason why Apple stomps MS. Skeptics will play up the inevitable cons. And I probably fall more on the line of a fanboy with each incremental Apple device I pick up, thinking how amazing it is that an electronic device can give you a comforting, warm fuzzy feeling.

For the cool factor, most agree it’s a no-brainer though.

However, the main argument against the iPhone comes from BlackBerry users citing superior e-mail push and functionality largely due to the lack of tactile keyboard (see comments on this Web Worker Daily thread). Most, including myself, have cited the iPhone as “just a toy” not suitable for real business usage.

So how does the iPhone stack up from a productivity standpoint?

What’s good?

• Keyboard Works Better Than Expected. Before getting the iPhone 2.0 and based on limited testing, I was one of those who shunned the iPhone based on its touchscreen keying. The biggest downside I’ve found so far is that walking and texting/e-mailing is seemingly impossible: you actually have to concentrate when there’s no tactile feel for typing. That being said, I’m remarkably fast when I am concentrating on said keyboard - it seems faster than my old Treo.
• E-mail Setup Fast and Accurate. In syncing with my MacMail settings, e-mail worked immediately on my iPhone. I’ve struggled with numerous problems in the past with Windows Mobile; Blackberry tends to work pretty well.
• App Store. Developers and Web 2.0-types are most interested in the new App Store this time around. It has to be the coolest new platform to come through for a while, enabling application ideas that not too long ago were only pipe dreams. When cross-platform interoperability can increase networks to the HUGE user base of mobile users, it will become the greatest network ever. Loopt for location-based social networking. Music matching and collection based on a live audio matching. Pandora for incredible music recommendations and streaming radio on the go!
• All in one. The convergence of a phone, visual voicemail, GPS device, sync’ed life recorder (largely delivered via Apps such as Evernote, more), Internet browser, games machine and more in one really makes this device a killer.

What’s limited?

• Easy, Almost Too Easy. In typical Apple fashion, simplicity and ease of use means there’s a limit to functionality within the device. Moving mail around folders is really easy but there’s no multiple select for marking items as read, for example. Lack of copy & paste is another.
• Push E-mail. The push on e-mail is not as seamless as Blackberry. There may be tricks to improve this, but my iPhone really does seem to be pushing e-mail to me.
• Flash! To me, this is huge. A large number of sites use Flash for simple graphs and navigation, such as Google Analytics. This is pretty important to me, and productivity suffers because even highly business-related sites become more limited without the use of flash.
• Apple Lockdown. Since I did write about tethering my Treo with Bluetooth to my MacBook Pro, it stands to reason that I grew attached to that backup solution if I was unable to catch a WiFi signal. By locking down the iPhone, you have to jailbreak the iPhone in order to tether your iPhone to use the 3G connection as a modem for your laptop. As of this date, we’re still waiting for free WiFi from AT&T for all wireless customers at all Starbucks. As great as Apple can be, this is where their control for great purposes goes too far and goes wrong.

So there are pro’s and con’s. But what does this means from a productivity standpoint?

One pivotal piece to mention is that I instinctively did not think of applications I wanted to install from a productivity standpoint as much. Yes, my Facebook activity may be a little faster. Yes, productivity tools like Evernote can be great life sync tools moving forward. But will there be a Microsoft Office killer app? I don’t think so.

Yes, I think that net the iPhone makes me more productive for many of the above reasons. It falls short because of Apple’s choices, largely constraints made due to limited screen real estate. But it’s also a lot of fun.

Finally, I would question anyone that says you are really that productive on a phone. The iPhone does a fine job with many productivity tasks, despite some limitations. You still need the full screen experience to get real work and production done. Short, pithy e-mails plus piecemeal clean up so that you don’t have a pile of things waiting for you at the office after a long day away, are great to be able to do, but to me that’s not where the real work is done.

Entertainment can be done better on the go. A PSP or a Gameboy holds its own when you want to waste some time on the go.

As far as the evolution of the phone goes, I see a “good” productivity device and a “great” entertainment device to be as good as it gets. And the iPhone is getting close. Please improve some of the limitations and I’ll rave even more :-).

Accidental Innovator - Evan Williams

There’s a great writeup on Evan Williams, a model example of Silicon Valley entrepreneurship and innovation, in The Economist.

Surprisingly, the article hits the nail on the head when analyzing what makes Silicon Valley great: right-brain innovation.

People sometimes tend to think that innovation is this intellectual, organized process. And to some extent it can be. But even Williams got somewhat frustrated with Google, after they acquired his first success Blogger, and their analytical approach towards systematically solving problems.

When in fact as with Williams, it often starts with frustration, going down a path, but then losing yourself along that path. As Williams puts it: “We have an itch that we scratch,” he says, “and that becomes the thing.”

Getting lost is something central to what the spirit of the Valley is.

Facebook v. Google, Round 1: Blood, but not unexpected

NYTimes, TechCrunch, ReadWriteWeb, GigaOM, Mashable all report on OpenSocial.

Richard MacManus from ReadWriteWeb probably puts it best: this aggregation is what Google does best, and it’s now Facebook v. MySpace v. Everyone Else (under Google).

The tactical move is to stop the constant attention Facebook is receiving from developers, at least evening the playing field for everyone. The details are a little unclear, but if it opens up any advertising opportunities for Google (even non-compulsory, as Google will likely get most of that ad space anyway), there’s at least some benefit in there for Google again at the top of the food chain.

There’s some attention paid to the one-upsmanship between Microsoft and Google, which really doesn’t amount to anything substantial. More reasonable attention is paid to whether this hurts Facebook. It’s a more significant blow to MySpace as Google’s speed is showing how truly slow MySpace is to react, showing MySpace’s lack of technology chops, and making MySpace irrelevant in the showcase showdown for the ultimate platform.

I undoubtedly believe this hurts Facebook in the long run, but it’s not unexpected. If Zuckerberg is as smart as everyone says, he may have already seen something like this coming. They’ve got a great product, and bought some lead time in being the developers’ choice for some time. Whether this limits Facebook’s potential growth remains to be seen.

What’s up next? The challenge to be really good at targeted (and social behavior-based) advertising, what I believe is Facebook’s only real chance to put a significant chink in Google’s armor.

Efficient Ad Models

Everyone has their take on efficient ad models.

Seth Godin has an interesting, if a little odd, take on the advertising model.  On first glance, it looks like affirmation of why he  is considered one of the most brilliant marketing minds out there.  He’s combined fixed ad placement pricing and Digg-style voting to dictate rankings and reward good offers.

If you thought click fraud was a problem, push in voting fraud and the skeptics are going to have a field day.  Gaming the system in a transparent voting system means that it’s a perpetual cycle - fraud rankings can lead to more upward votes that are actually legit!

SquidOffers right now looks like a paid Digg.  You pay an entrance fee for the right to be a part of this Digg.  It is a neat way to monetize a previously invented system.

I honestly don’t believe AdWords is broken.  Seth says that you are penalized for writing ads that work, but if you’re paying an appropriate amount for clicks - you do want that additional traffic.  Pay-per-click: you know it’s response advertising and you pay more when you get more responses.

Right now, the SquidOffers system is fixed pricing.  Make this an auction or offer-based system and you’re coming closer to a more efficient market.  Fixed pricing works, but only if you price below the market.  Price over the market and even offers that do well won’t see the value.  It’s admirable that Squidoo puts relevancy above profits.  For an ad model, this does effectively mean that you’re leaving money on the table.  Again, fine and well if you want a monetized Digg, but not if you are really looking for an efficient and effective ad market that properly rewards content creators.

Google’s cornered the pay-per-click model.  In reality, the only reason why PPC is all the rage now is that clicks is what Google is good at.  A search engine is all about clicks - it uses the relevancy ranking to control how many clicks your ad gets.  It has absolutely no control after the click, so it’s charging up to the performance metric that it has any control over.

A fully efficient ad model combines market-driven pricing and pays publishers for performance up until the point that the publisher has no more control over performance.

So what’s the most efficient ad model?

• Awareness = Impressions
• Prospects = Pay-per-click, pay-per-call, pay-per-lead (to a certain extent)
• Customers/Users = Pay-per-sale, pay-per-signup

How do we get to a more perfect market?  I think the only way this gets better, as it’s pretty good right now, is when platforms continue to push towards affecting the final conversion to a user/customer (maybe even loyal user and loyal customer?).  You’re seeing just the beginning of it as Google makes its way into the commerce world.

eBay is a marketing platform as well - it’s just the best know platform of pushing up towards the exact performance metric that matters.  On iLetYou, we have some control over how well our stores perform in real revenue.  Thus, we push our pay-for-performance model to the point of sale/rental because that will eventually be the most efficient model for everyone.

Thoughts on efficient ad models?  Share them here because this is one time I really with Seth’s blog allowed comments to see everyone weigh in…

PS3, Wii, Zune: Second coming of the revolution…

It’s palatable in the air.  People are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the PlayStation 3, the Wii (to a lesser extent) and the Zune (to an even lesser extent).

Despite what’s being reported as their best efforts to  sabotage PlayStation 3 by outrageously high pricing, I would tend to think that Sony will eventually work it’s pricing out.  It’s certainly treading near the danger zone putting the machine out of the reach of the price point required for mass adoption.

What’s coolest about this new revolution is that all three consoles have a legitimate claim to the throne.  XBox 360 was first market, early as well on online services and priced at a moderate level.  PlayStation 3 is flaunting its muscle as the leader of the last two generations and could come out a leader if it can work out some of the early kinks.   Nintendo Wii is probably the smartest company play right now, pricing a sweet spot of around $250 and heralding a new generation of games that are just plain fun, along with an inventive new remote and sensor combination that promises to reinvent how we think of the game control experience.

Plasma screens and LCDs are becoming commonplace in homes and establishments everywhere.

Even HD DVD and Blu Ray look like given some time and riding alongside the adoption of PS3 and XBox 360 HD DVD players, they too will etch out a place for the highest echelon of viewing experience for movies and video games.

Get ready for next generation of entertainment.  The last generation was pretty sharp, but this one’s shaping up to be even better.