…ting ting ting and my Nokia battery dried up. I forgot to
charge my cellphone the other day and did not carry charger with me.
The moment I heard the dying sound of my cell, I
knew I was in trouble. I was hesitant to ask for a charger since I already knew the responses I would get. If you don’t have an iPhone or a Samsung high-end
phone, you are considered as outdated. Reluctantly, I did ask office
colleagues only to confirm that my thoughts were correct.
“Buddy we belong to
Apple family now!” with some chuckle came most of the replies.
That took me back to those days, not too long ago, may be a
4 years back when you never had to worry about carrying a charger if you had Nokia phones. It was a universal handset for communicating with people around
the world. The acceptance and usage was so much so that you would find a Nokia
charger hanging perpetually in every room of a house belonging to each member
of that house. Even while traveling on train, only first person had to put
a charger in plug and then only the handsets use to get changed turn by turn.
Nokia truly connected people. Especially in India, it has
taught people how to communicate on mobile phones. It came with a standard Menu
Options and varieties of phones at different price points. It was a common
saying that if you bought a Nokia phone, you never had to buy another one.
Throw it from table, give it to kids to play, nothing would happen. That was
the kind of sturdy display and durable handset Nokia use to offer. It worked in
its favor and people opted for Nokia for its simple to use and longitivity it
offered. Back then mobile phone was primarily used for talking, sending sms
messages, listening Radio and finding Cricket scores from the service
providers. Few high ends had radio, 2-3 Megapixel camera and limited music
space.
Samsung was one of the key competitors in Indian markets but
was always second to Nokia in all respect. It came with a black coloured
rectangular box kind of bulky handset. LG, Sony Ericson and other did exist but
were not among the preferred ones. Apple iPhone was perceived as a ‘very costly’ phone
and meant only for the so called rich class.
In 2007, Steve Jobs showed the world what a cell phone could
do beyond talking. And the world never remained the same. Samsung was quick enough to realize the
market trend and re-aligned its portfolio. Samsung created handsets with
iPhone-like features and flooded market with variety of them at every price
point. Google introduced Android, sophisticated, Open source mobile operating
system. USP for mobile phones was shifting from hardware to software. It
mattered more as to what the phone was carrying inside the small rectangular
box.
Social behavior was responsive creating a new trend. The
world no longer looked for longitivity or durability in a handset. Consumers
wanted to swipe on the screen with their fingers and unlock phones instead of
pressing ‘Unlock + *’. ‘Touch screen’, ‘High resolution camera’, sharing and
connecting with ‘Facebook’, easy access to Twitter, GPS became new minimal
to-have features for a phone. ‘App’ (Applications) became new buzz word. It
simplified life of people drastically. From being a personal device, mobile
phones became a medium for social connect.
The world of technology changes so rapidly that between the
time I thought writing this post to the time actually putting it on paper,
Nokia as a handset company seizes to exist. It will henceforth be recognized as
Microsoft Mobiles.
Companies need to be more innovative and cannot depend on
its existing products forever. Innovation is at the heart of technology,
rewriting the history each day. If
companies cannot innovate from scratch, it should at least try for what we call
in marketing parlance – ‘a second movers advantage’.
Blame Steve Jobs for changing the rules of the game or
Nokia’s inability to embrace the new trend of App world, the company which
dominated the handset market with a very high brand recall, no longer exist and
all this in a matter of 4-5 years.
The once abundantly found Nokia chargers no more hang in
drawing rooms of house. I must admit that I take out my handset from pocket
only when it rings, when in public. 9.5 people out of 10 are found with an
Apple or a Samsung product including school going kids. Despite this fact, I am
happy with my phone because I don’t spend much time using it, only as required.
It offers camera, wassup, sms and I can make and receive calls. O yes, it is a touch
screen phone with a QWERTY keypad. This helps me spending more time with my kid
and family rather than hooked to phone with virtual people.
fOoD fOr ThOuGhT: Use product and love people and not vice-versa. I know few of my colleagues who don’t use mobile phones at all, I would
say that is the best way to live!
