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Tech Needs A New Champion

Posted: June 9th, 2010 | Author: Daniel Georges | Filed under: Technology | Tags: , , , , , | No Comments »

Once upon a time technology companies pushed innovation instead of marketing. They pushed quality to a higher premium and were rewarded with customer loyalty. Now the opposite is happening. People buy the cheapest shit they can buy, knowing that it will probably break. That is except for a few companies, the biggest of which is Apple.
Apple make almost high quality devices. They focus heavily on how much they can get for the least given. They know they need to innovate, but only to a degree. They hide the hard facts, and use marketing talk to baffle the rest of us.
That is fine, but it is disappointing that Apple can’t be more transparent. They tell you stories such as their A4 is unique and built by Apple. Sure they might have tweaked the design, but it isn’t original Apple. It is an ARM architecture with some Samsung parts tacked on and then tweaked for performance vs power-drain.
Even with that, there is little to fault Apple. They don’t say a price or feature and then change it later. They tell you what you are getting and don’t give you an ounce more or less. No surprises just exactly what you ordered.
That seems to be the opposite with some Android devices. They really try and deliver, but have small flaws or hardware that is well under-specs for the software running on top. It gives you an inconsistent experience, and will push more non tech buyers to the Apple way of doing things.
It isn’t just the mobile operating system, it is the desktop OS as well. Apple don’t use the desktop OS on tablets, they created a new one. They don’t use their desktop OS on small low performance PC’s, they ask you to spend more. They know that there is some cases where things just don’t work. Something Microsoft is learning in the hardest way possible.
We need another Champion in the technology sector. Someone who makes quality and transparent devices, that constantly push boundaries. Someone who is willing to experiment, but always delivers consistently to the consumer. Most important someone who makes devices that last, and aren’t planning on the resale of devices in the next upgrade.
I know I am asking a lot, but the market speaks. More people buy Apple over the competitors, even if the price is higher. They have certain expectations of Apple, and Apple deliver, which is more then I can say for companies like Sony, Samsung and HTC.
Apple creates fanboys out of tech journalists for good reason, because they make better devices then majority of the competition. Don’t take my words for it, read the reviews and look at the sales.
I am hoping that the big boys will pick up their game soon, because I really don’t want to like Apple.

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The Tata Nano And The Rest Of The World

Posted: January 11th, 2008 | Author: Daniel Georges | Filed under: Transport | Tags: , , , , , | No Comments »

Tata NanoI am a big fan of a car for $US2500, but is it all that efficient and cheap? I’m a car enthusiast but have never worked for a car manufacture, meaning I am not the foremost authority on this subject.
The Tata Nano will succeed in India. India has a population of a billion and only 7 of every 1000 people own a car. The Nano will fill that gap, and only because that is all it is, a car. No radio, no air conditioning, no passenger side mirror. No bells and whistles to be seen (at least until you upgrade to the higher priced models).
In the developed countries there is a big number who spend what they can afford. If they are high earners they go luxury, if they are low they go for budget. The Tata, if the price was to be kept in other countries, would be a whole new level, an almost disposable level.
In Australia, to get to work and back every week I spend around $AU80 on petrel. In a year I would spend around $AU4000 not including servicing and other small costs. If I was to buy a Tata every year, with its 5litres per 100km’s efficiency, it would cost me around $AU4000 including petrol. No servicing required, just throw it out when it stops working.
That is possible if the car was to cost the labelled $US2500 all over the world, but unfortunately this can’t be done without sacrificing a lot. Different countries have different weather and road conditions. Different countries have different safety, tax’s and emission laws. The price of the $US2500 could sky-rocket, If the price was to go north to much, considerations would have to come into account, such as the cost of adding the features you would use to the car, such as air-conditioning, and reliability over other car manufactures.
On top of that, the cost of distributing a vehicle such as this in countries outside of India is going to be higher. Too train and pay a mechanic in India may be cheap, but it isn’t cheap in Australia. How about further advancement? Will they have to reply on the profits from its other subsidiaries to push the Nano’s development?
On the efficiency part of the car it is truly incredible, but efficiency is only half the battle. Whether you car uses 5 litres every 100kms or 50 litres every 100kms, it is still better to use 0. If 8 people out of that 1000 was to be finally able to afford a car, that would put an extra million cars on the road.
The Nano will change the way car manufactures do business. Lets just hope that change is for the better.

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