Software is the Thing
Adrian Convert on CNNMoney writes, “Short of mind reading, time travel and cold fusion, consumer electronic devices are able to do just about everything we want them to. That's why innovation is no longer coming from groundbreaking hardware achievements, but from smarter software.”
http://money.cnn.com/2013/04/03/technology/innovation/consumer-hardware-innovation/index.html
Although hardware itself can be innovative, rarely does hardware become groundbreaking without the software running it. What do you like the most about your iPad? Most likely it is a particular app or a function of how you have incorporated it into your daily life. Go back further (think early 80s) and smarter software is what measures the evolution of the PC.
A good example of this is price per pound. Weigh the components of an iPhone and calculate the price per pound. Then add the software.
One last thing.
A warning to Mr. Convert and anyone looking to make predictions like, “But a lot of the ‘advances’ in tech may be frivolous. A 1000 pixels per inch smartphone display? Sorry. No one needs that.”
These types of predictions never hold true for long. A “1000 pixel per inch smartphone display” means greater potential for entertainment (which is what really drives the greatest technology advances) like augmented reality as well as usefulness for professionals that need clarity – photographers, designers…even radiologists.
Ok. One more last thing.
I have another problem with Mr. Convert’s statement, “Short of mind reading, time travel and cold fusion, consumer electronic devices are able to do just about everything we want them to.”
Mr. Convert does not speak for me. I want more.