I just provided a nice heading with no information, because I don't have any. So far it's been all quiet on the western front as far as Notion Ink's announcements in CES 2012 goes. Someone should drop into Hilton Suites Booth 28-102 and check them out.
As I mentioned in my previous post Notion Ink has entered Adam and Eve (when they say Adam I assume Adam 2) into CES showcase. However, we've heard of Eve only in passing references in the past in the the forums and little directly from Notion Ink.
As far as I can tell, there's no coverage of NI in CES - I haven't seen (as of this writing, or perhaps I missed it somewhere) anything about NI in Engadget (oh look, Transformer has Ice Cream Sandwich ICS), CNET, Gizmodo, techcrunch. Of course, today is day-0 so it's possible NI will come out with guns blazing in the next 2 days, amazing everyone with Adam 2 and Eve.
There is also no mention of CES in Notion Ink's blog, am not railing on it - just sayin'. Perhaps this time they prefer to be quiet about it than make a big noise, and that's fine by me. Better do than talk.
My guess? Perhaps an updated spec of Adam, and I doubt Eve. If there's an Eve maybe it's a OEM phone running some stock software, but maybe they'll prove me wrong ;)
There is huge lack of credibility about Notion ink's work as it was shown by their work,word,promise. I am suspicious about Adam 2 arriving. Prove me wrong.they talked more than their ability.
ReplyDeleteNiche players can't make it in the mobile market, unless they have a really, really killer product and quality to boot, apart from support, network and commitment.
ReplyDeleteI am speaking from experience.
You need to correct the link to techcrunch in your post.
ReplyDeletedone, thanks
ReplyDeleteMy take is that niche players should not try to compete in the mobile markets and a full fledged designer/manufacturer (extremely capital intensive for end-to-end product release, and cut throat competitive) but instead should focus on specific technology areas where they can differentiate. It could be types of screens, or inputs, or accessories, or core technology, or materials, or design etc. Not designer-manufacturer-distributor.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you've read this, but there was an Indian IT provider, a pretty well established mid-tier actually (Mindtree I think), that invested in Kyocera to build it's own mobiles. Guess what, after spending some time on it, they wrote off the business completely, took a big charge, and it was timed closely prior to the departure of the founder chairman (one could speculate if they were linked) and a management shake-up.
You're preaching to the choir my friend.
ReplyDeleteNotion Ink is a big failure. I followed their story from last year's CES. They were over hyped and under delivered. I remember going to the wordpress blog and people there were ranting how NI will kill Apple and Rohan thought he was the second coming of Steve Jobs. "With warm regards."
ReplyDeleteI am sure Rohan has skills and is intelligent, but he somehow believed his own hype ; maybe from all those mindless comments on his blog a bit too much. It takes allot of effort to create something, and you shoot yourself in the foot by trying to create with much hype.
When you do a startup, and what you are doing is failing, you gotta switch to something else. In NI case, there does seem to be a demand in India for a cheap tablet. If NI can make then screen size smaller, use LED only, maybe it has a chance to sell in India. If it can beat the Aakash tablet in price/performance category.
it seems android phones are selling well. Apple really has no market in India. So if NI was smart, they would be trying to sell in India, and instead of having Apple has a target, have the Aakash tablet as a target.
They need to start small and grow big. It's rare for any international company to start directly selling international than to the home market.
This is the only chance I see NI surviving in it's current form. They just have to produce a very cheap tablet with better performance than the Akash. Basically the best performance/price ratio for a tablet in India.
Other wise you will end up as fusion garage http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/09/fusion-garage-killed-dead-liquidation/. Although I think Fusion Garage did most customization to there tablet than NI did.
However of that 40 million in loans that Fusion had, I am sure the founders of the company paid themselves very nicely :).
Another thing that couldn't hurt Indian companies is to be stealth. Indians I feel shoot themselves in the foot when they try to brag about there accomplishments. You never hear of Chinese companies like yea we kick ass in manufacturing haha ahah. No, people will automatically give you credit, just focus and work hard.
Agree with several things you say though i'm not sure how sustainable selling an ultra-cheap tablet will be and who will invest in it.
ReplyDeleteHowever, on your comment of "nother thing that couldn’t hurt Indian companies is to be stealth. Indians I feel shoot themselves in the foot when they try to brag about there accomplishments.", I totally agree.
It frustrates me to see chest thumping even before something significant is accomplished. Don't know if you read, but I wrote about this long ago in May 2011 when a ridiculous fan article appeared in a magazine.
This is what I said in it - "I’d like my country and my city recognized for something achieved, not for hot air and empty back thumping." As much as I'd like to come kick your ass, I agree with you ;)
Fusion Garage -- well, kaboom. Another "talk big and do little."
No, I didn't know that! There are some other interesting cases involving established players. BenQ made good mobile phones, but didn't have the reach or mindshare in the mobile market (I have a 7 year old phone that still works, miraculously). Their mistake was to tie up with Siemens. Once upon a time, Ericsson used to make very good phones, but could not stand up against Nokia. Sagem was a completely different case and I don't know how they developed their marketing strategy.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, look at Samsung. Nobody used to like their phones, especially in terms of quality. Today, they are on top in the smartphone market.