There has been a lot of talk during 2005 about ‘less is more’. This is an effective mantra for any new/small company or new websites and applications. But why have we not seen this in the computer hardware / electronics industry? I think Apple does a great job at this with items such as the iPod. It does a single thing and does it very well. I think this is why Steve Jobs has been reluctant when integrating technologies into the iPod. And I think that’s why we have not seen the iPhone yet.
So, why don’t people want a phone that does one thing good…being a phone. I have an Audiovox SMT 5600 Windows Mobile Smartphone (that’s a long name) that has a camera, outlook integration, mp3 player, sd card slot, bluetooth, etc, etc. At first I thought it awesome that I could do all these things with my phone. But as I used it I found that it does not really do a good job at any of its functions. The mp3 player doesn’t hold enough songs and uses proprietary headphone jack. The camera has no flash. The sd card is hidden behind the battery (horrible design).
Jason Fried from 37Signals has been writing about the idea of less is more over the past several months. He applies it to the way he runs is company and how their products are developed. Jason says that it is better if you can do one thing really well than several things average. Apple has done a great job at this and it’s crazy other companies haven’t caught on.
The iPod craze that has been going on for the last few years is a product of this methodogy applied to the hardware sector. It does one thing well. So, would Nokia or Motorola take this to the product designers — I want a phone, just a phone, that is really good and just being a phone.
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