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With Obi Smartphones, John Sculley Takes Old Lessons From Apple and Pepsi
- dang 11y agoWe changed the URL from http://www.obiworldphone.com/ http://www.obiworldphone.com/ because the current article contains background info. Also, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10127139 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10127139.
- harigov 11y agoI am not sure I see the differentiation in design that is highlighted so much in this website. The phone looks pretty similar to Nokia (now Microsoft) Lumia's, and the UI doesn't look much more fancier either. Am I missing something? And why is "Designed in San Francisco" such a huge thing?
- meric 11y ago"Designed in San Francisco" Instant brand equity in some markets.
- Nerdfest 11y ago... the hipster market.
- amrrs 11y agoResembles Nokia N9 :)
- justin66 11y ago> And why is "Designed in San Francisco" such a huge thing? It gives them something to put on the box in addition to what they're required to say, "Made in China" (which doesn't differentiate them from any other consumer electronics product).
- Tomte 11y agoI can highly recommend Sculley's book about his time at Pepsi and Apple. I've read a German translation with a totally different title, but I think it is "Odyssey: Pepsi to Apple".
- Animats 11y agoThe new design breakthrough: two rounded corners and two square corners.
- kanche 11y agoN9 meets HTC One :)
- annnnd 11y ago> And though other companies—such as Xiaomi—sell models at the similarly aggressive price points, Obi aims to offer a better phone for the price. > ... > The hardest part of the design was not coming up with cool-looking designs," Sculley says. "It was sweating the details over in the Chinese factories, who just were not accustomed to having this quality of finish, all of these little details that make a beautiful design. We had teams over in China, working for months on the floor every day. We intend to continue that process and have budgeted accordingly. So, how long do you think it will take the other (Chinese) companies to reach the same level, given that you teach them?
- glibgil 11y agoMonths, it will take months.
- honest_joe 11y agoYet another android phone. People do not necessarily want android phones. They do not want overhyped linux phones either (jolla). People want polished supported products. An innovative system that just works, the preinstalled apps are the best of what you can get (and not a crapware you want to uninstall). People want the features they do not have to learn about and how to use them. They want to experience them. The other people you have to attract are the developers. Create an attractive environment. Create a tools and docu for them. Tell them how many users are using your product. How many want this and that app. How many are willing to pay. Then you can build the brand and start selling phones with higher margins. Otherwise you are just another android phone hw maker. It is no longer about the hw you produce but the sw matters. And it always will.
- iSnow 11y agoI don't exactly see what they are bringing to the table that Xiaomi hasn't covered already, they design is somewhere between Xiaomi, htc and Nokia. And have fun in Germany with obi.com. They are in a different sector but are such a strong brand over here, they might litigate.
- annnnd 11y agoNot to mention Lucasfilm (Obi-Wan Kenobi).
- rffn 11y agoYes, I found the name Obi for a world phone an odd pick. OBI is a strong brand in Germany and has also presence other European countries (Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, etc.).
- dublinben 11y agoWhen I think of "Obi" and phones, I think of this VOIP hardware company that has been around for several years.[0] This new venture really didn't do their due diligence on the name. [0] http://www.obihai.com/ http://www.obihai.com/
- jhancock 11y agoI'll put in a plug for Fairphone 2 https://www.fairphone.com/ https://www.fairphone.com/ There is so much to love about what these folks are doing.