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Are we to applaud innovation for the sake of innovation, regardless of whether or not it produces a good product? Apple made a new phone with a few inches of e

Are we to applaud innovation for the sake of innovation, regardless of whether or not it produces a good product? Apple made a new phone with a few inches of extra screen and a new processor because that's what they needed to make their phone better. No reason to start attaching gimmicks for the sake of being a little different.

nitrogen 14y ago
The fact that you probably don't have a use for a projector phone doesn't mean that nobody does. That's the nice thing about a company that makes more than one product: you have options. Making fun of, say, a traveling salesman for liking a projector phone is about like making fun of a construction company for owning a full-sized truck.
- seanmcdirmid 14y ago
  Exactly. A very niche early adopter device. There will be a market for this device, but its not big enough to interest Apple. As the technology gets more advanced/cheaper/smaller that could definitely change, but right now its early.
  - Volpe 14y ago
    Apple still make Mac Pros... a very niche product... there are probably more people into projector phones than mac pros. I'll be curious if all the Apple fan boy's retract what they say when the iPhone gets a projector added to it. I suspect they'll argue the: "The market it ready for it now!" line :P
    - seanmcdirmid 14y ago
      Apple makes tons of money on the MBP, even if this business is dwarfed by the iOS devices they sell. Who cares? Apple will release what makes them tons of money; that is just how they work. If they can fit it into a good product, they won't care what Apple fan boys or Apple haters said in the past, its completely irrelevant to them.
      - Volpe 14y ago
        I didn't say MBP, I said Mac Pro (as in their Tower product). I didn't mean, what will apple think of fan boys or haters. I was questioning the consistency of view of the fan boys, of course its rather moot, as fan boys are of course not consistent at the level of discussion, but instead company. Apple don't release things that make them tons of money, they market things that make them tons of money. It was pretty clear the iPod (1st generation) was not a fantastic product, but Apple marketed the crap out of it, to the point it would seem like the only option to some people.
        seanmcdirmid 14y ago
        Sorry, ya, the tower used to be less niche than it is, the world has moved on mostly to laptops and the desktop market is stagnant. Even Apple sees no future there. The iPod V1 was a great product back then, unless you are reinforcing Cowboy Neal's position that it was lame compared to a Nomad? Also, Apple spends very little money on marketing, and that was especially true back then. Apple's recipe for success has been to package the right technology at the right time into a package that is very well designed. Those who attribute their success to fanboyism or marketing are just deluding themselves with bias.
- huxley 14y ago
  Back in the 1990s there were a few companies that introduced laptops with integrated bubblejet and thermal printers. A few pundits crowed that every printer would have one builtin because it was so useful. Since then, every couple of years a company introduces a new one and usually sells a few hundred and discontinues it. A projector phone might be like a construction company owning a full-sized truck, but it might also be like a construction company buying a Toyota Prius with a builtin dumpster attachment
wycx 14y ago
Someone has to make products that suck to show everyone what not to do before we get good (i.e. refined) products. Resistive touchscreen phones and tablets sucked, but lead to capacitive touch screen devices which we probably all agree are much better. I don't think there are many examples of products that were perfect on the first attempt to make them, or even the first few goes. Projector phones might seem compromised now, but if some company thinks hard enough about them, we might get something really nice. It won't be innovative, but it will be refined.

nitrogen 14y ago

The fact that you probably don't have a use for a projector phone doesn't mean that nobody does. That's the nice thing about a company that makes more than one product: you have options. Making fun of, say, a traveling salesman for liking a projector phone is about like making fun of a construction company for owning a full-sized truck.

seanmcdirmid 14y ago
Exactly. A very niche early adopter device. There will be a market for this device, but its not big enough to interest Apple. As the technology gets more advanced/cheaper/smaller that could definitely change, but right now its early.
- Volpe 14y ago
  Apple still make Mac Pros... a very niche product... there are probably more people into projector phones than mac pros. I'll be curious if all the Apple fan boy's retract what they say when the iPhone gets a projector added to it. I suspect they'll argue the: "The market it ready for it now!" line :P
  - seanmcdirmid 14y ago
    Apple makes tons of money on the MBP, even if this business is dwarfed by the iOS devices they sell. Who cares? Apple will release what makes them tons of money; that is just how they work. If they can fit it into a good product, they won't care what Apple fan boys or Apple haters said in the past, its completely irrelevant to them.
    - Volpe 14y ago
      I didn't say MBP, I said Mac Pro (as in their Tower product). I didn't mean, what will apple think of fan boys or haters. I was questioning the consistency of view of the fan boys, of course its rather moot, as fan boys are of course not consistent at the level of discussion, but instead company. Apple don't release things that make them tons of money, they market things that make them tons of money. It was pretty clear the iPod (1st generation) was not a fantastic product, but Apple marketed the crap out of it, to the point it would seem like the only option to some people.
      - seanmcdirmid 14y ago
        Sorry, ya, the tower used to be less niche than it is, the world has moved on mostly to laptops and the desktop market is stagnant. Even Apple sees no future there. The iPod V1 was a great product back then, unless you are reinforcing Cowboy Neal's position that it was lame compared to a Nomad? Also, Apple spends very little money on marketing, and that was especially true back then. Apple's recipe for success has been to package the right technology at the right time into a package that is very well designed. Those who attribute their success to fanboyism or marketing are just deluding themselves with bias.
huxley 14y ago
Back in the 1990s there were a few companies that introduced laptops with integrated bubblejet and thermal printers. A few pundits crowed that every printer would have one builtin because it was so useful. Since then, every couple of years a company introduces a new one and usually sells a few hundred and discontinues it. A projector phone might be like a construction company owning a full-sized truck, but it might also be like a construction company buying a Toyota Prius with a builtin dumpster attachment

wycx 14y ago

Someone has to make products that suck to show everyone what not to do before we get good (i.e. refined) products. Resistive touchscreen phones and tablets sucked, but lead to capacitive touch screen devices which we probably all agree are much better. I don't think there are many examples of products that were perfect on the first attempt to make them, or even the first few goes. Projector phones might seem compromised now, but if some company thinks hard enough about them, we might get something really nice. It won't be innovative, but it will be refined.