The Circuit: CES 2009
Perspectives from my day at CES 2009.
Function meets Fashion
The influx of fashion into consumer electronics was more evident this year. I saw more brands such as Built, Speck and Golla that make non-electronic products such as bags, sleeves, protectors for your consumer electronics – laptops, phones, cameras, mp3 players, etc. Unlike years past, they were not hidden away in a quite, dark back corner or confined to small cubicles at the Hilton. Instead they had relatively big spaces in prominent locations. Some of the “fashion” booths even overshadow more established, traditional (i.e. electronics) brands. Both in design creativity and visual presence.
Consumer electronics have become such an essential part of our everyday lives that we need to personalize, accessorize it. The market opportunity is huge. As a fashion brand, how are you positioned to stand out from the crowd?
The Next Big Thing
There really was not much breakthrough innovation year – I can’t see better than HD, WiFi is so yesterday, micro-(fill in the blank) are ubiquitous, and another (ho-hum) variation on the mp3 player. Major improvements in functionality and usability, and more value to the consumer for sure – just not compelling enough to upgrade or switch from what I have. The only exception was SONY. Last year they introduced the 3mm OLED (see more here) screen. This year they introduced the flexible OLED screen. Amazing is not even the close to describing this new screen. Sony presented some concepts for how this technology could be used – a “paperback” note book and a mp3 bracelet were two compelling examples (see images above). Here is a video of the technology on YouTube.
Brand and Performance can Overcome Price
I spoke with John Falcone, President and CEO of Sennheiser Electronics Corporation and he showed me their new audiophile headset, the HD800 with a retail price of $1,500. Yes, 2 zeros! I’m into high-end audio equipment and even that price was beyond my comprehension. Yet in less than a day (actually less than 2 hours), they sold out the entire 6 month product run.
It goes to show that when you have a compelling product by a trusted brand and having the right conversation with the right audience, price is less of a factor. In this case, none.
Best Quote
Comes from Howard Stringer, CEO of Sony.
“We need to provide consumers with a user experience that is so compelling and clearly life-enhancing that our products and services will become must-haves at affordable prices.”
Now that applies to every brand out there. Does your user experience achieve that goal? If not, why not?