Mobile Handsets Innovation

If viewed from modularity theory (Clark and Baldwin, 2000) lens, typically, handphones can be viewed as integrated products. There is non-existent possibility and trend for upgrading memory, replacing display or changing its size, adding or dropping user desired features and likes. There are many trade-offs a user may have to  make on features when buying a mobile phone. This mainly stems from the fact that there are fewer loose linkages between assembies and components where as  tight linkages within components on an assembly/component serving certain functions. HW and SW technologies both serve togther to provide the functionality of the mobile phones. However, it seems whereas the HW is nearing its limits or standardization/dominant design  (in terms of product architecture and modules) SW is still volatile as it is intangible.  An increased generic information and media processing capacity within phones can be moulded to provide any features based on differentitaion and strength of software capabilities by vendors ( How do you look at I-phone?). Yet, tightly coupled mobile SW allows limited user selection and usage of desired features. We can say, room exists for architectural innovation (Henderson and Clarke, 1990).  This raises many questions from many aspects with implications for strategy at firm and industry level, which i am not going to raise here now…you may ponder and lets share as and if we progress!…  

These days  one of the areas I am exploring  is modularity vs. integration in mobile handsets especially smartphones. I found an interesting web article from Visionmobile on Mobile Software Management which is not related to what i am doing but is an interested reading… I will try to keep posting…though its difficult to keep up… I know…

Artcile follows from here on….

What if handset features could shape and evolve with the user? the user side of mobile software management by Andreas Constantinou

Today s mobile handsets are highly underutilized; beyond calling and texting, tens of typical handset features go unused. Are handsets over-featured, crammed with capabilities that leave most users indifferent ?

Why can t the user today pick a handset based on style and then choose the features they would like to include, much like choosing the extras for a new car? Why are today s handsets most limited; why can t you transfer a game from a friend s handset? Why can t you get FM radio functionality on a new 400 smartphone?

The answers lie in how the handset software is designed, built and managed through the handset lifetime. Whereas software inside most phones is highly sophisticated, at the same time it is practically shaped into a rigid monolith.

In a sense, the phone software from birth to retirement suffers from chronic arteriosclerosis; for all its PC similarities, the software is mostly immutable and unmanageable, only fit for the narrowly-defined purpose for which it was designed two years before being sold.

At the same time, the user is little interested on how the handset menus can be coloured red, orange, blue or magenta by the mobile operator, but how the phone could be made a bit more friendly and a bit more personalised.

More….