A lot of companies keep trying to overtake an iconic and landmark invention in the field of technology like Google and I-pod and the I-Phone by developing search applications and gadgets that claim to be Google Killers, I-pod killers and I-Phone killers.
Practically nothing kills them or kicks them out of market, it’s just that these so called “Killer” products find niche user groups after creating an initial hype and stay happy with whatever limited share they get of the market. MS announced launch of its new search engine BING, which is touted to be another Google Killer, same kind of claim was done by a group of developers who brought CUIL a search engine designed to take over Google, even I have tried using their service to see the difference, but I always keep coming back to Google because of the plain reason, it’s sheer simplicity.
Today Google offers web users the option to personalize Google search with their own news content, themes, which is again a good way to keep the zing alive for a product and allow advanced users to experiment with their favorite web service after becoming the default word for search on the internet.
My personal view on web search is that for a web user who is seeking some info on the web, is already clueless on the topic he/she is searching for, the kind of simple white page appearance Google follows with no clutter around and a search box for you to key in what you seek is what the web user likes, not the cluttered page with fancy background, tons of add-ons, in house services links, It becomes like a task for a naïve user to actually search the “Search Box” out of this clutter and get started.
I have rarely used Yahoo one search, or MS Live search, I get irritated by streaming ads MSN portal has on its India portal, it starts by default once the default page loads, still MSN was just known for its Hotmail some years back in India and has evolved into full fledged portal and sites like Yahoo, Rediff began their net journey being a multi faceted portal and not just a search engine, so the reverse strategy of developing a search engine and promoting it has being difficult for them, in fact MSN and Yahoo are the ones who have advertised about their search service and Yahoo even kept a promotional campaign to promote one search service in India.
I used to fret about the plain appearance of I-pod and kept wondering what’s in this device that turned the fortunes for Steve Jobs, forcing MS to come up with another flop product Zune, its again the simplicity factor that worked wonders, I used to admire the complexity in a gadget previously considering that could only be the sign of innovation and marvel of technology, I soon realized that a simple play, pause, song skip interface with volume buttons is enough to hook up a music enthusiast to a portable music player, it offer’s freedom from that complexity that a lay user seeks to escape the hassle of pushing multiple buttons.
Because for me to choose a good audio product I look for equalizer, bass output, headphone quality, Db levels, PMPO and other jargons associated with that product, I would research it to an extent I feel confident to go for it, but this is not the case with the major consumer population around the world.
I-phone also revolutionized touch screen phones, again offering a device cool on looks, a big screen to play with, what else do your fingers need?, and a OS with the visual brilliance of MAC OS, still it did well in comparison to the cons it had, it forced Nokia to re-think its strategy on touch screen phone until it came out with 5800 XM.
On the gaming front Nintendo blazed through to the top in no time the moment Wii was released, breathing life again into its long forgotten gaming industry presence, even the hardware they offer as a console is nowhere near to the visual brilliance of Xbox 360 and PS3 and even the game title library is not so big, still it united families to gaming, elders, women along with adults and kids got into gaming off their couches, seriously even for a Xbox 360 fan like me button mashing on the controller does turn boring at times.
Again if you look at the line of products like Google, I-Pod, I-Phone, Xbox 360(slowly shaping credible product from MS), Wii, all these products wore the basic of all the color’s white and black(for I-Phone), which signals that White is the Way to go! Or to frame it better, Keep it Simple
Share your views on simplicity, and products that you have used that you feel have made your life easy.
