Thoughts and Opinions about Smartphone - Assignment Example

Brand management What do you expect from your mobile phone? Does it serve only a functional purpose or beyond? A mobile phone is a device that makes and receives and receives telephone calls over a radio link. This happens whilst it’s moving around a large or wide area geographically, (Itechvision 2012). It does this by belonging to a cellular network provided by a mobile phone operator. Upon introduction, cell phones were bulky, expensive and weak in receiving quality signals. Modern cell phones have advanced to the extent of taking pictures, storing data, radio services, television services and wireless internet access. Most of these phones come with so many options for the users, (Itechvision 2012). Some phones have inbuilt GPS features meaning they can be of use anywhere around the world. I expect my mobile phone to have the basic functional features i.e. the ability to make and receive calls and text messages. However, going by the understanding above, I would want a phone that is internet enabled. This means that it can receive and send electronic mails. Besides, the mobile phone should make it easy for me to access research websites and social media sites. My phone serves most of its functional purposes; however it goes beyond them. For example, beyond making and receiving calls, my phone acts as a hotspot whereby it connects to internet through Wi-Fi wireless technology. It’s got calendars and memory card slots that can store videos and audio data. It can as well send and receive data through blue tooth wireless technology. In summary, the phone’s capability goes beyond its functional purpose. One of the bloggers (Melissa Lim) says that she chose a pink Samsung Galaxy because it looked neat and she liked its pink colour. She chose iPhone because it looked fashionable and everybody uses it. This means that some consider even the outside appearance of the cell phone. 2. What are your thoughts and opinions about Smartphone? Has it changed your lifestyle? A Smartphone is a mobile phone that is developed on a cell phone operating system. The leading Smartphone manufacturers include Apple and Samsung. It has more advanced computing features and ability to connect compared to a feature phone, (Kumar 2012). The customer based brand equity concept has been implemented in my interaction with this product. I find myself not having to enquire too much information about Samsung Smartphone. It is the effect the brand knowledge has on the consumers. This leads to addition of value to products. I have attached a lot of value my sum sang phone because of the quality of service it’s given me in the past. This explains why the price of my Samsung does not really matter. The brand name matters most. Smartphone have facilitated the growth of businesses. Business men can contact their colleagues and clients through the use of smart phones, (Kumar 2012). A lot of time is saved in the process. The flow of traffic in some capital cities is communicated to drivers through the phones. This keeps the drivers very informed. The invention of mobile phone operating systems like Android by Google makes these phones perform better. This has also added to the phone cloud effect. This is a situation where a phone functions simultaneously. These phones facilitate mobile banking where money can be sent and received from a bank account through a mobile phone, (Kumar 2012). Yes, Smartphone has undeniably changed my lifestyle. I am able to connect and reply to emails anytime, anywhere. I am able to catch up on videos, reading books and social events through Apps such as Face book and Twitter, (Kumar 2012). Am also able to search/surf the Internet, or check in the Maps when I am lost or need directions to places that I have never been to before. Through these phones, it is possible to watch television or listen to radio, (Buckles 2012).Events that are happing can be streamed through internet as they happen. Its strong memory capacity makes it easy to store large files. Besides, data can easily be downloaded or uploaded to a personal computer through universal serial bus enabled features. It is quite secure in that many personal features are password protected. This includes Wi-Fi portable hotspot features, (Kumar 2012). One of the bloggers said that he does not have to carry his laptop as long as he has a smart phone. He however, cautions against over dependence on Smartphone. 3. What are the top 5 features you use on your smart phones? How important are these features to you and why? One of the most prominent features is the Android operation system. It can be customized to my needs, and makes me enjoy many exciting apps, (Hotz 2011). These include calendars and text message threads. Connectivity is another outstanding feature of my phone. This means options like blue tooth, Wi-Fi and 3G facilitate internet connectivity, (Hotz 2011). Some Wi-Fi hotspots offer free internet connectivity. Through internet one is able to upload or even download content. Internet also offers a wide range of information pertaining to many services. Touch screen is also a particularly useful feature of by phone. This has increased the size of display while the size of the phone remains reasonably small, (Hotz 2011). This makes it easy to multitask on phone. For instance, it plays music while still enabling sending and receiving of text. I find that cost effective and time saving. It can as well connect to internet while still being of use though other features simultaneously. My phone allows for watching television besides a second screen for media multitasking. Through this ability, it’s possible to get live coverage of events at any place. Privacy protection too has been enhanced. This means that it is easy to conduct personal ventures without fear of interruption, (Hotz 2011). Some of these phones can even keep off unwanted callers or even go offline while still remaining functional. These features make it very secure for me to store critical data or files in the phone. 4. What do you think of the future of the mobile phone industry? What trends do you think are likely to evolve? IPhone is a revolutionary cell phone that allows a person to make a call by simply pointing a figure at a number in the phone book or even a name. This also can happen in the address book or the call log of the phone. This phone allows the user to select and listen to voicemail messages. This is an indicator that the future is going to have very complex wireless features, (Parad 2010). This means that it will not a complicated thing for iPhone to be responding the movements of the eye balls if need be. It is also possible to forecast that cell phone shall continue to be small in size, but their integrated circuits shall continue to be more powerful. This means extra storage space for real large data amounts (Parad 2010). The internet technology features might move to 5G or 6G. This shall make the industry very competitive. The innovations shall lead to increased sales. This might mean extremely high speeds of data flowing through these cell phones. Data and software can, under these features, be downloaded extremely fast. Phones shall become so intelligent, that they shall be able to guess most of the instructions they are about to be given, (Buckles 2012). This is because artificial intelligence software discovery is on the rise. New industries might come up with new technologies and slice the influence of the major brands. These phones shall compute with high accuracy. As people seek for the latest technology, we expect these companies to make massive profits. We expect cell phones to have expert systems that shall assist in the running of affairs in leading institutions. Moreover, most of these phones shall be intensely aware of their environment, (Parad 2010). They shall be able to tell the names of their owners, warn in case of fire outbreaks within a certain radius. The future of Smartphone is almost unlimited. 5. Where do you usually get your information before purchasing your mobile phone (e.g. TV Ads, Magazines, Technology/Lifestyle blogs, Manufacture Websites, Carrier Stores)? Which of these information sources would you consider to be the most valuable source of information? A product is anything that is offered in the market so that it can be purchased by the consumer. These leading mobile phone companies market their products vigorously. This is about getting the customers attention, (marketing minds 2012). Samsung has been in vesting in features that always satisfy me as a customer. CBBE as practise by Samsung has taught me is almost impossible to get fake Samsung. The fact that Samsung competes with Apple so closely makes customers believe it’s equally good. It’s almost easy to guess the next Samsung smart phones shall be really good. Mostly, I prefer to visit the manufacturers’ websites. This is in case I am interested in a particular electronic and communication device. When there is a promotion, some of these companies advertise on bill boards or on television. After that, more information can be obtained from the website. In some of these cases, these companies send text messages to their subscribers including a link to their websites. This makes sure that several million subscribers can get the information simultaneously. Advertisements and mainstream media commercials do play a significant role marketing these products, (marketing minds 2012). Carrier stores do play a role, but that is more supplementary since there are more efficient means of reaching the customers. Customers feel proud to associate with brands that are considered superior in the market. The goal is to have the reputation and quality of product being its best marketing tool, (marketing minds 2012). It’s not as vibrant as there other marketing styles. Credibility is extremely crucial to customers. Of all these sources, the manufacturers’ website is the most creditable. This is a personal belief. This is because it contains extremely detailed information about a company’s products. It also explains details that cannot be discussed through commercials. The website goes ahead to explain how to acquire the product itself. This includes online transaction procedures, (marketing minds 2012). In case of any difficulties, the website offers a customer care number. Bibliography Marketing minds. "apples branding strategy." marketing minds. Last modified 2012. Accessed August 29, 2012. .ttp://http://www.marketingminds.com.au/branding/apple_branding_strategy.html. Crammond, Tonny. "Top 10 future trends for mobile phones." itpro. Last modified July 26, 2012. Accessed August 29, 2012. http://http://www.itpro.co.uk/625501/top-10-future-trends-for-mobile-phones. Hotz, Robert L. "The Really Smart Phone." the wallstreet jounal:what they know. Last modified April 24, 2011. Accessed August 29, 2012. http://http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704547604576263261679848814.html Itechvision. "for what purpose people use smartphones most." itech vision, September 24, 2011. . Accessed August 29, 2012. http://http://itechvision.blogspot.com/2011/09/for-what-purpose-people-use-smartphones.html. Kumar, Manoj. "Impact of the Evolution of Smart Phones in Education Technology and its Application in Technical and Professional Studies: Indian Perspective." International Journal of Managing Information Technology (IJMIT) 3, no. 3 (2011): 1-47. Accessed August 29, 2012. Prasad, Ramjee. Globalization of Mobile and Wireless Communications: Today and in 2020, 1st ed. Springer, 2010. Buckles, Gregg. "Employee Smartphones and Tablets Behind Your Firewall." ediscoveryjournal. Last modified July 20, 2012. Accessed August 29, 2012. http://http://ediscoveryjournal.com/2012/07/employee-smartphones-and-tablets-behind-your-firewall/. Read More