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From large companies that drive innovation through heavy investment to the decidedly small who spark whole new product categories through creative thinking, Transcript salutes any company that takes risks in order to improve our everyday experiences. In a financial climate that is increasingly risk adverse, companies such as KDDI – a relatively niche Japanese telco – have continued to drive innovation through novel idea generation.
In 2004, during the first boom of smart-phones due to the rollout of 3G network in Japan, KDDI bucked the trend by designing the Infobar, a phone that was large in scale yet functional and aesthetically distinctive. At the core of this concept is the understanding of the main function of a phone - the ability to communicate to another person. KDDI effectively distilled this concept right down, doing away with all the peripheral functions included by other manufacturers that are effectively used to wow potential customers. Not only is the Infobar beautifully designed and detailed but it also reminds us of a time when the act of verbal communication was the norm. Interestingly, Sony Ericsson has appropriated this regressive strategy with its ‘Talk, Text, Time’ cell phone due to be released later this year in Australia.
As I stare into the sleek face of my iPhone, I sometimes wonder if I really need Google maps on a phone. Do I need that ability to check my emails and surf the web finding out the most current updates on BBC News? Surely, this inhibits our ingrained natural ability to learn about the world around us, with intimate moments and minutia of daily life lost in the whirlwind email exchanges. We need to engage with the world to learn more about its complexities and beauty.
From large companies that drive innovation through heavy investment to the decidedly small who spark whole new product categories through creative thinking, Transcript salutes any company that takes risks in order to improve our everyday experiences. In a financial climate that is increasingly risk adverse, companies such as KDDI – a relatively niche Japanese telco – have continued to drive innovation through novel idea generation.
In 2004, during the first boom of smart-phones due to the rollout of 3G network in Japan, KDDI bucked the trend by designing the Infobar, a phone that was large in scale yet functional and aesthetically distinctive. At the core of this concept is the understanding of the main function of a phone - the ability to communicate to another person. KDDI effectively distilled this concept right down, doing away with all the peripheral functions included by other manufacturers that are effectively used to wow potential customers. Not only is the Infobar beautifully designed and detailed but it also reminds us of a time when the act of verbal communication was the norm. Interestingly, Sony Ericsson has appropriated this regressive strategy with its ‘Talk, Text, Time’ cell phone due to be released later this year in Australia.
As I stare into the sleek face of my iPhone, I sometimes wonder if I really need Google maps on a phone. Do I need that ability to check my emails and surf the web finding out the most current updates on BBC News? Surely, this inhibits our ingrained natural ability to learn about the world around us, with intimate moments and minutia of daily life lost in the whirlwind email exchanges. We need to engage with the world to learn more about its complexities and beauty.
