I’v e sat through enough press conferences and new product launches in my career to reach a simple conclusion” pulling a new computer from underneath a lectern and launching into a butt numbing recitation of speeds and feeds as well as a slight repricing can and should be a fatal mistake.
And in the time of Covid it's become critically important for hardware and software makers to get all handsy with product launches.
Apple Computer was one of the first companies to make me me pay real attention 40 years ago with its Apple Laswerwriter launch and simultaneous introduction of ALdus’ Pagemaker page lay out software Looking back 40 years, it was the one product launch that made me rethink how i could blow up my stodgy world using new technology.
Very little was said during those launches beyond the basics of minimum hardware and operating system software configurations.
In the time of Covid, delivering hands-on demonstrations showing how a new product redefines or enables new usage patterns is an absolute must.
Restated: the era of speeds feeds,and incremental operating software releases has come and gone.
My “learn by doing” vision is deeply rooted in my education at CalPoly-- an agricultural college famous for its handsy education model.
I wish more companies would host the kind of launches Taiwan-based Acer did last week. It was planned and executed by the company’s staff in Taipei and incorporated real world use of new hardware like its Enduro industrial strength notebooks and its new Concept line- which is aimed at notebook computer users who require features that enhance creativity. The only thing I would suggest to Acre's model would have been announcing affiliations with university book stores at colleges with renown graphics, film schools or art departments--Jim Forbes on 28 June, 2020.
Mandatory disclosure, I’m in the process of reviewing Acer’s Swift 7, a thin and light notebook that with a few down-market corrections could set a new category standard.To see what a great product launch in the time of Covid looks jump on the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw9QleF00b4
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