Currently, software is standing at the center stage of the show, and more and more people begin to emphasize its importance. The most prominent example is Android which is an open-source software stack developed by Google for mobile devices that includes an operating system, middleware and key applications. Since its launch and application in a variety of smart phones, the market share of Android system has kept on rising significantly, and smart phone users are more likely to use it.
According to above datum from Canalys, a research firm, Google’s Android has overtaken Symbian as the smart phone platform leader. Shipments of Android-based smart phones reached 32.9 million in Q4 2010, while devices running Nokia’s Symbian platform trailed slightly at 31.0 million worldwide. The shipments of Nokia smartphones (with Symbian system) were larger than Apple, while the revenue was 9% lower than Apple, that’s why the world’s largest manufacturer of mobile phones began to team up with Microsoft and try to use winphone to win the market share back, which was also a suggestion that Nokia began to shift much of it focus on software now.
As software has become more attention-grabbing, does it mean that we should overlook the value of the hardware itself and forget the importance of product quality? The answer is no. The pleasant consumption experience and safety feeling people have brought by the quality products is incomparable, just like the safe and solid feeling brought by things like IBM laptops, Motorola pagers and Nokia’s traditional mobile phones.
IBM
International Business Machines (IBM) is one of the largest and most profitable information technology employers in the world. Its laptops are admittedly considered to be the most reliable and sturdy produced. People prefer to buy them due to their quality and superior hardware and often have a deep affection on them. Also the hardware market share shows a rising trend.
In the third quarter of 2010, the company’s hardware sales increased 10 percent, outpacing the tepid single-digit sales growth from the company’s software and services operations.
IBM reported total revenue of $24.3 billion for the third quarter ended September 30, up 3 percent from $23.6 billion in the third quarter of 2009. Net income reached $3.6 billion, up 12 percent from $3.2 billion one year earlier. Sales of Systems and Technology products, including mainframe, server and storage hardware, exceeded $4.3 billion dollars in the quarter compared to $3.9 billion in the same quarter last year.
After years of development, IBM maintains the leader in the field of hardware. IBM hardware is so competitive that it is still not been defeated by products from other companies. People who have IBM laptops often have a high evaluation of them. “I have had about 5 IBM laptops over that last 10 or so years. I really do like them a lot. They have the best keyboards in the business. They are sturdy and reliable business grade laptops. All of mine have been well built without any issue,” one user said.
Motorola
Motorola started in Chicago, Illinois as Galvin Manufacturing Corporation (at 847 West Harrison Street) in 1928, with its first product being a battery eliminator. The name Motorola was adopted in 1930 and has been used as a trademark since the 1930s.
In 1959 Motorola made a personal radio communications product they called a pager. The Motorola pager was a small receiver that delivered a radio message individually to those carrying the device. The first successful consumer pager was Motorola’s Pageboy I first introduced in 1974. It had no display and could not store messages; however, it was portable and notified the wearer that a message had been sent.
In 1995 Motorola introduced the world’s first two-way pager which allowed users to receive text messages and e-mail and reply with a standard response. And since then pagers were looked upon as devices that offered the much needed mobility in communication, especially for businesses. Superior product quality made Motorola pagers the best-selling products and Motorola was a major player with nearly 80 per cent of the market share.
People who had a Motorala pager thought it a good product, convenient and sturdy. And the one who had it always be admired. Although Motorola stopped making pagers in 2002 when the mobile phones got better and gradually dominated the market, the feelings that Motorola pagers brought to people can never change, and it is now still regarded as one of the best product with splendid hardware.
Nokia
Nokia, world’s largest manufacturer of mobile phones, is famous for its superiority in products. Many people have been fans of Nokia phones for their durability and quality. The one who uses Nokia has such experience: the phone is so durable that it can be dropped from very high places without breaking any parts, it is so solid enough to resist outer forces and can still run very well like before, even after being dropped repeatedly. However, if you take another brand to do this test, the result would be different, even though the test phone has excellent software. This is why Nokia has been always been the world’s number one in mobile phones sales.
In 2010, Nokia’s annual mobile phone sales to end users reached 461.3 million units, taking up 28.9% of the global market share — still the biggest share of any phone manufacturer. Although the market share figure showing a 7.5 percent drop which is affected by its smartphone business, its contribution to hardware system can not be ignored. Talking about the cooperation with Microsoft, many people don’t think it’s a wise decision by Nokia for windows mobile is not good enough to compete with Android and iPhone. However, if Nokia continues to maintain its advantage in hardware, continuing to develop high quality hardware, perhaps one day it really can take advantage of windows mobile to reverse the current situation of poor sales.
In fact, the quality of product and hardware are still very important to us. When we purchase something, we cannot just focus on what software it can be installed on without considering the quality of the product. Developers that try their best to advance the software are also aiming to promote product sales. It is only on the back of hardware, software can realize their value. So we should not overlook the hardware system and product quality.
These articles are brought to you in partnership with Brothersoft.
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