essay

Matt Gray

'Discuss the extent to which media industries must introduce new ideas in order to compete.'

It is widely accepted that industries need to produce new ideas in order compete as the market is constantly evolving. The general public is constantly demanding faster and better technology to meet their everyday demands. These demands often follow with trends in popular culture for example the iphones inclusion of Youtube on their new iphone. This new age in technology often goes by the moniker of being a wireless and mobile age therefore frontrunners like Apple are striving to make the best wireless products to capitalize on the blossoming market. This pressure on companies to innovate and produce something new that links in with modern life is a recurring theme, one that Apple is happy to burden themselves with more so than any other company, religiously following the idea of ‘innovation’. This pursuit of innovation may lead to dominance and greater revenue but in the long term the effects of constant innovation could be costly.
For example Apple CEO Steve Jobs presented the Macbook Air at his recent keynote presentation. Its key selling point is that it is incredibly thin. This is seen as a revolutionary achievement by Apple. Steve Jobs charismatic presentation of it builds it up more than it should be. Although the Macbook Air is incredibly slim line this is not innovation in the true sense of the word as it has major setbacks. It’s innovation results in compromise of features, to the consumer this not noticeable due to Apples incredible marketing campaign portraying it as a young, fashionable and better company as well as it’s stance in popular culture thanks to the ipod. The ipod cemented Apple as a huge company in the media industry. The ipod being a major success meant that Apple was officially the main brand again in terms of new media; it meant that Apple could ‘do no wrong’. This allows Apple to present products that are perhaps not as innovative as they let on and still they will sell incredibly well because of the name Apple has made for itself. The main problems with the Macbook Air are that it has no CD drive, in striving for slimness Apple have left out a major feature. It also has no wireless broadband access, for a product that’s thinness means more mobility, what use is it without wireless access. They are also using the equivalent of an 80GB ipod hard drive as a system drive and the fact that it only has one USB port amongst others. The Macbook Air compromises too much in order to be thin. This is a major example of how media industries can take over a market due to the success of new ideas, and then capitalize further down the line by having the reputation as innovators.

The way in which the world looks on technology now is that it all should become mobile. It has become more about easy access and anywhere access than within the home access. This yearning for better technology causes media industries to produce more and more products to cater to these needs. Apples iphone is a perfect example of the way in which new media is headed. The iphone encapsulates all aspects of the daily technology use of the average person by convergence of as many aspects of modern life into one product. For the iphone this is essentially a phone, an ipod and the internet although this can be split into several sub categories. The ipod part of the iphone works as an ipod normally does with the added ease of a touch screen system enabling easy navigating through libraries of music. It works in the same way that an ipod does meaning that it synchs with your computer in the same manner as the classic ipod, this helps to bring ipod users across to the iphone as it continues with the same method of use for ease of use.
The iphones internet program is Safari and is the most advanced web browser ever on a portable device. It works with a wi-fi connection allowing people living predominantly in urban areas to find wi-fi hotspots so that they can use these devices, as they are predominantly aimed at people living in urban areas as the core base of the smart phone market is in an office related environment. The Iphone also contains smaller applications to satisfy general needs. These are called widgets and they provide helpful information like stock markets and weather. They are accessed through wi-fi connections like the internet connection for the same reasons, ease of use etc. It also provides a helpful link to youtube for browsing of videos. An added bonus to the iphone is the inclusion of a completely button free handset. The features of the iphone are all utilized through touch. This is seen as a very innovative and ‘fun’ idea but the fact is that it will have its drawbacks. A larger screen is more prone to breaking as well as becoming scratched and or damaged by use. Although these are strong reasons against the iphones touch theme it helps the iphone to sell as it has become more interactive to the user. The reason that the iphone sells as well as it has is that it has done what has been talked about for some time. It has combined the phone, mp3 player and internet access into one device rather than people having to carry around two or three separate devices. Although other smart phones could boast similar credentials Apples success stems from the ipod. This landmark piece of technology allowed for Apple to garner a reputation as a stylish and in fashion brand so that when the iphone comes out it would sell immensely. This newfound status thanks to the emergence of the ipod allowed Apple to sell 4 million handsets in the first 200 days of release, which averages out at 20,000 per day. Apples status as a predominant brand in popular culture along with the idea of convergence of several products into one allow for larger sales.
Apple is not entirely guilty of needless innovation as they have produced some startlingly clever new ideas, one of which being their movie rentals option on itunes. This was due to their idea of buying movies not doing as well as they had hoped opting for this method instead. This is a clever move for Apple as it is highly likely that they will dominate the rentals market spelling disaster for companies like Blockbuster. Apple are hoping to do with movie rentals what they did with itunes. This is one of Apples innovations that seems to work well and will most likely be successful as the age of downloadable media has taken over. It goes hand in hand with Apples other ventures i.e. Apple TV, a risk on Apples part with regards to affordability to the general consumer.
To an extent it is important for companies to innovate as they can produce high quality products i.e. Apples ipod this in turn can lead the way into new unrealized technology and innovation and boost sales and reputations of companies. It can generate a lot of revenue because if their products are popular people will continue to buy them regardless of how much they differ from previous models. This can be a problem as too much innovation could result in compromise and lower quality products built around gimmicks.