So perhaps a slightly intriguing and maybe misleading title but I do believe that their are many similarities between the smartphone market and Formula 1. Read on to find out why I think they compare and post your thoughts and comments too.
Formula 1 is generally seen as the pinnacle of motorsport. Anyone who is anybody is seen at the races and it only attracts the biggest of investors. The cars are as technically advanced as they can be and only the best drivers get the chance to be involved.
If you take the mobile phone market, smartphones are a bit like F1 cars. Anyone can own a mobile phone (standard racing car), but to get a true do it all smartphone (the F1 car of the phone world) you need to invest more money by buying SIM free or taking out a more expensive phone contract over a longer period.
Currently there are 10 teams in Formula one and it would be fair to say that there are 4 teams that stand out as being better due to the money, the technology and the drivers they have.
The situation is similar with the mobile communications market. You have a handful of ‘big’ companies who dominate across the board offering a range of handsets and only a select few who offer truely great smartphones.
This year sees the re-introduction of ‘kers’, an optional system which teams can install in the cars which is essentially a boost button that drivers can use to obtain extra power to assist in over taking. There are other improvements too and other technicalities etc. but lets not get bogged down in the minor details.
Currently Sebastian Vettel is the world champion with his teams Red Bull. The first race of the season has taken place and Vettel and Red Bull came first, in a car that didn’t have kers, where as the those around him did.
How did he do this?
What have Red Bull done to their car?
No-one knows the exact answer, but kers is designed to assist in giving an advantage but Red Bull do not need it to win.
All the F1 cars are fast, and set good times, and have some of the World’s best designers etc. involved yet some are just better.
The smartphones of this world are similar in that many devices are comparable in what they offer in terms of features. They all ultimately (within reason) do the same thing and achieve the same result.
They are designed and manufactured by some of the biggest names in technology with teams of the best engineers but it does not always come down using the latest technology, because it is about how all the components work together to do the job most effectively for you.
Vettel does not need kers. The cars design, aerodynamics and the team behind him have created a car capable of winning – smartphones are the same – you may own or wish to own a smartphone, but you do not always have to have the one with the newest or apparent stand out features to do the job of mobile communication and connectivity best.
Here at Clove we use what some would call ‘old’ devices, but we do because they work and there is no need to fix something unless it is broken, and many we know would agree.
BUT…
Sometimes there are innovations and new components which just change the way things are done.
In Formula 1, the introduction of turbo chargers for engines and new material innovations such as carbon fibre have allowed massive advancements and evolution within the sport.
This happens in mobile communication too. The ability to send data over GPRS & 3G, to have a touch screen – these and many more can be argues to be innovations and to have allowed an advancements.
We are today witnessing advancement within mobile communications. Dual-core processors, 3D screens, cameras and 4G data connections are all responsible for the creation of a new breed of smartphone, the SUPERPHONE!
The superphone makes a smartphone look like a GP2 car to the F1 car. They are more powerful, more able and designed to take us into the future.
WELCOME, to the era of the SUPERPHONE!
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