The weekend review: the future of hardware design and Google+
This week, we wrapped our last conference of the year with Gigaom Roadmap in San Francisco. Throughout the two-day show, one major theme rang clear: the convergence of design and technology, especially as design becomes a key factor in both hardware and software. You can catch up on full conference coverage from our colleagues and Gigaom here. Unsurprisingly, one of the most popular pieces of research this week also focuses on the intersection of design and hardware; our latest Sector Roadmap was published in conjunction with the conference.
First, in “Sector Roadmap: hardware design innovation,” Haydn Shaughnessy “looks at the emerging infrastructure of product development and asks whether we have already passed the era of iconic design.” Rather than focusing on a single product, this Sector Roadmap instead analyzes six major trends that hold the potential to disrupt the hardware market in the next 18-24 months. As hardware is increasingly thought of as a device, the convergence of engineering and design, as well as the rise of new players in the hardware design innovation sector will transform and disrupt this market in the near-term future. Shaughnessy takes a deep dive here, analyzing how the role of design, product validation and the nature of cross-disciplinary teams will shape the future of hardware design.
Next, in “Survey: the mobile shopping apps consumers value most,” Phil Hendrix shares findings and analysis from a recent survey of smartphone owners and their usage of online shopping apps to identify “the mobile shopping apps that consumers value most.” As mobile devices become the most important tool for connected consumers at every stage of the shopping experience – both online and in brick and mortar – Hendrix examines the survey data to identify the four major phases of a mobile shopping experience and, explores the relative value of shopping apps by gauging respondent interest in 20 hypothetical apps spanning the mobile shopping ecosystem. Perhaps more tellingly, Hendrix breaks down these responses to examine how mobile impacts customers’ shopping experience before closing with major takeaways and implications for retailers, brands, and local businesses.
Last, Stowe Boyd digs in to Google+’s often-questioned usage numbers in “Google has missed the social era, again, with Google+.” While Google has boasted about having 300 million active monthly users, a closer look reveals that a “user engagement” is broadly defined, and that Google+’s active user roster is probably closer to 10 million. Boyd uses these statistics to argue that not only has Google missed the social era, but that in 2014, the company will downplay Google+ and instead acquire other social products or platforms as they try to build more social tools into email, their dominant product.
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