by bbotje » 10 Jul 2005, 00:40
Technology is great. No single doubt.
Guess Fingerworks is too small/intellectual to produce and market efficient and market with profit. The makers are bright engineers rather than marketeers.
(A purple keybooard, the typography on the mini... com'on)
Problem is: Learning curve / acceptation, distribution flaky, in europe you get order them at ergo shops, not a very hip or mainstream outlet. And the price is high, no ads, no decent PR, and most important: never saw a shop that offered a test ride - who spends so many bucks for nice but 'scary' avant garde stuff you can't try first?
We do - not the crowd. Remember Apple who had 'Windows' in 1984 but nobody bought Apples. A decade later Gates Windows came and the crowd said, look at that, isn't that brilliant. Yeah, duh!
Solution: a big partner with a feel for new tech. Apple already implemented 2 finger trackpad scrolling (horizontal and vertical) on new generation PB books. Jobs LOVES stuff like this. If I were him: Start with a three finger trackpad setup, 5 simple much used gestures or so and let the consumers choose if they need more.
Another advantage: Sell as Bundled extra or built in hard&software, so costs drop for manufacterer and buyer. Biggest Profits are made with lots (LOTS) of smaller margins. Works great.
Imagine a bigger touchdrawerpad sliding out of your Powerbook... I hope the Fingerworks Inventors get a fair share.
We'll see more of this technology. For sure. No moving parts, your fingers and your own personal chords, always a fit.
Greetings
BB
"Lots of people get lost trying trying to define the difference between a maze and a labyrinth."