less is more
I was recently temporarily seduced by a NokiaN97 handset, with it's myriad of features, sliding keyboard, built-in sat-nav and all the rest.
In the end it went back, it was just too clunky, too complicated and the fact that they had thrown the kitchen sink at it made it ultimately unusable and a time-suck to do even the simplest of tasks.
In the quest for the iphone killer Nokia and many others bow to conventional wisdom that in order to beat the competition you need to cram more 'value', more stuff, more features into your thing.
Jimmy in this office just showed me his John's Phone as the antithesis of that.
They understand that for some people a phone is just that. A phone.
It makes and receives calls. End of story.
No text messaging.
No camera.
No apps.
One ringtone.
Here's their line.
'John’s Phone is the world’s simplest cell phone: you call, you hang up, and that’s it.'
John's phone does contain a simple address book, it's a deliciously analogue paper notepad and mini-pen, it's one nod to personalisation comes in it's 5 colour choices.
Snow (white), business (black), tree (brown), grass(green) and sweet (pink).
Sits alongside the Flip camera in the Less is More file - subset the product IS the marketing - and testament that doing one thing great is always preferable to doing lots of things with mediocrity.
