Wednesday, August 04, 2004
danger sadly misses the boat...
In case you haven't noticed, Danger, the US developer and manufacturer of the "hiptop" (aka t-mobile "sidekick")wireless communication device, has been making moves and getting press.
2 weeks ago they announced a deal with Sharp to manufacture their devices. A move that was well received by analysts because Danger needs a capable sourcing partner for color displays, and Sharp offers key relationships with mobile providers outside of the US that could help Danger gain traction outside of the US. This move is a definite "upgrade" if I may borrow a term from the amusing folks at "best week ever."
On the same day, they announced more funding from a variety of partners. Another upgrade.
Today, they announced the hiptop2 with t-mobile service and will deliver the product in the fall. While the product looks slick and is now of a smaller size (they claim 25%), a lot of features seem to be missing: video recording, ota synchronization, bluetooth, and tri-band support. In a world dominated by next gen features and carriers who are looking to sell next generation added value services, danger has missed the boat.
While the product looks great and now features a built-in camera with VGA resolution, a flash, photo caller ID, support for Yahoo! messenger and IMAP support for exchange, its a definite downgrade.
However, the missing features outlined about are much more important to corporate users and the hiptop2's new feature set may just be enough to appeal to teens and young adults looking to upgrade from the first generations of the hiptop.
Bummer. I really liked the innovation of the first hiptop and danger's interface has always been well regarded.
2 weeks ago they announced a deal with Sharp to manufacture their devices. A move that was well received by analysts because Danger needs a capable sourcing partner for color displays, and Sharp offers key relationships with mobile providers outside of the US that could help Danger gain traction outside of the US. This move is a definite "upgrade" if I may borrow a term from the amusing folks at "best week ever."
On the same day, they announced more funding from a variety of partners. Another upgrade.
Today, they announced the hiptop2 with t-mobile service and will deliver the product in the fall. While the product looks slick and is now of a smaller size (they claim 25%), a lot of features seem to be missing: video recording, ota synchronization, bluetooth, and tri-band support. In a world dominated by next gen features and carriers who are looking to sell next generation added value services, danger has missed the boat.
While the product looks great and now features a built-in camera with VGA resolution, a flash, photo caller ID, support for Yahoo! messenger and IMAP support for exchange, its a definite downgrade.
However, the missing features outlined about are much more important to corporate users and the hiptop2's new feature set may just be enough to appeal to teens and young adults looking to upgrade from the first generations of the hiptop.
Bummer. I really liked the innovation of the first hiptop and danger's interface has always been well regarded.
# posted by Chad Stoller @ 10:50 PM 
