The domestic product market is constantly developing to meet changing consumer needs, therefore there will be continual demand (short and long term) for products such as iLink to incorporate the functionalities of these new products and provide ease of controllability for their operations. Apple will not face any immediate competition for the iLink, as no other companies currently have the wealth of resources or capabilities that Apple presently possess. This would mean the iLink will be a unique innovation within the field of domestic products, which is an attractive selling point. The customer base for the iLink will be diverse and spread across large demographical groups. For example, older age groups will enjoy the ease of accessibility that the iLink will provide, such as being able to control their kitchen appliances (e.g. kettles) from the comfort of their living rooms and not make tedious journeys to operate them manually. Also families will be able to monitor the state of their appliances without the requirement of leaving the room (this can help to provide parental control and safety to any home, especially those with children). Therefore, it can be seen that the iLink fits well with Apple’s diversification strategy in domestic products. The reason being iLink is an innovation within the product area itself, and is well suited to customers already buying or having bought products within the domestic product/service area.
Technical DetailsThe Apple iLink is a new innovative device which provides control to all iHome domestic products. This device has been developed to give comfort and convenience to the user by incorporating a large proportion of functionality for iHome devices. This is achieved by either one portable handheld device or a main server assisted by several auxiliary units (portable or fixed). The technical description and specification for both the portable and fixed devices can be seen below:
Figure 1: Portable iLink (Home page)
Figure 2: ‘Full’ iLink Terminal (Home page)
The above views show the ‘Home’ page, whereby the user can select a room to view and choose a particular iHome product to control. Below the example of the kitchen is used, followed by the interface menu for an iHome microwave:
Figure 3: iLink view of kitchen devices
Figure 4: iLink view of microwave controls
Table 1: Technical specification of iLink (portable and integrated)
Figure 5: System Diagram of iLink
Figure 6: ‘Full’ iLink terminal in use
Touch Interface and portability:
This device fulfils Apple’s recent trend of touch user interfaces. The graphical user interface present is three dimensional hence it allows the user to interact more efficiently with the device. Because of its unique design it is extremely portable and can prove to be an effective device when the user is moving around in their house.
Home Button:
This Button has a similar function to Home Button present in IPHONE, when the user presses this button the user interface reverts to the main window. In this device, the Home button is used for the same purpose. When the user presses the Home Button, it displays all the devices which are being controlled by ILINK. Furthermore, if there are too many devices controlled by ILINK then this will be organised into different rooms. Hence, the products can be accessed like accessing a file from a folder.
External Storage:
Due to fast development in RAM technology, it is very important to have an external storage compatible device. The external storage will be used in form of memory cards. Today’s memory cards can have storage space up to 32 GB; therefore, it gives users the opportunity to enhance their personal devices by adding more memory to it (e.g. for logging errors with devices).
File server:
This feature is limited only to the ILINK full version. This is because portable version does not have enough memory. The 16GB memory for the portable device can act as user storage; however it is ideal to have a portable device to act as a server. While on the other hand we have full version with a massive 1000GB memory (1TB), which allows the user to save a large quantity of personal data (such as error logs and user manuals). The files can be accessed and modified remotely from anywhere in the world.
Error Alert:
Another feature which is implemented in this device is error detection and user notification. This idea is good conceptually, providing a monitoring mechanism for all iHome devices. The reason being ILINK is responsible for controlling electronic devices and if there is a failure or malfunction in a device the user is notified by an alarm being sounded on the portable iLink (through its on-board speaker). Hence, this allows the user to view the problem on screen and take necessary action to prevent any further damages or malfunctions.
Remote Access:
Due to its connectivity to the Internet, ILINK is capable of allowing remote access for the user. The device will be accessed by using a particular authentication method whereby the user is provided with a username and password combination. If the user needs to access the device, they must have the relevant IP address of the local network.
Firmware:
Nowadays the concept of firmware is quite common. It is a really effective technique to provide users with updates for their respective devices. This technique is being used by mobile manufacturers Nokia, Sony-Ericsson, Samsung and many other companies. Due to the market success of this concept, iLink has also capitalised on this notion also. However the firmware update is dynamic, so updates from Apple’s online database are detected, downloaded and installed automatically without user input.
Online trouble shooting and account:
In order to improve the customer services available, Apple has decided to give an account with each iLink device sold. By using these accounts, customers can share their experiences with Apple and content like wallpapers and themes for this device with other iLink users online. Furthermore if a customer is unhappy about the device or they are having problems with it, they are free to ask Apple technicians for any help via their online avenues. The user accounts will give technicians the authorisation and ability to diagnose and repair problems with the iLink from their headquarters remotely.
Solar Power:
The solar panel comes as an optional accessory with both the mobile and full version of iLink. It gives the customer the option of using stored solar energy as the power source for all iHome products including the iLink. This feature has been introduced for this device by considering different countries all around the world. For example, in the UK, weather is not very predictable and rain can be expected almost daily. Therefore the solar panels can be best utilised in tropical climates (e.g. Africa) as supposed to less luminous countries.
Safety:
The iLink power radiation is kept at a minimum. This is ensured by going into a ‘power save’ mode when not in use, and having a regulator which controls the amount of power radiation (depending on the size of the house) i.e. the distance of the devices from the iLink. This notion is in line with the global perception of environmentalism and being ‘green’.
Future Plan
Over the past 6 months a dedicated R&D team have been working on the product development cycle for the new product, the iHome iLink. The last 6 months have resulted in the completion of Market Research to identify consumer needs and the concept development stage to provide an outline specification for the iLink. In the coming 12 months, the R&D team must complete the detailed design/specification and manufacturing plan (7 months), adequately test and evaluate the final product again initial predictions (2 months) and finally suitably structure the marketing and promotion schemes for the iLink (3 months). This timeline can be seen below:
Green = Completed, Red = To be completed
Figure 7: Block Diagram of Product Development Cycle
As previously mentioned, phases 1 and 2 have already been completed in the last 6 months, as can be seen from the colour code above. The following table shows the responsibilities of the R&D team for the following year (the details of the R&D team can be seen below in the ‘Description of the Department’ section).
Table 2: Roles for R&D team
Milestones
- Identify relevant suppliers (Project Manager, Hardware/Graphical Engineers):
- Obtain inventory of supplies and raw materials needed. Find suppliers who can provide required demand at cheapest possible price.
- Development of iLink system (Project Manager, All Engineers):
- Test circuit designs for hardware components.
- Test software architectures for iLink coding and interfaces.
- Look at applicable wireless networks for communication system.
- Draft several designs for possible casing/packaging.
- Finalise software and hardware components.
- Choose networking protocols to be used.
- Determine final casing structure and build prototype to test.
- Interface all hardware, software and networking components into one system (Alpha prototype)
- Combine alpha prototype with finalised casing (Beta prototype)
- Test and evaluate performance of Beta prototype with specification
- If meets requirements, then finalise manufacturing plans for mass production.
- Market entry research (Marketing Expert(s))
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Monitor competitors in the market sector and ensure no similar products will be released before iLink. Therefore ensuring iLink is an innovation in the field and not simply another product.
- Set up public demonstrations to get consumer feedback on the current iLink system. Use this consumer feedback to change any features if necessary before product release.
- Design relevant advertising and publicity for upcoming launch of iLink.
- Devise a globalisation strategy so the iLink may be sold and produced all over the world.
Gantt Chart
Market Research
The main potential market for iLink has been identified as the users of the previously described iHome products. However, as with all new products, a proper market research needs to be undertaken before launching iLink.
Step 1 - Gather raw data
SECONDARY DATA
The first phase of gathering raw data will be partly from the performance of the iHome products in the market. Therefore, the data collected here will be secondary in nature, which is easier and more cost-effective to collect than primary data. Given below are some of the questions posed for collecting data relevant to the launch of iLink.
Q. What is the percentage of iHome product users in the market?
The percentage has been calculated from the Apple database, which turned out to be 35.5% of the total owners of electronic household appliances.
Q. What is their evaluation of the products that they are using?
This data has been also collected from the Apple database, based on the information on the Customer Satisfaction and Customer Feedback sections. Overall, all customers were extremely satisfied by the performance of the products and minimal changes to the products were suggested.
Q. How likely are they to include more iHome products into their household?
This information has been collected from how well the iHome products are doing in the market at present, and the trend of the actual sales figure over the months since the their launch.
From the above graph, the prediction for the sales of the iHome products for the rest of the year of 2009 is about 2.5 billion, which will be a determining factor for the sales of iLink.
PRIMARY DATA
The primary data will be collected with the help of three different methods:
Observing the product in use: The iLink will be distributed to 50 homes currently using most of the iHome products. They will be asked to use the product repeatedly over a 15-day period.
Interviews: The participants will then be interviewed and their feedback will be taken into account in order to make further modifications to the product.
Surveys: A web-based questionnaire will be created. Some of the questions in it and their respective answers are given as follows:
Step 2 - Interpret raw data in terms of customer needs
The Needs and Attributes of the device must be highlighted, some of which are given as follows:
Step 3 - Organize the needs into a hierarchy
The features of the iLink product need to be diverse enough in order to cover all the four types of Needs.
Apple needs to make sure that all customer needs, both articulated and unarticulated are served.
Step 4 - Establish the relative importance of the needs
The list of things Apple will have to take into account in the order of their importance are as follows:
- The iLink need to be affordable by most classes of the society.
- Two different versions need to be available:
- in-built in the house (‘full’ version), uses cable connections, more expensive
- portable, uses wireless interface, cheaper
- Constantly send updates to the devices in order for an improved system.
- Instantly process error messages from the devices in order to clear bugs.
Step 5 - Reflect on the results and the process
The marketing research methods specified are thorough and comprehensive. In order to gain practical knowledge of the research and boost consumer opinion of the product, further development must be carried out to make the product more commercially appealing. This can be done by product testing or participating in trade shows, during which knowledge can be gained about buyers’ mentality and expectations and thereby gaining a better understanding of the market.
Concept Research and Testing
Concept Research needs to be undertaken with the help of SWOT and PESTEL analyses. The important findings of these analyses are:
- iLink will work as a control for only iHome products. Therefore it is expected to increase the sales of the whole range.
- If not thoroughly explained, iLink might be thought of as a luxury in this current global economic recession.
- iLink may be thought to cause an environmental hazard due to its wireless interfaces, and that it why the cable interface option is also there. Also the wireless interfaces will strictly follow the ICNIRP (International Council on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection) RF radiation standards.
Concept Testing can be undertaken by using prototypes of the device and virtual reality.
Description of the Department
Apple is capable of producing iLink due to its well reputed R&D department. Apple’s R&D department has been solely responsible for technological innovations such as the iPhone, iMac and most notably, the iPod. Therefore the design and production of a technologically advanced product such as the iLink will be plausible due to the expertise in these areas of Apple’s R&D team. For this particular product, Apple will require the following R&D mix:
- Project Manager – Several years of experience in setting, meeting and adhering to deadlines/milestones as well as providing continuous proficient leadership of R&D group.
- Hardware Engineer – Design & construction of electronic components with at least several years experience in top-level and cutting-edge technology
- Software Engineer – Design & construction of software components, including experience using numerous programming languages (e.g. Java, C++, MATLAB, Assembly, VHDL etc.)
- Graphical Engineer – Design & construction of casing/packaging, requires experience in industrial manufacturing processes and product design
- Network Engineer – Design & construction of wireless communication system. Advanced understanding of wireless networks and their properties is essential.
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Marketing Expert(s) – Responsible for market research, advertising and business strategy. Must have experience in the promotion and marketing of consumer electronic products.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Apple R&D team assigned to the new product the iLink believe that it will play a key role in Apple’s diversification strategy into the domestic product market. It has been discovered through research that there is no clear market leader in this sector, paving the way for Apple to potentially fill this void in the future as it has done in the Consumer Electronics marketplace. Additionally, as the iLink is the first of its kind in the market, Apple will not face any initial competition from rival companies, giving the iLink the best chance of success. In the event that a rival company does seriously challenge the iHome domestic product range, due to Apple’s proficiency and success in alternate market sectors they can allocate more expertise and resources toward the domestic product market to strengthen their position. The R&D team have specified the following recommendations to the management board for the initial and ongoing success of the iLink:
- The iLink should aim to adapt to the global market, in order to provide the greatest chance of success.
- Appropriate pricing strategies should be employed to maximise the initial and future sales of the iLink
- The unique functionality of the iLink should be a main marketing point for its publicity and advertising
- Apple should have ongoing R&D into improved services (e.g. remote troubleshooting) and updates for the iLink
- Management reviews of the iLink business plan should be regular to ensure the direction and success of iLink correlates to original predictions (e.g. profits/turnover).
Due to Apple’s global brand image and reputation, as well as their loyal customer base, the iLink should have an appropriate environment to develop and eventually succeed. This along with the lack of market dominance and novelty of the product design (first of its kind) mean the iLink has tremendous market potential for the future, provided the above recommendations are adhered to.
References
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