New Product Idea

RE: [spiers] New Product Idea

Hello John,



Having spent 20 years in the wireless business, from the early days of
14-pound 3 watt analog beasts to the micro-digitals, I've heard all the
complaints and all the requests. I can tell you that your new product idea
with regard to simple phones is right on the mark. I've had scores of
customers tell me they want their old-style installed handsets back so they
can use them easily while driving and I've had hundreds tell me their
parents will not use their cellular phones because they're too intimidating.
When I read John's product idea message I really felt like he was talking to
me.



Yes, a simple wireless phone is a product that will solve a problem and find
a ready market. No doubt there are ready Asian handset suppliers and a
willing U.S. distribution network, but we also have a FCC that slows product
introduction. I not too familiar with the FCC Type Acceptance and the costs
associated with getting a cell phone approved for sale in this country.
Does anyone know about this?


Another way to approach this problem is to develop a Bluetooth device that
is separate from the handset but allows for easy dialing and easy-to-read
display. Still the bureaucrats at the FCC will be all over this product.



Kevin





_____

From: spiers@yahoogroups.com [mailto:spiers@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
John Spiers
Sent: Tuesday, January 03, 2006 12:13 PM
To: spiers@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [spiers] New Product Idea



Folks,

Unhappy with my cell phone, my wife brought home a non-flip phone, but it
has the same
problems... it does too much.

First it is barely workable for me (I had my 12 year old program it). The
screen is unreadable,
but pretty with 216 million colors... in bright sunshine I cannot even see
the color, let alone the
print. Just when my eyes focus on the tiny screen, the light turns off to
save battery. I can do text
messaging, IM, and all sorts of other wonderful things, features I will
never use. I could go on,
but I'll get to the point.

I went into the Cingular store with the current phone and the last phone I
was happy with ... a
model from say 5 years ago. It showed date and time, sent and received phone
calls. And an
alarm clock. It was readable in any light, since it was black and white
screen... and the battery
lasted a long time.

So, I asked the gal to move the sim card from the new phone to the old, and
she said, sorry, the
old phones didn't have sim cards, it could not be done. So I ran down my
complaints, and asked
her what she had that would work for me, and she said what I had was the
best they could offer.

She also went on to say, she gets FOUR PEOPLE A DAY with my exact same
complaint... her
uncle is an engineer at Nokia and she is thinking about tipping him off.

Well, does anyone have any aspiration to the phone biz? Seems to me if so,
there is a product
here... an extremely simple cel phone, yes digital, with a sim card, but
plain vanilla phone with
NONE of the time wasting features that entice 12 year olds. Dont worry
about nokia, they will
never make such a phone.

My daughter inherited a record collection and asked for a record player for
Christmas. Best Buy
had one with a built in radio, etc. $80... which I expect is very
profitable. Real simple, updated
cheap technology... made by a no-name company. narrow demand, but
profitable.

Who is going to make a simple, useful cel phone? One that you can just move
the sim card into
and then throw away the one Cingular made you buy? I'll be your first
customer.

John

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