The second Macworld World Asia 2012 Apple industry chain of the General Assembly was held in Beijing from August 2 to 5. As a benchmark of the global consumer electronics industry, Macworld is trying to demonstrate the trends of mobile internet industry, and to provide better service and more potential for developers as a platform.
“Interconnected experiences, Lead the future” was the theme of this exhibition, which included an international forum, as well as the largest peripheral products and accessories show. On the forum, with an aim to “Define the Next Forefront”, participants discussed the application and developing trends of iOS-led products ecosystem on industrial design, industrial application, system development, mobile internet marketing, video and photography. The accessories show was actually a fans carnival with the latest and coolest technologies, as well as interaction and communication between Apple fans. From the exhibition, we can’t help thinking: what can mobile devices bring us, and how can they change our future life?
Huge potential markets
As the publishing of iPhone in 2007, people were surprisingly brought into an intelligent world, in which a mobile phone can replace a computer in surfing, playing and socializing. And then, the appearance of iPad gave us- ers more hope that the mobile devices could be more convenient and powerful.
According to IMS Research, a leading supplier of market research for the electronics industry, the worldwide smart phone sales to end users in 2011 were 0.42 billion, accounting for 28% of the whole mobile device sales, and this proportion was estimated to be 50%, with a sales volume of 1 billion in 2016. More and more people are experiencing the course of creating, storing, managing and sharing contents with a smart mobile device, everywhere and anytime.
One thing the mobile device can offer is the integrated function. Most people are not willing to use complicated products instinctively, which is the main design concept of multi-functional goods. Just click one button, it’s good to read, or watch movies, or shop online, or hold a meeting, even hail a taxi on a small mobile screen.
Another feature of the mobile internet service is immediacy and timeliness. The most obvious advantage of mobile devices is portability and flexibility. After work, more and more people are willing to go out and relax themselves with several friends. How to find a suitable place and an innovative activity is the biggest problem to be solved, and now, a smart phone can do that.
To be much smarter and more interactive
According to the statistics from iResearch, a leading organization focusing on in-depth research in China’s internet industry, end users of smart mobile devices spend 42.4 hours effective time on them, in which 75% are spent on intelligent application, 13% on calling, 8% on surfing on the internet, and 4% on texting. People are trying to get useful information by mobile devices promptly wherever they are, and more and more excellent platforms like Facebook provide such possibilities. The old content consumption models are passive and monotonous, while through the new devices users can enjoy the content actively. Smart phones have inspired a wave of service and product innovations in cross-industry applications, from which users can get useful information about travelling, catering, education, medical care and entertainment, for instance, connecting an extra device with smart phones, one can know how his or her health condition is, and send useful messages to the doctor to build up a long-term health record. All of these require the operation and research process to be smarter, closer to life, and possible to provide suitable service with more added values.
On the forum, developers and users were exchanging ideas on how to make the applications much smarter, and then drew a conclusion that the application should be simpler and more interactive. Now people are experiencing a new content sharing model with unlimited capacity provided by mobile devices. To get a comment and receive a flower in Changba, a popular singing application, is the pursuit of its users; putting favorite things on the internet and sharing them in Mogujie, a popu- lar community for shoppers, attracts millions of loyalty users successfully; reading e-magazines like BAZAAR can also get access to links of glitzy videos or online activities by clicking one button…. All the present phenomena indicate that people are trying to find true and useful information even when walking on the street or lying on the bed. Being more interactive is a trend based on users’ needs, which in turn creates new requirements and experiences for people.
Accessories, also necessities
The four-day accessories show was a highlight of this exhibition, consisting of a creative world premiere of “First Look” exhibitions, the mobile interconnected experience zone, a unique Macworld show, music square live events for investment and procurement, and theme days for children and the disabled. From the various exhibits, people were surprised at designers’ imagination and expectation for the products.
First, every corner of Apple products can have accessories. Besides the frequently-seen covers, screen and keyboard protectors for mobile phones, pads and PCs, there are many other useful products like mobile power, adjustable arms, various speakers with alarm function or embedded in the neck pillow, a jacket with many pockets which can contain all the carry-on articles in an invisible way, etc. Designers are making efforts to create more added values and give a product multiple functions, for example, they insert a mobile power into a light or phone cover, give Bluetooth function to a keyboard and so on. If one needs to go out when a baby is sleeping alone at home, he or she can see the baby on the mobile phone via a monitor with 360-degree rotary camera at home. In a word, a mobile device can do what you haven’t imagined.
Second, they can be judged by appearances. A good design needs to attract people at the first glance. Hues, patterns and materials are all good methods. Many manufacturers have cooperated with famous brands like Ferrari and celebrated painters like Jimmy to obtain users. As most of the Apple fans are young people, the endeavor on exterior innovations is of great success.
Third, high technology is the essence and core. Wireless technologies and devices are the highlights of this exhibition, including speakers with Bluetooth and Wifi function, cloud storage service and products, etc.
Last but not least, to be ecofriendly is a new trend for the accessory. Materials like liquid silicone and aluminum alloy have been widely used in many products. A salesman from a Taiwan company specializing in manufacturing covers told the reporter confidently that their products had a wide range of clients because of the special eco-friendly and healthy materials. Another booth that attracted lots of audiences on the exhibition was a company manufacturing phone cases with recycled water bottles.
What’s the picture like in your mind about the future life with smarter mobile devices?
