Technical Sweetness is Not Enough

When you see something that is technically sweet, you just go for it and do it and after getting the success, you argue about what to do with it! That is the way it was with the atomic bomb!

A case in point is The 2011 Chevrolet Volt. It is powered by electricity without being tethered to electrical outlets, Eco-friendly, emission free and blah blah! Its corporate parent General Motors, the wounded giant recalled from bankruptcy by a US $57 billion, must sell the Volt in large numbers to make even a slight change in its bottom line! With the announced base price of US $41000 (expected on road price in India being Rs. 35 to 40 Lakh), the car just isn't going to make the kind of sell that will matter to GM. "There are not enough idiots who will buy it" says Johan de Nysschen, the president of Audi America.

The technologies that the Volt's engineers developed could make the world a better place to live after many years from now, but by then the GM may be broken up or sold for scrap!
Moral: Brilliant engineering doesn't necessarily yield a commercial success.


On the other hand, the case of technical failure need not result in commercial failure! Apple's iPhone 4, has two antennas wrapped around the edges of the device. Though its a solution to the problem of wireless reception, there is a big blunder! Hold the phone in a particular way- the infamous "death grip"- you connect the two antennas and your call is dropped! Consumer Reports, the nonprofit rater of consumer products, decided not to recommend iPhone 4. Many comedians poked fun about it on TV talk shows.



Yet none of these seem to have made any dent to the iPhone 4 sales, which are already in the millions! Apple says it is selling every single unit it can make. Apple products have bold and clever industrial (not much technical) design. They are stylish and Captivating; GM cars, not that much. Its either the matter of pure luck, or the unanalyzable quality known as "charisma". GM long ago lost that charisma and apple has it- in tonnes! "For he that has, to him shall be given, and he that has not, from him shall be taken even that which he has.."