Nowadays, more and more Internet companies are making hardware. In addition to the top it giants such as Apple and Google, some small and medium-sized entrepreneurial enterprises in China have begun to actively deploy the hardware field after their achievements. For example, according to recent media reports, the world-renowned mobile phone photo software camera360 has launched a hardware peripheral product-plug-in lens, which can be connected to a mobile phone for better photography. Of course, similar to camera360, there is also moji weather-moji weather Development Company moji Fengyun launched the first smart hardware air fruit in March. This product is a smart air detection device, supports temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, PM2.5 and other data Detection and reminder.
Although more companies may be involved in the hardware field in the future, we have to ask a few more questions about whether the hardware bowl is so delicious?
From the case of Google and Apple's smart hardware layout, this field is actually both risk and opportunity. For example, after the launch of Google Glasses, an uproar was triggered. However, as this product became increasingly familiar to the world, problems also emerged, such as whether it would infringe user privacy, will it look strange to wear this pair of glasses? Recently, there is another saying that Google Glass is also addictive and it is more uncomfortable than drinking alcohol.
Looking at the sales volume of Google Glasses, someone gave this figure. From this figure, it is not hard to see that the sales volume of Google Glasses in 2014 is still not very large, and it will not reach a considerable sales volume until 2018, in addition, this is only a theoretical optimistic prediction.
It is undeniable that Google has money, so it can continue to invest in product updates, promotions, and other aspects, until 2018 or more. Furthermore, even if Google Glasses fail, it will not be damaged because Google will not put money first when making some products.
For companies like camera360 and moji weather, the purpose of hardware is simply to make money, find a reasonable business model, and say goodbye to the fate of burning money. Among the two products, the air effects of moji.com may be more disruptive and practical. As for the camera360 plug-in lens, its significance is to fill in the gap between traditional mobile phones and professional cameras-the camera effect is much better than that of traditional mobile phones, pricing is cheaper than professional and high-end cameras. Theoretically, both products have certain market prospects. Will this be a successful business model?
It must be noted that the hardware products launched by camera360 and moji weather do not have a special technical threshold, especially the plug-in lenses of camera360. Although the products are not available yet, they should not be very complicated, because these enterprises are unlikely to take a huge risk to develop a very complex product. This means that once the industry is mature, many competitors may flock to the market and seize the market by blindly selling prices. For camera360, although it has hundreds of millions of users, it is unknown whether they will pay for the hardware.
Moreover, it seems that these hardware is not particularly combined with the advantages of APP products. If it is just a plug-in lens, imitation and copying are still very simple; if some of these features must be achieved through more in-depth software advantages, this is a relatively reliable solution. Just like some hardware products, they must rely on the cloud computing and big data technologies of Internet giants to provide supporting services. In this mode, software accumulation will become the key to the success of hardware products, but the two hardware mentioned above may not be.
In addition, the initial development of such hardware products is relatively high, and it must be sold at a loss. With the increase in sales, it is possible to smooth the cost of the early stage and make money. Therefore, hardware is not as simple as trial and error. We must have a complete set of systems. When products are not welcome, we can adjust our strategy in time to further match our needs, in this way, trial and error are valuable. At the same time, I also suggest that for such hardware products, it is critical to reduce the sales cost through network channels. In addition, after-sales services must be improved. Once a consumer encounters problems, it must be resolved as soon as possible.
In any case, camera360 and moji weather push hardware products are encouraging. Of course, there will be more apps like this in the future. By actively deploying hardware products to expand business models, not all apps can succeed. Because app product features, hardware product positioning, performance, and quality are all related to the product's market prospects. The hardware bowl is really not that delicious. (Text/Wang yijian QQ: 543415188)
Is the hardware bowl so delicious?
