Customized phone model can continue to go?

Recently, foreign media reports, Facebook has dismissed the Android Starter Facebook Home development team, which means that Facebook and the industry had high expectations of Facebook's dream to enter the smart phone market is ended. This can not help but remind us of Google's Project Ara custom phone project. So what happens to ProjectAra from Facebook Home's defeat? What are the similarities and analogies?

Here, we may wish to briefly introduce the Facebook Home has been forgotten in the industry project. In short, Facebook Home can turn a regular Android phone into a Facebook phone because it places the social network at the heart of the Android phone system (the Android phone is switched on and the screen lock is Facebook's various applications).

As we all know, Google has many built-in applications through the Android system, but it does not occupy the entire screen (or the home page) of the smartphone, in other words, the user still has great autonomy in setting the homepage. Usually in the phone's lock screen and the home page will be presented with a variety of updated information to prompt the user to see if there are missed calls, new mail, unread messages and App updates and other information, but when users use Facebook Home, these Information that naturally happens disappears. Here, FacebookHome obviously has invaded the user's smartphone home page suspicion. Just after Facebook Home was released, a survey by well-known technology blog Mashable showed that 77% of the voting users chose "yes" in their Facebook Home invasion, and 84% of the voting users are very concerned about this "Invasion" shows that Facebook Home gives users a strong buy and sell feeling, and this is the most disgusting user.

From this point of view ProjectAra, although some users can find suitable for their own needs accessories module, but because of Google's ProjectAra smart phone set to determine the framework of the design, so that smart phones as consumer electronics products, users in the appearance of a large margin Reduce, resulting in the homogenization of the ProjectAra modular handset look. To know the appearance of smart phones in the user's decision to choose also plays a very important role. Especially today and in the future, where the hardware and software of smartphones are becoming more and more homogeneous, design may be one of the major driving forces that determine the user's purchase. Therefore, on the face of it, ProjectAra gives users a differentiated choice. In fact, it is an indisputable fact that the user's choice is greatly limited despite the fact that the appearance of the main factor that determines the user's purchase may not be as strong as FacebookHome. . It should be noted that, due to the framework of ProjectAra provides the size and size of each accessory module, this restriction is also reflected in the partners.

Secondly, from the release point of view, Facebook launched Facebook Home intended to increase the number of users using Facebook, even heavy users will choose Facebook Home, but before the Facebook application will naturally be stopped, the end result is nothing more than Facebook At best, users simply switch to another form of Facebook application, only the name of the difference only, which is what we often say carrying a holding Shen side. From this, FacebookHome so-called can increase the number of users is nothing more than money from the left pocket moved the right pocket, but the total amount of money is unchanged. From the perspective of increasing the use of their own application users, Facebook Home is completely superfluous.

Specific to Project Ara, Google is nothing more than allowing more users to join their Android ecosystem. However, due to its customized nature, there is undoubtedly higher demand for users, which is why the industry believes that ProjectAra's target audience may be more heavily smartphone users. Similar to the market effect of Facebook's heavy users, heavy users will choose Project Ara and accordingly they will give up other Android phones. Therefore, Project Ara is of little significance in terms of increasing Android ecosystem users.

Third, from a partner's point of view, initially Facebook Home supported only by one HTC handset manufacturer and introduced the HTC First handset. In fact, Facebook does not want to allow other manufacturers to support. Allegedly, Facebook has worked with many mainstream mobile phone manufacturers, including Samsung, to contact, hope they support FacebookHome, but these companies just use the "do not want to reach a relevant cooperation with Facebook," a general statement. As for the unwillingness to cooperate with Facebook, in addition to the aforementioned HTCFirst poor sales, mainly because most manufacturers are considering the development of their own theme applications, that is, the partners own interests (what can be obtained from the cooperation or lost ) Is crucial.

Similarly, ProjectAra is also facing the problem of partner (component manufacturer) support, which undoubtedly involves the cost factor, but the cost and the required different modules of the shipments are closely related. Unfortunately, shipments of customized modules (components) that are cost-related are hard to predict by vendors, including Google itself. The key is that it's hard for parts makers to determine their break-even point in this model. This determines the participation and support of parts manufacturers will not be high, at least with the current brand of smart phone 整机 manufacturers compared. After all, the amount of each module required by these manufacturers of smart phones is determined, as for the final whole machine to sell good or bad or make a loss and the parts manufacturers do not have any relationship. That is, with the machine manufacturers, component manufacturers have some assurances of interests, and the risk of cooperation with Google Project Ara is much smaller.

Based on the above comparative analysis, we believe that both Facebook Home and ProjectAra are intended to expand their user base through customization (the former through software and the latter using hardware), but in terms of market, users, partners, etc., this The so-called customization is counterproductive, limiting and harming the choices and interests of users and partners, and Facebook and Google have the absolute advantage in their respective fields (social applications and smartphone ecosystems) that they are ultimately customized Strategic goals are also greatly reduced. It is in this case, Facebook Home after several weeks go first, then how far is Project Ara able to go?