Will Windows 8 hybrids kill laptops and ultrabooks?

Most PC companies are lining up tablets, hybrids and Touch-screen ultrabooks using the Windows 8 and Windows RT operating systems to be launched in October 2012 (click here for a Technically Personal article on the topic).

I wonder whether the Windows 8 hybrids will kill the Ultrabooks category? and what will happen to good old non-SSD laptops?

While I think that there is ample room for tablets and hybrids, I still think that Ultrabooks, non-SSD laptops, and even desktops will survive for a while. Here's why:

• Price: While few companies have given any indication of pricing, Samsung has announced a $1,199 price for the Series 7 hybrid (11.6" screen, Intel Core i7, 4 GB Ram, 128 GB SSD) and a $649 price for the Series 5 tablet (11.6" screen, Intel Atom, 2 GB Ram, 64 GB SSD). These are significantly higher  price points compared to today's Ultrabooks ($700-1000), non-SSD laptops ($200-700) and desktops (even lower). The tablet is priced lower than the current generation of high-end tablets (64 GB iPad at $699), but with bigger screen, and more memory.

• Screen size: There is a significant segment of corporate workers that do need a screen bigger than 14" for their work. I am sure 14" hybrids will eventually be announced. However I expect the price points to be much higher.

• Emergence of the touch-screen Ultrabook: HP has announced yesterday (click here) that it will be launching the Spectre XT TouchSmart (15.6" touch screen, with NFC for $1,399) and an Envy Ultrabook 4 (14" touch screen Ultrabook). This sub-category seems like a compromise between touch-screen, media-creation using keypad and large screen size. I personally don't see why many folks wanting a fixed keypad would want a high-priced touch screen. Imagine stretching out and touching the screen to consume media while the keypad is still fixed to the computer...too un-ergonomic :-(

For these reasons, I feel non-touch Ultrabooks, non-touch non-SSD laptops and the good old desktops still have ample market potential. Of course, I do expect the price war going on in non-SSD laptops and desktops to soon affect non-touch Ultrabooks... which means even better deals for consumers!

Let me know what you think!

What should Best Buy do to survive?...part deux

I blogged recently about Best Buy's problems and what I think it should do (click here).

Best Buy has come up with a new branding, service and store layout strategy in June (explained here in an Ad Age article).  Their new tagline is "Making technology work for you". They will change store layouts to aid customer decision making using Central Knowledge Desks, and will move the Geek Squad to the front of the store.

I recently read a Fast Company article by David Brier, a brand identity expert, about Best Buy's branding (click here). Here are some excerpts of the article:

Best Buy, your culture is about unloading inventory, not helping the customer. Taking a page from Apple’s retail strategy by adding “Central Knowledge Desks” will not replace doing something real and authentic. My personal experiences unfortunately have not changed what is inbred into your culture.

But let’s get more fundamental: That slogan is not only tired, it is a death sentence that is bland, old, worn, uninspired and not reflective of a single strand of your customer’s aspirations. It reeks of “marketing speak” and “committee-itis.”

The strongest brands stand for something as well being opposed something else...

• Apple is opposed to technology that sets the rules and asks people to adapt; it champions technology that adapts to the needs of the people.
• Nike stands for athletic achievement and is opposed to sitting on your ass.
• Dyson stands for no loss of suction and is opposed to stagnant complacency, first making obsolete the old guards of vacuum cleaners and then doing the same with their own technological solutions.

.. Best Buy, what do you stand for? Also, what are you opposed to? Until you answer those questions, the likelihood of rising from the ashes is grim at best.

Only after answering those questions can you honestly determine what to sound like, what to look like, what your design aesthetic is, and why anyone should care.

And if the best you’ve got is “Making technology work for you,” then the likelihood anyone will care is very slim.

 I tend to agree with David that a brand needs to clearly communicate what it stands for and what it does not. It is one of the essentials of clear differentiation in the customers' minds.

So how should Best Buy differentiate itself (and communicate what it does and does not stand for)?

As I discussed in the previous post, I think services should be a key part of Best Buy's revival (and survival) strategy. I feel, they should be saying "We sell, install, maintain and replace (if broken) technology devices. We do not  just stock the devices and leave it up to you to figure out which product you need, and handle the shipping, unwrapping, installation, maintenance and replacement of the device (unlike our competitors)."

I think "Making technology work for you" does capture parts of this message (and in this sense I disagree with David's assessment). Maybe Best Buy can do better by reinforcing the full extent of the differentiation message in their commercials.

Let me know what you think.