Cell-Phone Wars* Speed has been critical in business ever since the California Gold Rush. The…

Cell-Phone Wars*

Speed has been critical in business ever since the
California Gold Rush. The cell-phone industry is a good example of an intensely
competitive business that places a premium on speed and innovation. On July,
2008 Apple released iPhone 3G with a faster interface and a sleek design. Then
on November 21, 2008, Research in Motion (RIM) released their new Blackberry
phone—Storm. Gone were the buttons; the Blackberry Storm had a fully
incorporated touch screen to compete with the iPhone. Soon thereafter, Google entered
the fray with its ambitious G-1 phone that has both a
View complete question »

Cell-Phone Wars*

Speed has been critical in business ever since the
California Gold Rush. The cell-phone industry is a good example of an intensely
competitive business that places a premium on speed and innovation. On July,
2008 Apple released iPhone 3G with a faster interface and a sleek design. Then
on November 21, 2008, Research in Motion (RIM) released their new Blackberry
phone—Storm. Gone were the buttons; the Blackberry Storm had a fully
incorporated touch screen to compete with the iPhone. Soon thereafter, Google entered
the fray with its ambitious G-1 phone that has both a touch screen and a flip
out keyboard as well as a tracking ball for surfing the Web. “It’s a Gold Rush.
The cell-phone industry is a good example of an intensely competitive business
that places a premium on speed and innovation. On July, 2008 Apple released
iPhone 3G with a faster interface and a sleek design. Then on November 21,
2008, Research in Motion (RIM) released their new Blackberry phone—Storm. Gone
were the buttons; the Blackberry Storm had a fully incorporated touch screen to
compete with the iPhone. Soon thereafter, Google entered the fray with its
ambitious G-1 phone that has both a touch screen and a flip out keyboard as
well as a tracking ball for surfing the Web. “It’s like having a popular
nightclub. You have to keep opening new ones. To stay cool, you have to speed
up,” says Michael Greeson, president of market researcher Diffusion Group, Inc.

In order to survive, RIM, Nokia, and other cell-phone
manufacturers have become masters at project management. They have been able to
cut the market release time of new phones from 12–18 months to 6–9 months. What
is at stake is over 500 million in forecasted sales of new cell phones each
year

View less »