The Smartphone marketplace is crowded. Yes, crowded like the Railroads business or even the business of Oil in the latter part of the 19th century and early 20th century. Why? Because there is immense opportunity not only in the device market but also adjacent opportunities where industries are being transformed through adoption of these 'tools' and technologies. So when you we say that the marketplace is crowded, it may suggest a sense of too many players in a limited market but rather, it is an immense, evolving and growing market.
Our entry into this space is a little unusual with the majority of new Smartphone 'brands' coming from Asia although there are some limited Country or Region specific brands as well. So for a small town company 30 miles to the south west of London, you could say we're just a little ambitious. There is tremendous scope for creative output through the assimilation of technology, process and business innovation.
Prices are being driven down due to the sheer volume of the components and devices being built to meet demand. And this is our calling - being able to take advantage of the market dynamics to assimilate both design and technology through partnerships and bring about a wholemeal 'product experience' and over time make it accessible and affordable to all.
We've had the good fortune to work with some fantastic Industry players who have helped us to bring together a mix of functionality that is applicable to multiple use cases. From chipset manufacturers like Qualcomm, Mediatek and Rockchip to more recent and emerging community relationships with CyanogenMod, Paranoid Android, Jolla and FireFox. We believe the market needs strong, independent and focused players who can work with the broader community to build great hardware, user experiences and applications. With our first product going on sale via our online store we aim to validate our approach to the market.
The journey is getting more interesting with margin pressures hitting existing players, both small and large. However with opportunities abound and with support from the developer and enthusiast community, this is going to be a fun ride for the most part. Finally, regardless of the outcome, in the interim at least, the consumer wins.
