<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Dec 30, 2011 at 9:12 AM, Dr. H. Nikolaus Schaller <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:hns@goldelico.com">hns@goldelico.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<br>The other strategy is the one taken by Apple. They have a very low<br>
marketing budget compared to other companies. And the media are<br>
still happy to report every small move at no cost...<br>
</blockquote></div><div><br></div><div>... which is because Apple is super secretive, so even "rumors" become big news.<br></div><div><br></div><div>While this is a great strategy, it becomes difficult to achieve if you are trying to have everything "open".</div>
<div><br></div><div>What I think is lost in all of this is the question: Who is the intended customer?</div><div><br></div><div>I've seen some people talk about linux geeks, etc etc. However, at least for the first rev of the GTA04,</div>
<div>it's _hardware_ geeks, and hardcore ones at that, which is the focus.</div><div><br></div><div>There are lots of unix-heads that would love a phone that is "free-er" then Android or Apple let you be.</div>
<div>But having to buy a phone, then cannibalize it with another kit you buy? It's definitely outside the</div><div>mainstream.</div><div><br></div><div>Now, it's not that I don't want this project to succeed. I think it's a great cause -- I was one of the early</div>
<div>GTA01 (neo) buyers.</div><div><br></div><div>For me, I don't have time right now to assemble a Freerunner and a GTA04 to get a working phone</div><div>"with possibilities". I want the completed package, then end result. The neo was shipped with the slogan</div>
<div>"some assembly required", which gave you the right idea. I thought that it just needed a good software</div><div>stack to make things great. (I still do).</div><div><br></div><div>What might work is having people invest, rather then "buy" something. That's something I could wrap</div>
<div>my head around. "Make the open phone happen -- Invest now". Don't make it complicated or expensive.</div><div>"$10 in one 'block'" kind of thing. Maybe 40 blocks would allow the "investor" to see a completed phone,</div>
<div>if one was to ever be produced. Make the risks clear -- the "open phone" might never come to market,</div><div>but if we get 5000 blocks sold, we then have the muscle to negotiate with the big boys.</div><div>
<br></div><div>The issue here is what is in it for the "little guy", and I'd be a bit fuzzy. 40 blocks gets a phone, but</div><div>what if I buy 2? Do I get the use of a phone for a week? :P I also don't know the legal side of calling</div>
<div>it an "investment" (rather then a donation or a purchase). But this would be simpler to "market", and</div><div>would have better funding potential then selling the kit.</div><div><br></div><div>As an aside -- if I have extra cash, I might be willing to buy a kit or two -- but they would either end up</div>
<div>as donations to others, or as a dust collector. So it's not that I'm not willing to put money into it. But </div><div>I also realize that one or two more kits won't make this happen in isolation.</div><div>
<br></div><div>Thanks</div>