How will we be manufacturing and consuming electronic products in 2025?
Three Royal College of Art graduates believe we won’t be going to high street or out of town stores to purchase our manufactured consumer electronics. Instead we will purchase and modify through the O.System:
“Using printable electronics and rapid manufacturing processes a more local consumer electronics industry is born. In this system, people select their electronic products online. They can then visit their local O.Store to talk to the technician about the purchase and add personal touches. O.Products can constantly evolve through update cards in the post, while old electronic cards are sent back for re-manufacture. O.update is about understanding our needs and living in a transparent system where they are uniquely tailored to individual people.”
We increasingly need to take a sustainable approach to how we manufacture, use and update consumer electronics. This is not just about the brands we purchase but how we update and modify them to meet our changing needs and as the products degrades over time.
Peter Krige, Hannes Harms and Alex du Preez have an interesting vision. It is a vision that resonates with an emerging trend for people to modify and hack their homes and wider environment.
IKEA appear to be entering the consumer electronics market with the launch earlier this year of the UPPLEVA furniture line and the KNÄPPA camera.
The UPPLEVA furniture line aims to tackle the issue most of us have - device proliferation with the associated issue of multiple remote controls and mess of cables. The range is designed to intergrate HD LED television, speakers, discs and mp3 players into one tidy system operated by one remote control. There is a rather nifty wireless subwoofer.
The simple solution extends to whole experience. They have clearly thought about the onscreen user experience, something many manufacturers fail to do. Navigating the settings is clear, non-technical and uses the whole screen space. The remote is also designed to be easy to use, with additional functions available if required. A good example of people centred design.
The range has a retro 1950s and 1960s feel to it, harking back to the era where furniture and technology was often integrated. Customers will be able to choose from various designs and colours within the range. The HD LED television will be available from 24 to 46 inches and will be manufacured by the Chinese manufacturer TCL.
The range will be initially launched in mainland Europe this year and then globally in 2013.
IKEA have identified a gap in the market for a simple product that bypasses the fuss and bother of technical specification; to provide a convenient, neat and attractive solution. What is interesting is that it feels like a meaningful extension to their product propositioning and brand. Consumer electronics is not something IKEA are known for, yet it seems natural and in keeping.
Another great insight that has informed the development of the product is that in the mass market there is little differentiation. Apart from at the top-end of the market, most HD ready televisions have similar specifications and picture quality. The real differentiators are intuitive design, a simple and convenient experience and price. The current economic climate has impacted retail, and there is a clear trend towards products at either the cheaper more affordable or luxury end of the market, so this could be a smart move.
It will be intriguing to see how the range does and whether they will add a new twist to the profitable but challenging consumer electronics market. With IKEA's approach and the much anticipated launch of Apple TV, it will be interesting to see how consumers and the established players respond.
Here is a promotional film:
Here is another nice clip demonstrating it:
IKEA has also recently launched the KNÄPPA camera. Unlike the UPPLEVA range you won't be able to buy it as it will be given to customers who purchase from their new PS 2012 furniture line. Customers are encouraged to take pictures of their new IKEA furniture at home and then share the pictures.
KNÄPPA is made from cardboard, is flat-pack, has a 2.3 megapixel camera, runs on two AA batteries and has a simple circuit board. It has a limit of 40 pictures. It has a nifty flip out USB port to enable transfer to a computer. There are no fancy functions or retro filters - just a simple lo-fi recyclable product.
I think it is rather fun and an interesting way to engage customers with the IKEA brand experience post purchase. It also demonstrates the trend for products to be lo-fi, made from green materials and recyclable. I just hope the pictures shared are not of pre-assmebled furnture or frustrated people waving an allen key, driven half mad by the instructions!
Here is a fun clip featuring the camera's designer Jesper Kouthoofd: