Killer
I think I found a sure-fire way to identify a product that sucks. Just look for the “killer” claim. For example, Rick Ross says the Nokia iPhone Killer will have Java inside. An “iPhone Killer”? Really? Hmm…
- HTC Launches Apple iPhone ‘Killer’ - HTC Touch
- Linux-powered iPhone killer available online in March
- Verizon Voyager: iPhone Killer?
Lest you think this insanity is limited to iPhones…
And it’s not even limited to Apple products. Just do some Googling…
- Windows killer
- Rails killer
- Java killer
I can’t think of an example where the “killer” actually “killed”. The problem is, the market leader became the leader by leapfrogging everyone else with an innovative new product that nobody saw coming. The iPhone was a quantum leap above everything else on the market, and all of these stupid “killer” phones are desperately trying to catch up. So far, nobody even comes close.
If someone really is working on a killer product, you have not heard about it. Not only that, most people probably won’t even recognize it as such, because it will be innovative and new. It’ll storm onto the scene and become the new leader, spawning a whole new generation of “killers”.
This also gives you a tool to destroy the competition’s product.
Just get an article written about the competitor’s product with the word “killer” in the title.
Now, everyone will realize that the product sucks. Of course, the competitor can retaliate by getting your product reviewed with the title “killer” in the title. Now it becomes a matter of who can make the article circulate the most.
In some cases, you can’t blame the company that makes the product. They may never refer to their product as “iPhone killer”, even if they wish it were one. They are most probably going after some other market (you simply can’t win when dealing with a company that has a religious following).
It is just naïve, overenthusiastic fan-boys that write up nonsense with “killer” in the title.
In any case, your logic stands.
A classic Eric Burke observation.
I’m thinking about starting a new blog that’ll be a “Stuff That Happens” killer.
Blah blah blah blah
re: can’t think of an example.
I can. There is one company that doesn’t necessarily innovate the idea but innovates the approach (often radically).
They said it, not me (see dates):
Mapquest Killer
Hotmail Killer
This ultimately depends on the line whereby a radical approach constitutes a new offering/product. That’s hard to nail down.
Saying you’ve got the iPod/iPhone/Windows/TiVo/Prius/… killer shows that you aren’t an innovator. It shows that you can simply imitate someone else’s strategy. I dissected this in Managing Deliverables on our corporate blog: While the competition is copying Apple’s new product, Apple is busy developing something even better.
Just wait till they release the Killer Killers..