The killer app

So when the first cell phones came out, I'm sure that they were seen as the killer app for telecommunications. Giving anyone the ability to make phone calls that usually go through and don't always sound like you're doing a Norman Collier impression before losing the connection. But when you think about it these days, cell phones have so many more features on them that they've become the killer app for other applications... For instance, I no longer use my alarm clock, I use my cell phone. Before my last birthday I didn't wear a watch, I didn't need one, I'd just look at my cell phone (heck I even took it to England even though it didn't work there, just so I could know the time). I don't need to take a camera places with me anymore, I take my cell phone. Yesterday in a meeting I used it (my new Motorola V325) as a calculator to quickly figure out a costing issue. Current advertising shows that the phone companies want to use it to replace MP3 players, iPods, etc, and heck you can even put your phone in speaker phone mode now so that everyone can hear the music.

It makes me think about the products that we produce at work. How can we apply 'the cell phone idea' to our products, and come up with killer apps that are slightly to the side of what we do? It's something to think about.