For many years, I was a loyal BlackBerry fan. More accurately I was a CrackBerry addict.
A year ago a got a MacBook Pro and six month layer I acquired an iPad. It felt like I should switch to the iPhone. But I was not ready for two reasons:
- I wanted a Verizon phone that could work globally, and the iPhone 4 was North America only.
- I was wildly concerned about my ability to type on a virtual keyboard. Previous attempts were disastrous.
When the 4S came out, it addressed my first concern. But it did not, from my perspective, address the keyboard issue. Or so I thought.
I was asking for the wrong feature. Instead of asking for a better keyboard, I should have looked for a better data entry method.
I bought the 4S the day it hit the market. I turned off Siri, Apple’s voice recognition system, because I did not think it would be valuable. Man, was I ever wrong! On a whim, I tried it one day. And now I dictate many of my emails and text messages through voice recognition. The accuracy is amazing. And my speed has been increased significantly.
I also marvel at the fact that I can gain access to so much information without ever going into Google. Will these types of devices be game changers, bypassing the search engine’s revenue generating ads? I’m not sure; time will tell their full impact.
But for me, it is a game changer. In one sitting, I dictated four articles; something that I had never been able to do previously. I realize that there are other voice transcription services (manual and automatic) out there. However, the convenience of having it built into my phone made it so accessible I could write anytime I was inspired.
When you are innovating, are you striving to make a better keyboard? Or are you focused on creating a better data entry method?
Asking the right question will lead you down an entirely different path.