2015年2月20日星期五

Why cellphone is getting bigger and bigger?


Recently, one of my friend’s cellphone broke down and asked me for some suggestions about her new phone. After I named some different cellphone models. She complained to me: “Those cellphone are really nice, but all of them are too big for me, could you name some small size cellphone to me?” After we searched over two hours about the small size cellphone on the internet, she finally decided which smartphone she is going to buy. It also makes me wonder “Why cellphone is getting bigger and bigger?”
(Picture from the internet)
I tried to search the answer from the internet, but most of those explains are talking about because of the manufacturing technology are improved and it’s easier to make a big screen size cellphone than before. The other point is the profit, because bigger screen cellphone usually can sell higher price which means more profit. The third one is the market, more and more cellphone company are producing the bigger screen size cellphone to the market, because they don’t want lose the big screen size cellphone market share(That’s why you can see Apple start celling iPhone 6 Plus in 2014) .

But according my observation, I think there are three more reasons why cellphone is getting bigger and bigger. First, cellphone are no longer cellphone anymore. People nowadays don’t just want their cellphone can make phone call or send text message. They want more functions, such are write & reply email, read news or play games on their cellphone. Those additional functions require bigger screen to give the customer the best using experience. Second, the battery life is really not a big issue nowadays. Because bigger screen also means the battery will die faster, the cellphone producer are trying to put higher battery capacity into their phone. Meanwhile, people are getting used to charge their phone every night before they go to sleep. So the battery life is not important than it used to be. Third, you don’t need to worry about your cellphone will drop into the toilet anymore!!! :)

2015年2月13日星期五

How to sell digital download games in retail store?

      Recently, I read an article named “How GameStop avoid the Blockbuster’s tragedy?”  It talks about how GameStop changed their current strategy to sell their product when people nowadays prefer shopping online. It talks about the phenomenon that GameStop took 40% of the digital download game market which surprised a lot of people. The reasons behind it are: First, there are still a lot of young men don’t have their own credit card to pay for their favorite games online, so they would go to the GameStop store to buy a digital download card for themselves. Second, most of their current customers are used to sell their old games to get discount for new games, so they willing to go to their store sold their old games and get new one.

      But in my opinions, they are three more reasons for people to go to their store buy games. First, the price of video game. Compared with songs and movies, game is way more expensive. Now days, a movie cost around $5 and a song cost around $0.99. There doesn't have much value to be resold. But when you go to the GameStop, the new game price is always around $39.99-$59.99. When you resell them, you can still get at least $10 back or even higher form each game. Because you can get discount when sold your old game to them that motivate people go to the real store purchase games. Second, the exclusivity of their games. Unlike the normal online digital download game, GameStop add exclusive features in their games where you can only get that from their retail store. That because GameStop signed contracts with those game produce company to ensure the exclusivity. Third, the well-built membership system, when you go to their store, no matter you sold a game to them or purchased a game from them, you will get some membership points and with those points you can get discount when buy new games. But in the online store, they don't have such thing.

2015年2月6日星期五

How apple pay take over the mobile shopping?

Recently, I read an article from Forbes.(Forget Stores: Apple Pay Is Already Taking Over Mobile Shopping). It mainly talks about the fact that 80% customers now day pay their sports ticket through Apply Pay service. At the first beginning, apple don’t want to add apply pay into their iPhone. Because Apple doubted whether anyone will swipe their iPhone at a store checkout counter? But since the mobile shopping booms, they finally choose to add that function into their new iPhone.
       How’s Apply Pay works? The key technology behind it is the NFC (Near Filed Communication). It enables smartphone and other devices to establish radio communication with each other by touching them together or bringing them into proximity, typically a distance of 10 cm (3.9 in) or less. Actually, Apple is not the first one who invented the NFC. The first device have this technology is a Nokia 6131 phone which was produced in 2006.
Why Apple Pay success instead of the other phone company? In my opinion, there are three reasons: first, Apple focus on only one function that NFC can do– make payment. Unlike most Android phone company, producers added a lot of functions inside of their device to help customers. Such as: help you pay for the bus ticket or taxi, download pictures, open doors and confirm trade information. The thing is most people seldom use all of those functions. Too much functions may confuse the customer and scare them away, because customers don’t like complicated things. Second, Apple restate the concept to their customers. They make it easier for customer to understand what Apply Pay can do. If you go to the Apple website, you will see “Apple Pay combines the convenience and security of Touch ID and Passbook with NFC technology. So you can use iPhone 6 to pay in stores and within apps with a single touch.” What customer knows about Apply Pay is you can make payment with a single touch of your phone. Third, by cooperating with other apps, asking them build in Apply Pay into their apps to help Apple broadcast. Build channels for customer to use it and make it becomes a habit and finally take over customer’s mobile shopping habit.
As you can see, the way how you use the same new technology leads to different results. You don’t need to be the first one, but you need to be the smartest one.

2015年1月30日星期五

Why you should choose a cat as your pet instead of a dog?


Recently, one of my friends wants to raise a pet and asked me a question: “Should I choose a dog or a cat as my pet? Give me at least 5 reasons!”
 I used to raise a cat when I was a kid, and one of my friends (Wendy) had a dog as a pet in their house. In order to answer my friend question fairly, I didn't tell him my opinion immediately. I went to Wendy’s house and stay almost a day to experience the difference between dog and cat. After the one day experience, I finally told my friend to raise a cat in the end. Here are the reasons:

1.      Cats will treat your guests politely. When I first went to my friend’s house, before the door open, I can hear the dog bark on me. And it lasts for quite a few minutes. Even after I sit down on their sofa, their dog starts scratching and smell on me. My cat will never do that to my guest, usually they will stay where they are and play with themselves.
2.      Cats smells better than a dog. That’s probably my friend forgot to give her dog a shower, it smells not very good. But cat knows how to take care of their personal hygiene.
3.      Cats are more independent, if you left them alone, they can look after themselves. If you left a dog alone in your house, be prepared that your furniture will be totally destroyed when you come back home. I saw a lot of bite marks on my friends’ sofa and TV cable.
4.      Cats don't need you to take a walk every day. I took a walk with my friend and her dog one day. It makes me feel people are even more tired than the dog.
5.      Cats are more quite than dogs. The cat will meow only when they want to get your attention, such as when she wish to go outside. The cat will respect your need for quiet, the dog always wants to play with you.
6.      Cats won't scare other people away. Your cat will never chase the mailman, or children who pass by your house. I saw my friend’s dog really like to chase other kids around their house.

7.      Cats go to the bathroom. Unlike dogs, cats poo and pee in the same place every time. My friend’s dog pees everywhere when we walked outside. Even in their house, I saw her dog pee on the carpet once.

2015年1月23日星期五

Why German people don’t like people who stand up and pee?


Yesterday, I read a news named: “German court rules that men can urinate while standing”. It mainly talks about a men stand up and pee in his bathroom, and his landlord ask money for the damage of the bathroom floor. The judge rejected the indemnification he need to pay, but said men who insist on standing "must expect occasional rows with housemates, especially women" but cannot be held to account for collateral damage.
  This news remind me the old days when I did my first internship in a German company. In that company, they have the same requirement: men cannot stand up and pee. I still keep that picture in my cellphone:



At the first time, I felt so strange and talked with my boss about that. He laughed about that and told me that it’s pretty common in German. Especially in the public bathroom, if you turn over the toilet seat, it will automatically broadcast a voice really loud to remind you: “Please do not stand up and pee!” when I asked why they do that. My boss told me that in one hand, it’s much easier to clean up the toilet than allowed men stand up and pee. In the other hand, it shows how they respect women. In German's basic law, the equality of men and women right were wrote inside clearly. They also have rules that requires the salary should not have any discrimination based on gender. According to The Global Gender Gap Report of 2014(http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GGGR14/GGGR_CompleteReport_2014.pdf) German was rank 12 over the world which also proved that German did a really great job about equality of men and women.

    Don’t allowed people stand up and pee seems unbelievable to some people, that’s because we have different culture background. If you were born in Germany, you may also feel people who stand up and pee is so wired!

2015年1月16日星期五

Give players a convincible reason not to play games!

What is game? In the eye of the people who loves it is heaven, it’s the place where you can meet you friends. It’s the spiritual bay after one day’s work. In the eye of the people who hates it is the electric drug, it’s the mental heroin.
People who against games, usually stand at the point of moral principle to criticize it. The purpose of those critics is always under the hat of helping teenager grow up. The phenomenon they criticize usually do have facts support them. Such as some teenagers drop their school because of addicted to games. Or some teenagers shot his family member because play a game. But should game really be blamed on it?
Here is the funny thing. According to their language, we can feel we used to hear it before. From the last century, the same comment showed up when the karaoke first came into people’s life. Every time the comment is the same, the only difference is the object changed.
We can’t blame it to them, because they don’t know very much about game. The way they know about a game is according to the news. News will never report about a game helped a teenager release their pressure from school or their parents.
Actually, nowadays game is not just a game anymore. It’s a new media to meet friends. I used to play an online game 3 hours per day. It may sounds like I’m addicted into that game, but the only thing I did was just chatting with my friend in that game.
Game guide teenager to kill people? How about those games you played when you were a teenager? Did that guided you to kill people? You may say it is different game. But I tell you what the purpose of the game producer is all the same, let player feel joy and happy. To prevent teenager becomes a criminal is not just ban a game, it requires the entire society get involved. More interesting class open for teenagers, Spend more time with your kids. 
So, please give me a convincible reason not to play games. “Games Kill” is really not a good one.