Tag Archives: product development

by | Wednesday, July 5, 2023 · 5:05 pm

Apple Launches Vision Pro Headset for VR/AR

It’s finally here (well, nearly here). Apple recently launched a new AR/VR headset, the Apple Vision Pro to be available in 2024 for $3,499. The new product enters the growing AR/VR entertainment market, but also takes it a step beyond the capability of other devices.

Users navigate the device using their voice, eyes, and hands for a seamless view of digital content. Apple calls it a spatial operating system with familiar icons. The headset also allows viewers to see others in the room through its glass, and a turn of the button lets others see the wearer’s eyes too. This feature helps lessens the isolation caused by wearing the headset for long periods of time.

It also contains a 3-D camera for recording videos and photos, or to immerse yourself in a video. The headset can transform any room into a personal theater for viewing movies, shows, and games.

The physical headset has a glass front and aluminum frame on a soft headband. It has a cable that attaches to a small battery pack that can be slipped into a pocket. The company wants the headset to be used for both work and entertainment and it automatically connects to a Mac so that wearers can take over their desktop when wearing it.

It has already received great reviews, but that $3,500 price puts it out of reach for many people.

Are you interested?

 Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Poll students: What has been their experience with VR/AR headsets to date?
  2. View a product demonstration: https://www.apple.com/apple-vision-pro/
  3. A longer introduction video is available on the same site. Have students spend some time online viewing details about the product.
  4. Divide students into teams and have each team develop a profile of a target market for the product. Include demographics, psychographics, behaviors, values, attitudes, etc.
  5. Based on the target market profile, what makes this product unique for these customers?
  6. Divide students into teams. Have teams research how this headset compares to other VR headsets from Meta, Magic Leap, and Sony.

Source: Chen, B. (6 June 2023). A first try of Apple’s $3,500 Vision Pro Headset. New York Times.; Gershgorn, D. (5 June 2023). Everything Apply announced at WWDC2023: Vision Pro VR headset, new Macs, and More. New York Times.; Panzarion, M. (5 June 2023). First impressions: Yes, Apple Vision Pro works and yet, it’s good. TechCrunch.

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by | Tuesday, June 13, 2023 · 7:00 am

Farewell to Google Glass, Again…

Poor Google Glass. It had a tough run but it has finally reached the end stage. Google stopped selling the Glass Enterprise smartglasses in March, and will likely end software support this fall.

Google Glass has had an interesting path over the years, beginning with the first prototype smart-glasses launched in 2013. Glass has a smart heads-up display and camera, allowing users to connect to data, and share information and images. Glass was originally priced at $1,500 and sold on a limited basis only to developers and some early technology adopters. Concerns quickly arose about security and privacy, and using the device to capture data for Google. The high price combined with limited availability and use had doomed the first version to end sales by 2015.

However, Glass came back to market a few years later as ‘Glass Enterprise Edition’ and was targeted at corporate customers and business users. That edition was revamped to focus on users such as medical personnel, workers in training, and manufacturing employees. The price was also lowered to $999.

But it still didn’t catch on, even as other companies such as Meta and Apple continue working on their own smart-glass projects using augmented reality.

What would you use smart-glasses for doing?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Explain the product and show videos about Glass: https://www.youtube.com/user/googleglass
  2. Poll students: Would they use the AR glasses?
  3. What are potential applications and target markets for AR glasses?
  4. What are the obstacles?
  5. Next, discuss the stages in the product life cycle.
  6. Illustrate how Glass has moved through the PLC.
  7. Divide students into teams. Have each team draw a product life cycle and place various products and services into each stage.
  8. Next, have students brainstorm on how to reposition or revise products/services to that they can move into an earlier stage of the life cycle.

Source:  Leswing, K. (15 March, 2023). Google ends enterprise sales of Google Glass; its augmented reality smartglasses. CNBC.; Lukpat, A. (16 March 2023). Google Glass is going away, again. Wall Street Journal.; other news sources.

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by | Thursday, March 2, 2023 · 7:36 am

Consumer Electronics Show 2023

If you love technology and new gadgets, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is the place to be. CES is one of the largest and most influential showcases in the world for introducing innovative technology products from around the globe.

This year the Las Vegas-based show brought in 115,000 industry professionals, making it the largest audited global tech event since 2020.  With more than 3,200 exhibitors, including 1,000 start-up companies, CES 2023 gave us new innovations in mobility, health, transportation, sustainability, and more.

A diverse group of companies from around the globe showcased the latest innovations in the technology industries to attendees from more than 140 countries. In all, 60% of the Fortune 500 companies were represented.

The show also provided looks at products in the marketplace as well as products-yet-to-be-launched highlighting key trends such as:

  • Human security for all
  • Automotive and mobility
  • Electric vehicles
  • Digital health
  • Sustainability
  • Web 3 and Metaverse

New products demonstrated how technology can conserve energy, increase power generation, address food shortages, create sustainable agricultural systems, power smart cities, support access to clean water, and improve life for people with physical challenges.

The last category – physical challenges – may be one of the most innovative as companies worked on technology to improve lives of people who may often be overlooked. Some of the highlights include power wheelchairs, augmented listening, new earbuds, speech amplifiers and more. It’s one of my favorite categories.

What’s your favorite innovation from CES?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:  

  1. Discuss the purpose of CES show and how innovation fits into it.
  2. View the CES Web site: https://www.ces.tech/
  3. Also discuss the use of trade shows and exhibits as part of a marketing plan.
  4. Show a video overview of CES 2023: https://youtu.be/fAJ1LCO4cV4
  5. Show a summary video covering new innovations for accessibility: https://www.wsj.com/video/series/dalvin-brown/ces-2023s-most-innovative-assistive-tech-jabra-whispp-and-more/F7DEC067-2116-4C51-A173-E0A071E28EEA
  6. Divide students into teams. Have each team select a product featured at CES.
  1. Scewo Bro: https://www.scewo.com/en/  (Power wheelchair)
  2. L’Oreal Hapta: https://www.loreal.com/en/articles/science-and-technology/hapta-ces-2023-lancome-innovation/  (For beauty lovers with limited hand and arm mobility)
  3. Xander Glasses: https://www.xander.tech/  (Augmented listening for people who are hard of hearing)
  4. Jabra Enhance Plus: https://www.jabra.com/hearing/enhance-plus?gclid=Cj0KCQiAiJSeBhCCARIsAHnAzT_SGnooIY_nEW554M23GwsvGWKrIKnazpnbsvmc1Rh1Gi87YUm8kQsaAhwGEALw_wcB##21879090  (Earbuds for enhancing your hearing)
  5. Whispp: https://whispp.com/?lang=en  (Speech amplifier for people with a voice disorder)
  6. Instruct students to research the products online, and define a target market for the product?
  7. Which ones do they think will be winners in the marketplace? What products miss the mark?
  8. Discuss the use of trade shows and exhibits as part of a marketing plan.

Source:  C/NET; TechRadar; The Verge; Wall Street Journal; other news sources

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