March 14, 2005
OPINION://Details, details
I’d like to point out some itsy bitsy details that show how Skype is differentiating itself from the run-of-the-mill VoIP softphone or IM client. I think people sometimes look for profound reasons why Skype is wildly popular while others aren’t, and the answer is actually about fairly mundane execution issues.
Here’s the XTen user interface:
Now, I’m aware that their main busines is to OEM the softphone to other people and have it re-skinned. But oh my God! this is awful. For a start there are the non-standard window controls. The UI tries to re-create the layout limitations of a desk phone. And then there are some acronymic hieroglyphs in the display.
Skype just look, well, normal. Boring, in fact. Just enough anti-aliased chrome and icons to tell you it’s a professional job. No more.
I’m sure the underlying technology of XTen is just wonderful. But this softphone will never get viral adoption; I’d never dream of asking my mum to install it.
And now “Pulver’s communicator”:
The bad news is it didn’t just work out of the box. There’s a usability glitch: it gives you a dialog box with your FWD number, but doesn’t say “no panic — we’ll email this to you”. It also asks for a lot of private information up-front (name, address, e-mail), which is a strange way to start a relationship. Then there was some bizarre login error when the client started.
Vendors should think of the adoption of their product as being a courtship. Never demand too much of the other party early on. Don’t blow your nose in a mucky handkerchief while chatting a girl up.
However, the ability to integrate with other clients is a big plus. Verizon Wireless whipped Sprint PCS’s ass by emphasising better coverage and network quality rather than cool features. Being able to reach more buddies is the application-layer equivalent. However, the sheer scale of Skype and the ease of running multiple IM clients means that Pulver’s “embrace and extend” probably won’t have much strategic value.
Another XTen sin is putting a virtual keypad up-front. Bad, bad, bad. At least Pulver gets the idea that the first stage of a successful call is finding someone available to talk to. Presence first, dialling second.
Yet both Pulver and Yahoo miss a simple optimisation. I apologise in advance to all my buddies for compromising your privacy and publicing shaming you by such association with me. You know how to delete me from your buddy lists in retribution.
Both clients sort the buddy list alphabetically. I don’t mentally sort my contacts alphabetically.
Now take a look at Skype:
Voila! The UI emphasises people available to talk to. Is it really so hard?
As an aside, just imagine the possibilities if mobile phone companies weren’t trapped by a PSTN mindset and tried to use presence to sell you more phone calls… Can you imagine any other business where one product accounts for 80%+ of your revenue, but you never attempt to promote consumption at the point of sale?
Skype is also noteworthy for the features it doesn’t include. For instance, I detest the Yahoo! Insider marketing pop-up in Yahoo IM, and always disable it. But it’s a nuisance. The UI is also littered with other cross-marketing junk. I don’t care. Take it away.
Another example of attention-to-detail in Skype. I was having an asynchronous Skype chat with my brother, who is trying to make the most northerly Skype call ever from here.
The Yahoo IM client allows off-line messages, but doesn’t tell you about their delivery. Skype is offering “message presence” as well as “person presence” — was your message received and digested? The immediacy of the connection is just so much richer. The “being there” gap is smaller.
Now Skype isn’t perfect. For instance, most people haven’t uploaded a picture of themselves. Would it have been so hard to make it easy to create a cartoonish personal character? Can’t Skype do better than annoying pop-ups to communicate buddies coming and going? Why can’t I just be notified of the arrivals of people with whom I want to initiate a conversation? Why can’t I tag buddies as “must remember to call Bob”?
Nevertheless, the authors of Skype appreciate that calls don’t exist in isolation; they have a lifecycle. Presence and “missed calls” (“anti-presence” — you weren’t there) are important to the initiation of a call, and history links one call or chat to the next. Skype is winning the VoIP wars by default as the competition flounders. Maybe it’s about time they flattered the market leader with some imitation?
Posted by Martin Geddes at 03:03 PMTrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.telepocalypse.net/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/mgeddes/MT/mt-tb.cgi/423.
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Yahoo! Messenger has the ability to display people available to talk to as in Skype, it's under View -> Show -> Offline contact ins Messenger List (CTRL+H) Granted it's not enabled by default, but the option is there.
Posted by: at March 14, 2005 11:09 PMfor Xten's latest offering please go to
http://www.xten.com/index.php?menu=products&smenu=eyebeam
You are right about Xten, the UI is a nightmare.
I love the little headphone socket on the bottom, how bizarre!
Posted by: at March 15, 2005 09:08 AMCheck out ineen: www.ineen.com.
It seems to have the advantages of an IM client and a telephone. Video, conferencing and call transfers are powerful features that the others are greaty lacking.