Subtraction is one of the four approaches to product ideas. But after listing the essential elements of the product, it’s not so easy to find out which elements should be removed to make a good product.
How about removing almost every key elements of the product?Here comes NoPhone!
It’s common to see friends or family sitting in a fancy restaurant waiting for dinner to be served, but they barely talk to each other. They are too busy swiping their smartphones and sending messages to people in their social network.
Nowadays, many people are addicted to their smartphones and will be very insecure without seeing them; some even have “Nomophobia ” which means they will be in great fear of being out of mobile phone contact. Therefore, probably a non-phone can cure people for their addiction of smartphone and force them to stay connected with the real world.
Here are some interesting testimonials on the website that Serdar showed us today:(https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nophone-usa/nophone-0)
“I used to sleep with my phone in my hand, but my night terrors would cause me to hurl it across the room in an unconscious panic. With the NoPhone, I can still enjoy the comfort of holding a phone in my sleep, without waking up to a shattered screen. Thanks, NoPhone.” -David H
“With the NoPhone, my eye contact skills have improved 73%.” -Whitney R
“Because of the NoPhone, I haven’t drunk texted my ex boyfriend in one whole week.” -Craig G
This phone has no basic phone functions, no camera, no Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connectivity and so on. You don’t need to upgrade it from time to time, and it won’t break your heart when you accidently drop it on the floor. However, it encourages people to pay more attention on their direct environment and forces people to socialize with others. So, it actually has some surprising functions.
Subtraction is one good way for idea generation. But who will come up with the bold move of removing all the key elements to make a useful product?
Think outside the box, imagining the wildest thing. Sometimes you may come up with great ideas!
//Danny Huang #Dreamgineering