The mobile phone and its innovations, including a discussion about the Dominant Design.

1. The Mobile Phone
and Its Innovations
Including a Discussion on The
Present Dominant Design
Students:
Miguel Bello / Emanuela Delfino / Rebecca Hallqvist / Sofia Reibring / Silvia Remotti / Dipa Sitepu
Course: Strategic Design
Professor: Tommaso Buganza
Date: Fall semester 2009
Politecnico di Milano

2. 1. history of the Mobile Phone
1.1 Main Innovations
In 1984 Motorola’s mobile phone DynaTAC was launched to the public. This was
the first device classified as a mobile cellular phone; an electronic device used for
telecommunications over a cellular network of specialized base stations which
form cells. More importantly its dimensions were small enough to be completely
handheld or fit inside a briefcase. Therefore, DynaTAC was a radical innovation;
it was a new type of product wich had needed new component knowledge and
new architecture knowledge.
GSM, Global System for Mobile Communications, was a new communication
standard in 1991 and brought the mobile phones into the Second Generation, 2G.
The introduction of GSM made the industry boom; the mobile phone became a
recognized product and the era of every man’s mobile phone began.
In 1991 a new communication channel called SMS, Short Message Service,
entered the world of mobile phones. At first SMS was not of common use, but
today it is one of the most important services of the mobile phone. The
introduction of SMS also brought other services to the mobile phone; for
example paying tools and bank services that are run through SMS.
Also WAP can be described as a new communication channel. Through WAP 1.0
(launched in 1998) users reached Internet through their mobile phones, without
the need of a cable. Web pages had to be written in WML (instead of HTML) and
viewed in a WAP browser. This innovation led to the first e‐mails through mobile
phones in 1999. Having both Internet and e‐mail available on mobile phones
made it possible to reach the “computer world” everywhere.
The Third Generation, 3G, was launched in 1999 and enabled faster speed and
the possibility to deal with different communication channels at the same time,
for example the transmission of image and sound simultaneously in the case of
video calls. Faster speed gave birth to many other innovations. GPRS was one of
the standards included in the definition of 3G and enabled package‐switching,
which uses existing networks in a different way, in order to get higher speeds.
One of the most important extra features is probably the mp3‐player. Although
launched in 2000, it took a while to implement this function with the users.
However, the fact that Nokia is the biggest seller of mp3 devices today shows
that this innovation has had a large impact on the mobile phone market. In many
cases the mobile phone has been substituted for the traditional mp3 device.
Around 2000 more advanced operating systems for mobile phones became more
common. These operating systems let you install programs on your own and let
you have more control of your phone. Two examples are the Android and
Symbian OS. In 2009 Android opened up its source code to allow users to create
their own software. This type of user‐generated programming often enhances
the speed of innovation.

3. Apple’s iPhone can be mentioned as an innovation from the point of view that it
has reached a broader target group that previous Smartphones. In 2007 the
original iPhone built for GSM and EDGE was released in USA, Great Britain,
France, Germany and Switzerland. The second version built for 3G was released
in 2008 3G in 22 countries.
The innovation process in the cell phone industry have experimented both
competence enhancing and competence destroying. In the first case for example,
we can see how some innovations were built on the firm’s or industry’s existing
knowledge base. Some examples of this can be found in the addition of
touchscreens or mp3‐players to a cell phone, or in the constant upgrades with
small changes from model to model. On the other hand, competence destroying
processes can be found in the big jump between the analog first generation to
the digital second generation.
1.2 Main Players
In 1983, Motorola released DynaTAC and became the pioneer of handheld
cellular mobile telephones, with Ericsson running behind. At that time the retail
price of Motorola DynaTAC was US$3,995 or around US$8,544 today, which
made mobile phone considered a high‐end product and impossible to become a
massmarket item 1 .
Motorola surprised the world of 1989 by launching the MicroTAC in 1989. It
made headlines worldwide because of its shape, which folded up to fit into a
shirt‐pocket. At the time, it was the smallest and lightest phone available.
However amazingly small, it was still sold at a price of around US$3,000 and
unaffordable to most people.
1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_DynaTAC
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_MicroTAC

4. In the early 90s, Ericsson took the lead from Motorola and also Nokia became
stronger. Due to a warehouse fire at an important component manufacturer,
Ericsson was however put out of play for some time, which created the
opportunity for Nokia to take over the leading position.2
In the third quarter of 2009, Nokia remains on top of the the mobile phone
vendors, holding a market share of almost 40% of the sales of cell phones
worldwide. Nokia sold 468.3 million units in the full round of 2008. Nokia is
reported facing some pressure in its devices and services, where their market
share estimated to go down to 35%. They have however managed to provide a
wide range of products during a long time, which has kept them the market
leader.
Samsung is the runner‐up a 16.76% market share and will reach their goal of
200 million sold units in 2009. Samsung now produces devices able to run
Android and Linux. Important features today include the touch screen, the
QWERTY keypad and mid‐range of camera phones have been the three product
segments that Samsung will focus to compete the cost competitiveness.
With 101.1 million units sold and 8.62% of market share worldwide, LG is found
in third place with just a slight upper hand on Motorola. LG has had success in
the developed market and competes aggressively with cost effectiveness in the
lower end of the markets. Almost half of the units sold are priced US$100 or less.
While for the market of smartphones, RIM, the developer of BlackBerry, holds
the second place with over 8.5 million units sold in third quarter of 2009 and a
market share. Apart from the cellular devices, RIM focuses on pre‐paid sales and
more flexible BlackBerry Internet Service offers.
Not far behind, Apple holds the third place with over 7 million units sold until
the third quarter of 2009. Apple continues to sell the iPhone 3GS in China and 16
additional countries. Except from a strong design and innovative architecture
and use of components, another strength is the creation of a platform for the
users to develop their own software and share it with other users. The strong
focus on surrounding services is quite unique 3 .
2. Dominant Design
2.1 Introduction
One part of the process of finding a dominant design is closely linked to the study
of standardization, which examines the process by which products in a market
2
http://www.mobilen50ar.se/eng/FaktabladENGFinal.pdf
3
http://www.cellular‐news.com/story/40605.php
http://dhdeans.blogspot.com/2009/11/top‐5‐mobile‐smartphone‐vendors‐for.html
http://www.ericssonhistory.com/templates/Ericsson/Article.aspx?id=2057&ArticleID=1889&CatID=354&epslang
uage=EN
http://www.nokia.com/about‐nokia/company/story‐of‐nokia/the‐move‐to‐mobile/mobira‐cityman

5. converge on a design or standard, that ensures that all products are
interoperable and compatible. The design may then be determined either by
public bodies (e.g. by ministries or regulators) or collaboratively within
standardization consortia, usually comprising experts from standardization
organizations and industry participants. In addition, different market segments
have different dominant designs, for example, mass consumer devices are
different to high profile and business ones, not only in their appearance but also
in their usability and services.
On the other hand, the process of finding a dominant design is linked with
history and previous innovations introduced by preceding products. Having this
in mind we present the icons thorough the history of this industry:
2.2 Icons on the Dominant Design
According with our timeline, the article published in Forbes Magazine titled “The
World's Most Iconic Cell Phones” 4 , and the Technological Post titled “The 10 Most
Iconic Cell Phones Of Our Time” 5 , we selected 10 main innovative designs as key
frames that have been the breakthrough in the history of cell phones, in order to
compare the most relevant designs, to understand the main features that have
been added and how they have evolve.
In the words of Dan Frommer: “To qualify as iconic, most of our phones featured
breakthrough designs, challenging prior devices with size, shape and style. But
utility and mass adoption are just as important; if people don't buy them, it's
hard to say they're relevant.” 6
1. The Bag Phone: This early‐adopter gadget from Motorola, circa
the 1980s, both came in a handy carrying case and were too bulky
for everyday use. Weighing several pounds, these eventually gave
way to the portable phones.
2. The Brick Phone: Motorola's DynaTAC 8000X was the first truly
portable cell phone on the market. When it was released in 1983,
the two‐pound "brick" was priced to sell around $3,995.
3. The Flip Phone: In 1989 MicroTAC cell phone could fit in a
jacket pocket. Weighing in at less than a pound, the MicroTAC
cost as low as $2,495 and led to today's flip‐phone form factor.
4
Frommer, Dan. “The World's Most Iconic Cell Phones”. 2006. Forbes.com. 3 Dec. 2009
[http://www.forbes.com/2006/06/26/mobile‐razr‐brick_cx_df_0626cellicon.html]
5
Miah, Kashem. “The 10 Most Iconic Cell Phones Of Our Time”. 3 Aug. 2009. http://blog.ziggytek.com/. 08 Dec.
2009 [http://blog.ziggytek.com/2009/08/03/10‐most‐iconic‐cell‐phones‐of‐our‐time/
6
Ibíd. (2)

6. 4. The StarTAC: Motorola's StarTAC was the lightest and smallest
phone in the world when released in 1996. This model weighed
less than a Quarter Pounder and was priced to sell around $500.
5. The Nokia Candybar: This late‐1990s model was many
Americans' first cell phone, featuring a brilliant LCD screen, trendy
customizable faceplate, and additional features like video games.
For a few hundred dollars, the Nokia 5160 was lightweight,
portable, inexpensive and massively available.
6. Danger Hiptop: The Danger Hiptop was a one of the first
mobile phones to offer a variety of functions like email, web
browsing, SMS, instant messaging, and calling. It was also the first
phone to ever sport the swivel design, that’s prominent in today’s
Sidekick phones.
7. The SmartPhone: While Palm focused on its personal digital
assistants, the Treo 700 breakthroughs as an innovative cell
phone running PalmOS operating system. With a large color
screen, Treo owners could keep their schedule up‐to‐date,
browse some Web sites and synchronize everything with their
computer. Almost every device manufacturer now markets a
smartphone, including Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, HP, among
others.
8. Blackberry Phone: Canada‐based Research In Motion (RIM)
introduced their 5810 model in 2002 and started to slowly take
the business world. A device specialized in mobile e‐mail and also
makes phone calls. From the U.S. government to corporate
boardrooms, more than 5 million people loved its features as its
huge screen and Qwerty keyboard.
9. The V3 RAZR: Motorola's V3 RAZR revolutionized the fashion
gadget, released in 2004 and in the four years it was out, the Razr
sold over 110 million units and become the best‐selling cell phone
in the world. With an initial launch price of $500 the half‐inch‐
thick RAZR put style and sexiness over functionality and made it
work. RAZR transformed Motorola's image from stodgy radio
manufacturer to lifestyle‐device specialist.
10. Apple iPhone: Apple first released the iPhone in 2007 and it
created a new standar compared with other smartphone in
history. With an innovative design, software and feel it became a
revolutionary phone without the traditional keyboard (virtual), a
touch screen with multi‐touch capability and new software. The
introduction App store is one of the key ingredients for the
success of the iPhone, with more that 65.000 apps to download
directly to your device.

7. 2.3 Categories
Having in mind this list of Icons we can find in two main configurations:
1) Conventional Cell Phones
2) Smartphones.
However it is necessary to clarify that there is no agreement in the industry to
define what precisely constitutes these devices and definitions have changed
over time:
Conventional Cell Phones
Most models are compact and priced from $20 to $150. The keypad and overall
operation is generally straightforward. They typically support voice calls, Short
Message Service (SMS), Multimedia Message Service (MMS), and newer phones
may also provide Internet services such as Web browsing and basic e‐mail
features. A new crop of feature‐based models can access high‐speed data
networks (3G) to enjoy music and video‐based services. Other common features
include a contact organizer, alarm clock, a full browser, a multi‐megapixel
camera, memory‐card storage for music and pictures, and more option for
custom ring tones, games, and other services. 7
Smartphones
A Smartphone combines the functionality of a conventional cellular phone and a
handheld computer in a single device with an identifiable operating system. It
typically supports full e‐mail browsing, calendar and organizer. Other
functionality might include an additional interface such as a miniature QWERTY
keyboard or a touch screen, the ability to read documents, media software,
contact management. In contrast to conventional cell phones, smartphones allow
users to choose the applications that they want to install and use. This means
that users can personalize the range of applications in their devices to suit their
lifestyle and their work. 8
2.4 Top Selling Mobile Phones
Another important reference to determine the dominant design are the relations
between the icons presented and the actual activity on the market.
Mobiledia.com lists the top selling cell phones in the Fourth Quarter of 2009 9 in
United States, which we use to identify what is going on in the industry that has
had relevance in the sales of cell phones:
7
“Types of Cell Phones”. Consumerreports.org. 2008. 08 Dec. 2009
[http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/electronics‐computers/phones‐mobile‐devices/cell‐phones‐services/cell‐
phone‐service‐buying‐advice/types‐of‐cell‐phone‐services/cell‐phones‐types.htm]
8
Ibíd. [4]
9
“Best Sellers Cell Phones ‐ Q4 2009”. Mobiledia.com. 2009. 08 Dec 2009
[http://www.mobiledia.com/shop/best‐sellers.html]

8. Model: HTC Droid Eris HTC Pure LG Shine 2 Motorola Cliq RIM BlackBerry
Phone (MB200) Bold 9700
Network: CDMA 800 / GSM 850 / 900 / GSM 850 / 900 / GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 GSM 850 / 900 /
1900 1800 / 1900 / 1800 / 1900 / / 1900 / WCDMA 900 / 1800 / 1900 /
UMTS 850 / 2100 UMTS 850 / 1900 1700 / 2100 UMTS 1900 / 2100
Form Factor: PDA / Google Block / Windows Slide Slide / Google Android PDA / BlackBerry
Android OS v1.5 Mobile 6.5 OS v1.5 OS 5.0
Professional
Dimensions: 113 x 56 x 13 108 x 53 x 14 107 x 51 x 13 mm 114 x 58 x 16 mm 109 x 60 x 14 mm
mm mm
Weight: 120 g 118 g 125 g 163 g 122 g
Antenna: Internal Internal Internal Internal / Dual Antenna Internal
Navigation: Touch Screen / Touch Screen 5-Way Keypad Touch Screen / QWERTY Keypad /
Trackball (TouchFLO 3D) QWERTY Keypad / 5- Trackpad
Way Keypad
Battery Type: 1300 mAh Li-Ion 1100 mAh Li-Ion 900 mAh Li-Ion 1420 mAh Li-Ion 1500 mAh Li-Ion
Talk Time: 5.00 5.67 3.33 6.00 6.00
Standby Time: 420 360 300 325 456
Memory: 288.0 MB 288.0 MB 100.0 MB 256.0 MB 256.0 MB
Expandable microSD / microSD / microSD / microSD / TransFlash microSD /
Memory: TransFlash TransFlash TransFlash TransFlash
2.5 Comparison
By comparing these models, we get clues about the current dominant design,
which also has a strong connection to released models in previous years. We can
identify archetypes for visible element such as the screen, keypads and overall
size and layout. The keypads, even when there’s a virtual interface on a
touchscreen, respond to a worldwide standard, according with the document
“Series E: Overall Network Operation, Telephone Service, Service Operation and
Human Factors” 10 published by International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
10
“Series e: overall network operation, telephone service, service operation and human factors”. International
Telecommunication Union. 02/2001. Available online: [http://www.itu.int/en/pages/default.aspx]

9. ICONS TOP SELLING Q4 – 2009
2.6 Defining the Current Dominant Design
Once we have understood the keyframes in the history of innovations and its
impact both in actual designs and in people’s mind we can conclude that:
1) The hardware and the software in these devices have been regulated and
standardized since the birth of the mobile phone. We find that some
characteristics have subsequently become industry standards, while some
remained as horizontally differentiating features of mobile handsets. For
these reason, some features have evolved in terms of technological
approach but their main functionality is the same.
2) The dominant design strongly depends on the context and the place
discussed. The dominant design in the United States is not necessary the
same as in Africa or Japan because of background, cultural approach,
socioeconomic context and so on.
3) We consider new touchscreen technologies to be in a fluid phase, mainly
because we have seen different architectures, different performances, and
radical innovations based on products. There are not yet defined
standards for everything, which shows that there is not a dominant design;
companies are still experimenting. These technologies need to improve
their capabilities and accuracy, and also become economically available to
the vast majority of the market, in order to replace today’s dominant
design.

10. In the following chart we present the main features, that according to our
research, are the elements of the dominant design for a cell phone. Our method
to determine the features was based in a comparison between the features from
20 different devices from different companies:
MAIN FEATURES 11
REFERENCE
- General Dimensions:
Between 96 x 45 x 10 mm AND 112 x 51 x 15 mm, depending
on the design, opening system (block, clam shell, slide, etc),
among others.
- Keypad:
It was standardized when the dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF)
system was introduced in the 1960s, and replaced the rotary dial.
The contemporary keypad is laid out in a 3×4 grid. 12
- Navigation:
5-way Keypad
- Main Screen:
11
Info provided by Mobilmedia.com. 2009. [http://www.mobiledia.com/]
12
“Telephone keypad”. http://www.wikipedia.org. 2009. 13 Dec 2009. [
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_keypad ]

11. Between 176 x 220 px AND 240 X 320 px
- Weight:
Between 82 g AND 125 g
- Antenna:
Interna
- Battery Type:
Between 800 mAh Li-Ion AND 1500 mAh Li-Ion
- Talk Time:
Between 3.3 hours AND 8.5 hours
- Expandable Memory:
microSD / TransFlash
- Connectivity:
Bluetooth 2.0, USB 2.0
- Applications:
Phonebook (Limited to 1000 contacts), calendar, alarm clock, To-
do list, WAP, calculator.
- Messaging:
SMS, EMS, MMS, Email
- Multimedia:
Wallpapers, screen savers, ring tones (mp3), themes, games.
- Audio:
Mp3-player
- Others:
Vibration alerts, speed dialing

12. Today’s Marketshare (3Q09)
Nokia Nokia 37,8 %
Motorola Ericsson Samsung 21,0 %
LG 11,0 %
1.9 kbps
14.4 kbps 184 kbps 2000 kbps Sony Ericsson 4,9 %
Motorola 4,7 %
1G 2G 2.5G 3G
1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2002 2005
1998 MMS (Multimedia Messag- The new standard
1979 HSDPA allowed
WAP 1.0 ing Service) became a new
The rst system of 1G 2001 e cient use of
1991 standard. Sony Ericsson
was launched in Japan Video calls available lines,
GSM - the rst 2G standard - was T68i was one of the rst
by the telecommunica- which enabled
launched in Finland by Radiolinja cellphones to use MMS.
tion company NTT. higher speed.
and Motorola. 1999
The third generation 3G was built
NETWORK
upon these standards: EDGE, 2002
UMTS, CDMA2000 and DECT. WAP 2.0 2007
1983 The standard WiMAX
TACS (Total Access Communication 1992 was added to 3G and
Standard) was introduced in some SMS gave fullly mobile
European countries and in Japan. It is an 2001
1999 internet access.
analog cellular standard (but has now A Japanese company
GPRS (General Packet Radio Service)
fully been replaced by GMS in Europe). J-phone launched
was launched in the UK. This standard
Sha-Mail which evolved
enables packet-switching.
into MMS.
1999 2005
Microsoft
SOFTWARE
E-mail on cellphone
1997 launched MSN
Nokia was the rst to 2002 for cellphones.
add games on Truetone ringtones
cellphone. (mp3/AAC).
In 2004 ringtones repre- 2008
sented a $4 billion global In-phone video editing
1999 market, almost all of it Motorola Z10
1999 outside the USA.
Blackberry introduced the rst
Polyphonic/MIDI signals
smartphone, which is a cellphone
combined with PDA.
1973
Motorola makes 2007
the rst working 1984 World's rst completely touchscreen
COMPONENTS
prototype of a The world's rst commercial based phone: KE850/Prada phone, by
hand-held cellular portable cellular phone: LG Electronics/Prada.
phone, DynaTAC, was launched by 2001
the DynaTAC. Motorola. 2000 Cameraphone
Touch screen 2008
1992 Gesture Control
Nokia's rst Sony Ericsson Z555
handset.
2000
2008
Mp3-player in cellphone
Shake Control
(The Uproar, Samsung)
Sony Ericsson W760