Instead of the usual techno-gadget-geek 30-something male (think the car designed by Homer Simpson), Apple asked women to come up with a design that would work for them. The result? One button only… and an aesthetic most handset manufacturers would give their right thumbs for. “Convergence” has long been the holy grail and long seemed the impossible dream. Of course; asking the same focus group the same question rarely led to anything that would appeal to anyone outside of the uber-geek community (more whistles, more bells!). A new customer group with a very different perspective, untainted by previous forays in pursuit of said holy grail, with a different set of needs and wants led to the heart of the promised land (in convergence terms anyway).

Wrapping up exclusive distribution deals into the bargain guaranteed a certain cache (the haves and the have nots) and the ultimate must have gizmo for the dedicated follower of fashion as well as the aforementioned hirsuite, unkempt techno troll. Cool is cool and it always sells, but the moral of the story is that while the customer is smart they’re not always that smart and you may need to venture outside of the traditional target customer group to find your source of inspiration.

The recent grumblings about the lack of features on the upcoming iPad will all fade into the background (I suspect) once the interface is experienced first hand and users realise that it does one thing (casual web surfing) better than any other device.

The iPhone is simply gorgeous. You want one because you want one – and then after you buy it you find it can do things you never knew it could do. You justify it to yourself later.

Blogged from my iPhone.