Last week was a buzz with all the talk of the new iPhone  4.  What was interesting to read was how much it delivered in terms of the issues current iPhone users whinge about.  Our iPhone community highlighted a number of areas iPhone users would like to see improved.

Firstly the camera.  While the iPhone generally has managed to replace the need for carrying a separate  iPod, diary, and so forth, it was not the case with the camera.  Our iPhone community members told us that the low quality camera meant  they rarely relied on it and certainly did not see it as a replacement for their digital camera.  But an improvement from three to five megapixels with 5x digital zoom and  inbuilt LED flash will certainly make a difference.

“I’m sure the next generation iPhone will have a great camera and that gives you a reason to upgrade.”    Glenn, iPhone community member

What else did our members want to see improved :

• Multi-tasking – again the iPhone 4 will fulfill this requirement
• Screen rotation lock - we got it for iPad but as far as I know not the iPhone still does not readily allow for this.
• Flash Player – doesn’t look like this is going to happen

Will these and other improvements be enough of a reason to upgrade?  Not sure but the latest figures reported in Adnews today show the iPhone is certainly taking the lead in the Smartphone market, which doesn’t surprise us given our findings in our iPhone Insights Community.

Updated 17/06/10:  Going on the strength of pre-orders it seems the iPhone 4 is enough of a reason to upgrade.  According to SmartCompany pre-orders of iPhone hit new record with 600,000 in one day.

While debate rages whether the iPad is set to save or redefine publishing, consumers are quietly contemplating whether there is room in their lives for another digital device. We know it looks pretty, and had Apple-cool credentials, but do we really need one?

Even amongst Apple fans there is some question about the purpose of owning an iPad. To this end the answer is often, ‘what’s the point?’. We’ve already got desktops, laptops, gaming units, smartphones, and maybe even ebook readers. Or maybe we’re missing the  actual point, that its not the iPhone users who will rush to embrace the iPad, but others who don’t see it as an overgrown version of their smartphone.

Our study of iPhone users, via an Online Insights Community, revealed that for most, the iPad wasn’t high up on their wish list. It was considered too large to be truly portable, and the lack of connectivity to other hardware meant that it wasn’t a legitimate substitute for a laptop or netbook. Beyond the obvious compatibility concerns is the issue that it is difficult to imagine a use for the iPad. Especially when many people felt that it would predominantly be used in-home. There is speculation that ‘maybe it will be good for…’ but not a lot of ‘I need it for…’.

“It doesn’t fulfill any need I have, so it’s not even a consideration for me”

It will be interesting to observe too, how quickly iPad users take up paid apps, especially those related to publishing and media. iPhone users are quick to identify that there’s a mounting cost once you factor in the hardware, data download and the price of apps. Justifying the additional spend on iPad apps, will require a change of attitude and behaviour in the consumption of content. It’s early days and iPad is the latest toy, but many people are waiting to see both how a second-gen iPad will differ, and how the publishing world will respond with apps.

And despite all the debate about whether there is a need for such a device, 1 million iPads were sold in just 28 days (compared to the 74 days it took to sell this many iPhones).  So while we may not see a need for it – it seems the iPad may find a place in our lives.

And me – well I’m like the million others who want another toy, whether I need it or not!

The latest edition of Research News features an in-depth article on the rise of MROCs in the Australian research industry. Latitude Insights has been highlighted as a leading boutique agency who specialises in online qualitative research, and there’s a number of quotes from Dianne Gardiner, Latitude Insight’s CEO, included. You can read the article online by clicking here. Our client, Zoe Aitken from Cadbury, was also interviewed for the article, in which she talks about the benefits of immediacy and the depth of insights generated from this methodology.

There’s an interesting discussion about community size and response rates with Vision Critical talking about communities of 6000, and Communispace having 300-500. But then later on in the article, Kris Hartvigsen talks about participation rates of 40-50%. This is where we differ – with smaller, more engaged communities. If we had a 50% participation in a discussion we’d start to look into why members were not as responsive as expected. We don’t want to have conversations with only half the people in the ‘room’.

The good news for all of the agencies who are leading in this area, that there is a strong expectation that online communities will take off in 2010, and will be driven by clients looking for new ways to talk to their customers. And we’re ready to get the conversations going.