Cabs and Smartphones
It’s a sprint-marathon here at UpStart (tell you why soon), so this is going to be a short, sweet entry this morning.
I’m curious – with the proliferation of smartphones integrated with GPS, we are seeing more and more of the 7 million taxi and limo drivers out there world-wide owning these shiny tools of mobile empowerment. And it is the drivers outside the US who are leading the way. (Strange that when it comes to mobile, the US really has traditionally been a laggard.)
So the Invention: Smartphones.
The Improvement: Drivers can drive, listen to iTunes, check an obscure address, and read Drudge Report and Twitter all at the same time.
The Innovation: What do you think the paradigm shift will be that results from the novel uses drivers will find for the invention?
How quickly do you think smartphones will become a ubiquitous piece of personal equipment for professional drivers? And which will be the brand of choice? iPhone? Blackberry? Palm Pre? Symbian? Android (flavor x)? WINmobile?
I’m going to say it’s not so much the phone that will drive preferential adoption, as much as it will be the cost of the data plan.
That’s an ongoing business expense these folks have to swallow…so wherever the data buffet is cheapest, that’s where you’ll find the cabbies eating.
Next time you’re in Chicago, I’ll show you where the cabbies actually eat