Droid & Olufsen… Why Not?

• Rob Jackson
• 16 years ago

Recent news that luxury tech manufacturer Bang & Olufsen will halt production of cell phones and other products not in their focus area (TV & Audio) seems a demise born from economic factors. When the company axed its entire mobile lineup we asked ourselves – “Could it have been salvaged?” We think so.

Take a look at what Motorola is doing: salvaging their declining handset manufacturing division by focusing on Android. This allows the company to focus on the hardware while Android provides a 100% FREE operating system with loads of applications at absolutely NO cost to the company. Why could Bang & Olufsen not have done the same?

B&O phones aren’t exactly cheap – paying $2,000 for one wouldn’t be anything out of the ordinary. But how far could they drop that price if they continued to produce their ultra luxury handsets without having to worry about any of the software on the device? They could toss Android on and you could have an instant sensation. In fact, with the style and grace Bang & Olufsen are known for, we might finally have a piece of hardware that would make iPhone fans jealous.

Instead, the division seems to be giving up. At some point I suppose you need to cut your losses and move on, and if the Bangers have built their brand on selling high ticket items, they probably wouldn’t be too keen on slashing prices to compete with the likes of the competition. Although, you DO see phones like the Nokia N96 gaining traction… even at the $899.99 BestBuy pricetag.

A plea to struggling handset manufactuers: before you give up, throw up the white flag and put your mobile babies on an anonymous front porch with a note you might want to consider the adoptive parents named Android & OHA.

I guess the title suggests something different… but if Android Banged Olufsen, that love baby would work too.

[Via MobileRoar]