Goal

The goal of this challenge is to create ideas of service/feature for new smartphone. We seek creative, unique, and useful ideas.

PLEASE NOTE : There will be a checkpoint you can submit for in order to receive feedback and potentially one of five $100 prizes - In order to be eligible for a checkpoint prize you must submit to this challenge by Mar 04 2018 18:00 EST. - We've detailed exactly what we're expecting as outputs below. Please refer “Checkpoint” section below.

Background

The client SoftBank ( http://www.softbank.com/ ) is one of the largest smartphone providers in the Japan market. 

The smartphone market is a commoditized mature market, and in recent years, technological innovation that improves the user's experience is becoming less to occur.

Meanwhile, there are many new technologies that will enable significant changes in the future and have grown dramatically (i.e. Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, VR, AR, Sensing technologies, Quantum Computing, etc.)

For this contest, the client is seeking new innovative ideas of how these new technologies can change smart devices and what value it could create. The client hopes to see new innovative ideas from engineers all over the world.

Good Luck!

Task Details

Following are the requirements to your unique idea that the client is looking for.  Please refer “Task Requirements” section below for the output and format of the submission.

Please suggest your idea that represents new features or functions of a smartphone. You can make suggestions for the smartphone hardware, OS, or applications. It is recommended that your idea uses latest technologies and trends(i.e. Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, VR, AR, Sensing technologies, Quantum Computing, etc.). In your idea, please show specifically what kind of change is to be made to the hardware, OS or application. Please describe what kind of problems are solved with your idea and who will benefit from it.

It is better that your idea have an advantage in the Japan market. Please refer “The Target Market” section below for the details.

Functional/User Requirements

• The suggested smartphone should have new features which is not found in current smartphones, or better features than current ones.
• The proposed features should improve the user experience of all users or users of a specific segment. You should select the target user.
• Please describe
  • What technology or technologies are used in your idea
  • What feature(s) are realized with your idea
  • What need(s) are satisfied with your idea
  • If your idea needs some special function or technology, please describe its feasibility.

Target Users

You can set the target user segment freely. A feature for nearly all users (i.e. high security smartphone) does not need to specify the target segment. A feature for users of a specific segment (i.e. smartphone with specialized features for outdoor enthusiasts) needs to specify the target segment.

Requirements and Expectations

There is no need to completely prove the feasibility of functions or features in your idea, but you will need to explain the technical grounds as much as possible. Even if the explanation has to be highly technical, please try to explain that can be understandable by non-specialist or professional in specific region.

If your idea doesn’t relate to look and shape of device, you don’t have to submit the design of the device. But if it relates, or is important for your idea, designs like 3D-graphic or sketch image is desired. The image can be simple enough to explain your idea.

Technical Requirements

• Target OS should be Android.
  • You are free to come up with functions or features beyond current Android capabilities.
  • You are also free to come up with your own OS.
• Your Idea needs to be realistic with smartphones or phablet (Hardware of the size that can be operated with just one hand).

The Target Market

It is better that your idea have an advantage in the Japan market, which the details described below.

Smartphone Market Share

Unlike other countries, Japan has larger iOS share. A few years ago, iOS had a market share close to 70%. Lately iOS still boasts large share, but the market share of iOS and Android are gradually balancing.Ten to twenty percent of mobile phone users still use conventional flip phones.

User Clusters

1. early adopter : sensitive to the latest trends, prefer advanced smartphones 6.8%
2. brand focus : put high value on brands, having popular model is status to them 18.3%
3. costs focus : having smartphone is important, but they tend to keep the costs as low as possible 23.0%
4. not picky : not picky about smartphone, prefer a relatively domestic brand 24.6%
5. cost only : cost is the most important criteria. doesn’t care if it’s newer model or not 27.3%

Technical Literacy

More than half of Android users think him/herself that they really are not familiar with smartphones.

About 10% of Android users think him/herself that they are familiar with variety of functions and applications, and they can even teach someone about smartphone.

Population Model

The population model of Japan in 2020 is shown below. It has characteristics of declining birthrate and aging population.

  

Household Model

In 2020 Japan,  nuclear family households (a family group consisting of two parents and their children) and one-person households account for about 80%.

1. one-person households(i.e. single-living elderly people, single person) : 37.7%
2. marital cohabitation : 22.8%
3. child and parents : 28.5%
4. child and one-parent : 11.0%

Examples

Following are few examples that can expand your idea on. You do not need to follow these as the items are provided purely for example purpose.

Smartphone with Blockchain Technology

Sirin Labs announced a smartphone called "Finney" in the beginning of 2017. The company says it is a smartphone with "the only perfect security in the world" by using blockchain technology.

https://sirinlabs.com/

Smartphone with AI Technology

Google announced "Pixel 2/2 XL" in October 2017. It uses machine learning to take "portrait mode" photo with single image censor (conventionally required two image sensors).

https://store.google.com/us/product/pixel_2?hl=en

Smartphone with New Shape

In October 2017, ZTE USA announced the smartphone "Axon M" which has a foldable dual screen display. As well as assigning arbitrary applications to each of the two screens, it is possible to view movies and e-books as one big screen. One of the reasons for the development of this product is that Android Oreo supports multiple displays.

https://www.zteusa.com/axonm/

Task Requirements

Output

• Title : Title of your idea
• Description : High level overview / statement of your idea
• Details : 
  • Description of background and problem that your idea is going to solve.
  • Description of how your idea work to solve this problem.
  • UI Design of your idea (i.e. paper prototypes(rough drawings of an interface), screen design)
  • Advantages of your idea.
• Key scenarios : 
  • Actors
  • Key scenarios for each uses cases (i.e. How an actor uses functions of your idea)
• Appendix(optional)

Format

• A document up to 5 pages (2-3 pages are recommended) in Microsoft Word or PDF format to describe your ideas.
• It should be written in English.
• To use charts, diagrams and tables to explain your ideas is encouraged from a comprehensive perspective.

Judging Criteria

• Novelty and creativity of ideas (40%)
  • Uniqueness, Interestingness
  • Not an already existing idea
• Usefulness of ideas (40%)
  • How much benefit it can provide for users.
  • How strong it is needed in the personal lives? (It would be better if you can provide something “must” rather than “nice to have”)
• Feasibility of ideas (20%)
  • The client is looking for unique idea, but it should be somewhat realistic to create with current technology - realistic technology, cost, and can be mass producible (maybe in the near future). 

Checkpoint

In this challenge, we allow checkpoint submissions. In order to be eligible for a checkpoint prize you must submit to this challenge by Mar 04 2018 18:00 EST.

Any submissions timestamped before then will be eligible and considered in the running for a prize for both the checkpoint and final submission. After this time you will only be eligible for final submission prizes.

The advantages of submitting to the checkpoint phase will be to get client feedback on your ideas and the opportunity to receive one of the five $100 checkpoint prizes. We will give you feedback of checkpoint submission until Mar 10 2018. You are not required to submit for the checkpoint in order to submit for the final phase.

Checkpoint output

1. Title : Title of your idea
2. Description : High level overview / statement of your idea

Final Submission Guidelines

Although there is no limit to the number of submissions you can upload, you should only upload multiple submissions if each one is substantially different from your others. Within these constraints, you are free to describe any number of alternative approaches and extra features. In fact, we encourage you to do so. You can't have too many ideas.

Reference

• SoftBank
  • http://www.softbank.com/
• SoftBank Smartphones
  • https://www.softbank.jp/en/mobile/product/smartphone/