Series 1: Episode 1 The smartphone form factor has homogenized and many of the world’s leading manufacturers now launch products all running the same (or similar) OS variants. But if everything looks and feels the same, how can today’s device manufacturers build brand loyalty or compete on anything but price? We look at what’s happened to innovative industrial design and whether manufacturers can ever compete at the service layer.Subscribe via      Tim Deluca-Smith, VP Marketing at WDS, hosts episode 1 with guests Nick Gyles, CTO at WDS, Howard Jones, Account Director at CCgroup, Paul Nolan, Associate Director & Head of Telecoms at CCgroup. Show Notes Return from MWC12Is handset development stagnating?Everything looks the sameDid we see anything truly ground breaking or desirable? Hardware has homogenized at the top end.How can OEMs build brand loyalty and differentiate?Too much reliance on software / services (at the cost of industrial design)? Is this problem worse for the Android OEMs where even the software experience is uniform?OEM overlays – problematic? Is this all down to cost pressure?Race to the bottom / play it safe.How do I tell the difference between a top-end Samsung and an entry-level Samsung?Is the race to the bottom dangerous for operator costs (increased cost of care). Future for OEMsHow do they differentiate?Will they commoditize themselves?PartnershipsDedicated devices (camera / gaming etc) – will it come back?Do OEMs have an ecosystem play? Direct Download Episode to MP3