Killers

Earlier this year I had a friend tell me that the Nexus One would kill the iPhone.
Today I read an article saying that the Droid X would kill the iPhone.
A few months from now? We'll see what new phone is killing the iPhone this time.

To be frank, regardless of platform, manufacturer, industry, country, favorite cheese, or whatever differentiating factor is used, the instant someone starts calling some new device "an X killer" with X being whatever is dominant in the market today, it no longer is.
In the early 2000's we heard about Halo killers for the Xbox.
Halo is still one of the biggest first person shooters of all time.
In the mid 2000's we heard about iPod killers.
The iPod is still in a near-monopoly position.
Now we're hearing about iPhone killers.
I wonder what's going to happen next.

All of these purported killers suffer from the same thing: They're playing catch up. They look to some standard and go "We need to beat that". They compare themselves to this supposed standard and rate themselves based upon that.
That in of itself ensures failure.

If you really want to strive, really want to rule the roost, stop comparing yourselves to anyone at all, and start trying to simply be the best. Not the best phone, game, waffle maker, or even the best ladle, but the best.
The devices that gain the mindshare that everyone wants didn't get there by trying to emulate the success of the current incumbents, they took what they knew and made something that transcended the current marketplace.

The point isn't to play catch up, it's to wipe the table clean, write new own rules, and rock at those rules. Then everyone else starts trying to emulate what not what has been done but what has been made, and the cycle continues.