A False Claim: What It Says About The Claimants
A quick, but non-flattering link here to a story about two companies, TelTel and D-Link, who claim to have “the fist pocket-sized VoIP phone”. My BS detector goes off every time some press release claims a “first”. The thing about firsts is…there can be only one. And the D-Link phone isn’t it. I don’t know who was first, but since December, I’ve used and reviewed the UTStarcom WiFi phone from Vonage. Although my review is not flattering, the handset is most certainly a pocket-sized VoIP phone, and it’s been on the market for four months! Meanwhile TelTel and D-Link are only now “announcing” theirs. Here’s my advice to the marketing pros who stretch the truth past…um..being true: Stop doing this. When you incorrectly say “We’re the first”, people familiar with your industry must think one of two things: 1) You are outright lying and thus have no credibility; 2) You know very little about the market in which you compete, and you didn’t even bother to do any competitive analysis. Either way, you look real bombad. I suggest honesty, or at least spin before outright lying.
