{"product_id":"9780071606110","title":"The Race for Perfect: Inside the Quest to Design the Ultimate Portable Computer","description":"\u003cp\u003ePersonal computing has reshaped economies and industries, and is transforming how we express ourselves and relate to one another. The most personal of personal computers are the portables. We carry these gadgets with us wherever we go, whether they’re laptops, smartphones, or the coolest new Web-surfing devices. \u003ci\u003eThe Race for Perfect\u003c\/i\u003e tells the story of two generations of entrepreneurs, designers, and engineers as they have struggled to make ever-better portables.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eSteve Hamm takes the reader into a world where inspiration, design, engineering, and marketing come together to produce wave upon wave of the innovative products that we love to talk about and use. From the earliest days of portable computing, 40 years ago, entrepreneurs and designers have pushed forward relentlessly in a quest to create the perfect device. Their efforts have produced a few fabulous successes and many failures. But they never give up. They’re driven by the basic rule of the tech industry: innovate or die.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eIn addition to a fascinating read, \u003ci\u003eThe Race for Perfect\u003c\/i\u003e offers valuable lessons for business people in any industry, revealing how they must\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eINNOVATE\u003c\/b\u003e constantly to differentiate their products\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eCREATE\u003c\/b\u003e design principles that are timeless\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eINTEGRATE\u003c\/b\u003e design and engineering so products are both useful and fun to use\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eIMPROVE\u003c\/b\u003e quality and convenience without compromise\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eTAP\u003c\/b\u003e social networks to turn customers into fans\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eAt the center of this tale is the story of a single product, Lenovo’s ThinkPad X300 laptop. Lenovo, the first Chinese company to seek to establish a global consumer brand, bought IBM’s PC division in 2005 primarily to get the company’s storied ThinkPad laptops. The X300 was conceived as a “halo” product that would draw customers to Lenovo’s entire line. Woven through \u003ci\u003eThe Race for Perfect\u003c\/i\u003e is a case study of how this ambitious company, with teams in Japan, the United States, and China, marshaled its resources to pursue laptop perfection. As X300 came close to the finish line, it collided head-on with Apple’s super-slim MacBook Air—-with surprising results.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"McGraw-Hill Education","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47105737523440,"sku":"9780071606110","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780071606110_p0.jpg?v=1763635245","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780071606110","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}