Audio/Video, Cell Phones, Cameras, Computers
'Good Enough Technology' Means Cheap and Easy Always Wins
With tuned-in generations getting younger and younger, the amount of gadgets the average individual owns increases, but not the amount they pay to obtain them. Parents, or twenty-somethings striking out on their own, don't want to reach deep for must-have tech. Now, we need cell phones, MP3 players, clear TVs, quick cameras, lightweight entertainment, fast Internet. Paying for the high end version of all of these devices and services would render the average consumer broke, so something low-end that "gets the job done" suffices. The market, initially reticent (for instance, the record industry laughing off MP3s), is now embracing the fact that buyers will cut corners if it means a lower price.
Of course, this isn't new: the cheaper, easier VHS video tape format beat out the better-quality (and more compact) Beta back in the '70s. But more and more technology means more instances of consumers to choose the 'Good Enough' option. Here are some good examples of 'good enough' meat-and-potatoes devices that are winning the popularity contest with consumers. Whether they mark a fleeting trend, or are mainstays, still remains to be seen.
- Netbooks: Small, lightweight, and inexpensive, these 'mini' laptops don't pack the punch of a proper PC, but allow users to surf and word process, which is what the majority of folks do, anyway.
- LCD Screens: Plasma might offer better colors, richer blacks and smoother action scenes, but the LCDs are easy on the wallet and are currently flooding the market.
- Camera phones and point-and-shoots: Digital SLRs (single lens reflex) cameras are for prosumers and photo snobs, but most people want to capture their pals having a good time, regardless of megapixels. Also, easy use and seamless uploading make cell phone cameras ideal for Twitterers and people on the go.
- iPhone: While the iPhone is on the higher end of the smart phone price scale, the handset has become the go-to mobile device for nearly everything: music player, GPS, e-mail services, directions, Internet search, and video watching. Also, it still can't do real multimedai messaging (MMS), but nevertheless is outselling higher-end phones by a long shot.
- YouTube: While the switch to digital has made TV clearer, plenty of folks are perfectly content with watching their shows on low-def, blown out streaming video, which is instant and easy to find.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
55TB.wordpress.com said 10:39AM on 9-07-2009
Bronze, Silver, Gold. There's a difference. If cheap is the low end, then it shouldn't be so hard for consumers to find valuable difference between the low end and the expensive high end. If 99-cent MP3's are the new gold, then make MP2's for 79-cents, raise the price of MP3's to $1.29 and help stop articles from being written that make people feel guilty for buying affordable products they like.
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??? said 3:52PM on 9-07-2009
MP2s? Are you a complete idiot or something? Seriously, if you're going to make an argument like that, at least know what you're talking about and not ass-pull. It makes you and your obviously-displayed blog a little more enticing. Just a little though.
marshall said 10:55AM on 9-07-2009
Not being rich is one reason I cut corners. The other reason is everything new is supposedly fantastic. the CD better than the album, Plasma and LCD better than the analog TVs, But they are not. The new LCD and plasmas have all types of distortions regular TVs haven't had since the 70s. DVD recorders aren't as flexible or reliable as VHS recorders,and Cd's ware out as fast as albums. Remember when the DVD was supposed to be as good as it can get for movies now they say they are inferior to blu ray which is of course perfect; until the next thing comes along.
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T said 3:33PM on 9-07-2009
Clayton Christensen wrote this concept up in The Innovator's Dilemma. The great high tech revolution, according to him and many others, was created by simpler and cheaper.
Mini Computer v. Mainframe; PC v. Mini; solar calulator v. HP; flash drive v. backup hard drives; cars that go 6000 miles or more between oil changes; cars that last 100,000+ miles v. 40,000 being a kind of limit. Email v. mail. And on and on it goes.
Peter Drucker added that things getting smaller, the nano phenomenon, is what boosted world trade. Mfg sales in the US have been going up for a long time; workers required are not. This led to 6.6% productivity boost last Q, with a labor drop off. Unheard of previously.
This trend has been going on for a long time.
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