Avoidance Achieved

By Jeff Reinke, Editorial Director

One has to wonder: how successful a company could be with a product that addresses core issues instead of distracting the customer with add-on, and often un-related features?

About five years ago I was in an airport with a colleague who made a very simple, but very interesting observation. He lamented about not getting in on the ground floor of cell phones, and investing in those companies who had been primarily responsible for their wide-spread use. This comment was made after noting the rampant use of cell phones in every area of the airport. Recently, this friend’s comments came back to me as I waited to catch a flight, and made my own observations regarding cell phone use, the embedded design features that they now offer, and the product development dynamic they seem to represent.

Although it pales in comparison to the stories of trudging through 5’ of snow, uphill, both ways in getting to school, I can remember a time when cell phones were used exclusively for … making and receiving phone calls. Now they’re cameras, video recorders, MP3 players, game controllers, web-enabled devices for downloading e-mail and music, text messaging centers, and oh yeah, they also allow for making and receiving phone calls.

So in looking at the initial concept, the product’s functionality was basic and targeted towards individuals who wanted or needed to be accessible at all times. The only major complaint that I remember having with cell phones initially was reception quality, sound clarity and the cost of a nationwide calling plan, and I’m pretty sure that I was not alone. That said, those vested in the cell phone marketplace knew that in order to grow, they needed to expand, attract new consumer groups and develop new products.

This began with simple accessories like a case or inter-changeable faceplate. Then functionality was added for simple things like calendars, address books and call-forwarding capabilities. The floodgates then opened with all the accompanying technologies and capabilities mentioned above, and in recent years we’ve seen these enhancements continue with higher resolution screens, more user-friendly interfaces and expanded memory storage features that allow for the category of products broadly referenced as cell phones to increase their market penetration and overall presence.

My current version of the cell phone gives me access to e-mail, the internet and even a couple of games that help pass the time when I’m not e-mailing, calling or people-watching in the airport. However, and I still don’t think I’m alone in my feelings. My suggested improvements would involve better reception, sound clarity and lowering the cost of a nationwide calling plan.

So while all of these electronic, technologically-cool and consumer-satisfying features and functions are all very interesting, the core technology has not improved on the same level. So the real question is are these products being designed to improve our everyday lives, or simply to sell more phones to younger users more enamored with the package than the primary functionality?

While I’d never fault anyone for seizing an opportunity to sell more of anything, especially when they’re still meeting user demands, one has to wonder: how successful a company could be with a product that addresses core issues instead of distracting the customer with add-on, and often un-related features? I guess the question for all of us in the design community is; are we moving technology forward, or successfully avoiding it by developing other, more eye-catching designs that are only focused on the initial sale?

I’ll have more to say about this in the next issue, but in the mean time I’d love to hear your thoughts. My e-mail is jeff.reinke@advantagemedia.com