goodthatway - The Gadgets In Our Closets

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The Gadgets In Our Closets
by Scott Raulinaitis, Editor - 10/20/2003 8:58pm EST

Katie Hafner of the NY Times, recently wrote an article about the lure of our gadgets.  We buy these gadgets to improve our lives but, for whatever reason, so many of them end up getting stuffed in a drawer, hidden in a closet, or (when we're smart) resold on eBay.

The reasons vary greatly from product to product and person to person but it usually boils down to them being more trouble than they're worth.  There are usability issues, configuration headaches, the issue of "another gadget to have to carry around," and the problem of having to keep all of these things charged up.  This last reason is why I'm thinking that the Treo 600 may be a good fit for my wife.  Although I'd love to sell her on the idea of a two-piece Bluetooth solution, I know that at least one of them would end up with a dead battery before long.

I make it my policy to criticize products for the slightest usability issues, but even the most usable products will end up in a closet if they don't meet a particular person's need or lifestyle.  I bought my relatively small (at the time, at least) Digital 8mm camcorder years ago with the vision of making interesting short films, but it largely stays in my closet instead.  Even with a good reason to use it (my five-year-old daughter), I just find it too much of a chore to charge it up and haul it with me on a regular basis.  Yet I've known others who had no trouble doing even back when they were still using those VHS behemoths that had to be rested on your shoulder.  Your level of passion for a particular utility really will determine whether these things get used, or just end up collecting dust.

Getting around that issue are the new breed of convergence devices.  When manufacturers merge a device you'd like to have with you (e.g. - a digital camera) into a device you need to have with you (e.g. - a cellphone), and the usability and quality are implemented reasonably well, you'll take advantage of it.  For now, most of the current convergence devices don't quite meet my standards for usability or quality, but they're getting better.  In preparation, I better start selling some of my "good as new" stuff on eBay while it's still worth something.

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