March 30th, 2006
In their quest to market their products and confuse their customers, a lot of companies shamefully use terms they have no business using on their products. A buddy and I were discussing this very subject this morning and we came up with the following list:
universal - Number one on our list is the term universal. Specifically, Sony’s use of the term universal in it’s UMD (Universal Media Disc). Universal is defined as applicable or common to all purposes, conditions, or situations. It’s hardly universal since it only works in one known device, content is regionally locked, and users can only use the disc in one way (read data off of it). How is that universal in any sense? I know some people may argue that they mean “universal” in the types of media it holds (photos, video, music, games) but again, it’s not universal it’s simply “versatile” (as in DVD). It’s not surprising that UMD is getting little love and being dumped left and right. UMD - Unloved. Must Die.
high-speed or hi-speed - What does high-speed mean? This is commonly used in flash memory advertising. For some companies, at least they qualify their high speed with some multiplier like 80x so that you can gain some sense of what it means. Again, Sony shamelessly uses “high-speed” on their products. The funny thing is that most of their products need the high-speed versions of the memory anyways so that you can take full advantage of their products.
special edition - Since when did Special Edition come to mean “dumbed down” version? I’ve noticed this a lot on video cards. Normally, you would expect SE to mean that it’s actually special and has some features that you can’t get anywhere else. Instead, SE now means Slow Edition. Usually this means that pipelines have been cut out, clock speeds are slower, and memory buses are reduced. Products like these confuse customers and tarnish what Special Edition means.
enterprise - My buddy feels this one is way overused and I agree. All it means is that it takes up more disk space and hogs all available memory and asks for more.
pro - This one goes back to Sony. Most of Sony’s products require the PRO version of their flash products to get the full functionality out of the product. Why don’t they simpy make PRO standard so all the customers can maximize their experience. Besides, who buys 32, 64 or 128MB memory sticks anymore?
deluxe or premiere - These two are popular terms used for product differentiation. It can mean one of two things. First, it can mean “bundled with crap you don’t need”. Secondly, it can mean “these features should have been standard but we’re got greedy and decided to charge you for them.”
So, those are our favorites so far. If you have any, please be sure to comment!
March 16th, 2006
I recently had to call Sony Service because I wanted them to look at my girlfriend’s Sony Core Walkman NW-E505 which recently started acting erraticly. The support person I spoke with was friendly and took all of my information so that he could look up the terms of the service. He informed me that since I was under warranty, that I was eligible for their exchange service.
At first I thought this was great since it seemed like a good solution…that is, until I found out they wanted to charge me $29.99 for the replacement even though the unit was still under warranty! Apparently, all of the US models get a 1 year warranty on parts and 90 days warranty on labor. Of course, the NW-E505 I had was an Overseas Model which came with an official Sony Warranty card (which I believe is legally binding) that specifically said that it came with a 1 year parts AND labor warranty. So, I’m still working out the details with Sony Service right and will keep you all updated on the situation.
The whole situation got me thinking warranties and how the 1 year/90 days warranty seems like complete nonsense. A proper basic warranty should include at least 1 year for both parts and labor. Such a chintzy warranty doesn’t build the greatest confidence in a company’s product. If they can’t build something that will last a year under normal usage then they shouldn’t be selling that product to begin with. Even the industry leader (Apple) gives you at least a year on parts and labor. They do get you with the 90 days on phone support but at least they’ll fix it.
I browsed around to the SonyStyle Japan site and found out that the same models there get a 3 year parts and labor warranty. Additionally, one can pay 420-630 YEN (roughy $4-6 USD) to add accidental coverage which includes accidental drops and fire and water damage.
Sony US charges $29.99 to extend your warranty to match that of Sony Japan’s standard 3 year warranty. Even worse, it’s $56.99 to extend your warranty to 3 years with accidental warranty. That’s just plain wrong.
So, why are Sony’s US customers getting the shaft when it comes to warranty? Yes, I know that it’s probably a strategy that some genius MBA came up with to lower costs. Personally, I think it’s a poor strategy that diminishes the integrity Sony’s brand. It’s also yet another example of a bad decision that’s eroding Sony’s mystique of building quality products.
February 21st, 2006
I was going to let this one pass today but I just couldn’t.
For the past several weeks, Sonic/Roxio has been sending me e-mails about upgrading to MyDVD 8 since I’m an owner of MyDVD 6 (which I rarely use). I don’t use it as often as I would like because it has some quirks that I don’t like and I tend to use different programs depending on whatever DVD project I’m trying to make.
Anyways, Sonic has been sending these e-mails where I can take advantage of up to “$30 off” savings if I upgrade now. Naturally, I’m curious about what is new in version 8 so I decide to go to Sonic’s web site to get more information. I’m figuring that there must be a lot of improvement since they just skipped over a version 7 release and went straight to 8. Of course, I’m being sarcastic here. I know that they skipped a version so that the version numbering would match up with their comprehensive Easy Media Creator 8 product.
Here’s the best part.
As of today, there is absolutely no information nor even a mention of MyDVD 8 on either Sonic or Roxio’s web sites. Searching the site returns no results for MyDVD 8. Of course, the e-mail link will gladly take you to Sonic’s e-shop where you can buy the product immediately. How the heck am I supposed to know if it’s worth buying if there’s no product information page? Even worse, unless you have the special link you wouldn’t even know that they’re selling the product since it’s not listed anywhere in their e-shop. Shouldn’t they put up the new product page first listing all of the great or new and improved features so that I will get excited to upgrade right away? The way they’ve been aggressively trying to get me to upgrade seems like they’re hiding something about their product.
The funny thing is that a few weeks ago when I first received the e-mail, I figured that information would be up pretty soon if they were sending an e-mail like that. However, there’s still no information about this new product and Sonic/Roxio isn’t even going to get a sniff of my wallet until they put up more information….assuming their product is worth purchasing.
It’s just another example of a company thinking about it’s pockets rather than thinking about their customer first.
February 16th, 2006
I often have long exchanges with one of my buddies regarding the multitude of “bone-headed” tech consumer products that pop-up every couple of weeks. By bone-headed, we simply mean products that are so poorly designed or marketed that they’re (1) doomed to fail right from the start, (2) create confusion in the marketplace or (3) introduce some proprietary technology that no one really wants.
Our conversations will usually be something like the following:
“Why can’t digital camera manufacturers use a standard mini-USB port instead of proprietary cables?”
“Why is it so difficult to add line-out to portable digital audio devices?”
“Why do consumer electronics like PSPs and digital cameras continue to ship with 32MB memory cards which are completely useless?”
“Why can any company call their stuff ‘universal’ when it isn’t?”
....
You get the picture and we can go on all day about this stuff. New tech products are coming out everyday and the press releases for these products and their respective CEO’s assurance that their “new” product is what consumers want is laughable and makes us angry.
I’d have to say that the “me-too” products are the ones that bother me the most. This is where companies simply bring out shameless copies or cheap imitations of the market leader. Basically, this applies to all the various iPod knock-offs that are on the market. In the short run, these companies think their product will sell just because it’s like the market leader. They spend absolutely no money on research and development (R&D) and rush their product to market as quickly as possible and wonder why it isn’t selling well. Then they bring out another product (that’s not compatible with their first product) thinking a rounder version will solve the problem.
All these companies are missing out on are a few basic things. The biggest problem in my mind is that these companies simply do not understand the market they’re selling their product in. On a superficial “fad” level, the iPod does sell because of the design and because it’s marketed as the cool thing to have. Of course, that’s only what the competitors see. What they’re missing is the big picture. Over the long run, it’s the platform that sells the device and what keeps the customers coming back. It’s the combination of iTunes + iPod + ease-of-use + reasonable DRM. It’s not just fancy looking hardware but rather the sum of the parts that makes it a compelling plaform to stay on. The software is a huge component. Although not perfect, it gives the user a unified way to access their music and freely lets a user rip their CDs to whichever format they want. It’s this end-to-end experience that no competitor has been able to match or exceed for the past five years. Why is that so hard to understand?
What about the customer? That’s a huge area where a lot of companies completely miss. Let’s revisit my Apple iPod example. What I like the most here is that they put the responsibility on the user to not “steal music”. That’s treating the customer right. I’ll save the long DRM argument for another day but the point is that if a majority of your market is buying your product then why are you punishing them? It doesn’t make sense and yet companies continue to treat all customers as criminals just to punish a small minority. What is the purpose of a company? Sales? Nope. It’s to create a customer! And if you’re lucky enough to create that customer it’s in your best interest to treat them right.
Another problem with these companies is that their strategy is so misguided. They should know that historically, positioning a product head-on with the market leader is suicidal. Instead of simply releasing “me-too” products, a smart company will find a way to create a new customer. One of my favorite examples of this is Shuttle. Shuttle used to primarily make PC motherboards; however, that market got ridiculously cutthroat and sprouted tons of different players. What did Shuttle do? Thanks in part to technological improvements and a certain amount of foresight and risk, Shuttle introduced the Small Form Factor (SFF) PC. While not the first to market such a product, they were first to position their product as a full-fledged desktop replacement since previously released products were seen as underpowered systems. And what happened? Shuttle created a new market and new opportunities. While there are other competitors now, Shuttle still has a decent chunk of the market and is usually the brand that most people think of when you think of SFF systems.
In a lot of areas, there are a few good products and there are dozens and dozens of “me-too” products. I just wish some of these companies would stop bombarding us with inferior products and actually put out products where it’s obvious that the customer was thought of first in the product design. Ok, enough ranting for now…
January 14th, 2006
A belated happy new year to all! I just returned from a nearly two week trip from Japan for some unofficial work and relaxation. Unfortunately, I only made it into Tokyo a few times and never had a chance to visit my favorite place: Akihabara aka Akiba.
Still, I was able to get a sense of what’s cool in Japan from the electronics shops I was able to go to.
Overall, it’s a little disappointing…a fair amount of the cool stuff is no longer exclusive to Japan. I found that most of the stuff there could be found one way or the other in the US. The big difference in Japan is the amount of variation of models available and the vast number of accessories available in Japan. The accessories front in Japan is far ahead of the US it’s not even funny. At most electronics stores here, you only find the basic assortment of black colored or generic looking accessories. In Japan, you have aisles and aisles of accessories in all sorts of colors, sizes, and protective shapes. The amount of variation is astounding.
So, I ended up not really picking up too many big items this time. Instead, I just looked for accessories. Unfortunately, I didn’t have too much time to really look but I picked up a few nice things.
I did also pick up a Ceramic White Sony PSP which is pretty sweet. It looks so much better than the Black PSP. Of course, finding matching white/clear PSP accessories is even harder even in Japan.
More updates on the stuff I got once I take more pictures.
