The other day, I ran into a friend of mine who'd been out of station for quite some time - we were chatting away over the ubiquitious glass of whisky, when I suddenly noticed the nifty pouch strapped to his belt. It was very suggestive of a cellphone pouch, and on enquiring, sure enough, that's what it turned out to be. So what's the point, you may very well ask ?
The point is, that the gadget that came out of that pouch, looked as much like a cellphone as I look like Queen Elizabeth - which is to say, it doesn't look like a cellphone at all - in case you thought otherwise ;-).....The contraption in question had a camera, FM radio, video recorder, some xyz Mega Giga bytes of memory, touchscreen, music composer and this and that and blah-blah-blah...(I think the only things that phone couldn't do was wash the dishes and mow the lawn !!!)
So what, pray, is the cellphone intended to do ? The gadget was developed as a means of communication - to listen, to talk, and well, to SMS as well. But where are we headed today ? I hardly see anyone selling or advertising a cellphone with "x amount of talktime" or "y clarity in voice" etc.
Today, a cellphone is marketed by highlighting what all it can do apart from letting you talk - and I don't agree with that. Really, to buy a cellphone because it can take good pictures is like buying a car because the rear lights look good !
If I really want to click pictures, I'd much rather invent in a Canon Ixus, because it does what it's supposed to do. If I really want to listen to music, I'd much rather go out and buy a Sony for my house or a Blaupunkt for my car, rather than hold that darn cellphone to my ear to listen to FM. If I really need to send a mail to my customers, I'd much rather buy a laptop, with that new wi-fi thing or whatever they call it.
Do these manufacturers really think that they can usurp other goods and products by providing a step-child version of it on a cellphone ? Its possibly the biggest example of artificially-created demand in the world (if there is such a thing, that is).....
Enough rambling for now - time for me to return to my unfinished beer and siesta !
1 comment:
Convergence is the mantra of todays consumer electronics industry...but alas! few seem to know how to chant it! So we have cellfones you can use to invade into someone's privacy (or privates!!!) with impunity and we have cellfones that can play radio (a few can even roll over a play dead) and we have cellfones which play the role of a nagging wife with its reminders. That they all also let you make calls and send SMS should be considered purely on the fringe.
The practical & tactical aspects be damned! Just make the gadget snazzy and the junta would lap it up. I remember the times when the fones used to be bulky self-defence weapons wannabe's. Those were the first ones to hit the market and the 'hep' dudes would brandish it like and extension to their carnal egos. And there we were, a bunch of college duds, walking up to the closest guy showing off sticking his cell to his ears and ask him 'Bhaisaab, score kya hua hai?' Try that now and he might just make you listen to the commentary!
Pretty soon we would be watching that Discovery channel's show about the futuristic gizmos on our brand new refrigirators sitting in the comfort of our washing machine while our wives dish out hot paranthas cooked on our DVD players!
Long live consumerism!!!
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