I was in CompUSA the other day doing my bi-monthly walk-through and briefly stopped at the “gadget counter”. I usually don’t stop but I’m currently in the market for the new Treo 610 and wanted to see if it was out yet. The reason I don’t usually stop is the very same reason that I vomit whenever I sit in an American made car-allergic to cheap non-thoughtful, unintuitive design wrapped in plastic and formaldehydes. While product design has gotten better as of late (Ipod, HomepPod, Nikon), it’s nothing compared to the way products use to be designed.
Closely check out some of the Rios or Canon cameras and you’ll realize that they put way too much effort and resources into over-designing them to the point where they no longer provide an intimate experience. Whatever happened to less-is-more? Sony recently opened a few stores under a new name and brand (name forthcoming) in order to push high-end products that were more closely tied to their original brand promise (beautifully designed and functioning products). I’ll try and find the original article that ran in the Circuits Section of the New York Times describing the stores mission and locations. Supposedly, you need an appointment and the medium price for any specific product is about $4k.