Too Many Similar Devices Cause Consumer "Gadget Fatigue"

When did the end user become a beta tester?

There is a surplus of gadgets on the market today and many are only marginally different from other devices on the market. Many of the devices are coming to market with such small changes (compared to previous models) that consumers just don’t see the need to “upgrade”. In addition, some consumers feel that gadgets are also coming out with new features that are being pushed before they are ready to buy them.

So-called "gadget fatigue" is when gadgets start to pile up in the inventory of some makers ahead of consumer demand. This is part of what happened with the HP TouchPad and theBlackberry Playbook that caused them to fail in the market place.

A new study published by Underwriters Laboratories entitled “Navigating the Product Mindset” found that nearly 90% of gadget makers think they are at or ahead of the curve.

Forbes reports that the fast upgrade schedule that some are keeping in the gadget world has consumers wondering what's driving he pace of upgrading. There are two things that can be driving it Forbes opines. One is that technology is changing so quickly that it is outpacing the desire for consumers to get new features. The other possibility is that the companies are pushing devices out so quickly to keep up with the competitive market, that products are coming out with minimal changes to them.

Today’s consumer is no stranger to the fact that many gadgets like smartphones and tablets on the market today are seemingly pushed out so fast that significant bugs are encountered by early adopters. Recently, products like the iPhone 4S and Kindle Fire have been criticized for early problems. In Apple’s case, many users have been plagued with poor iPhone 4S battery life, even after the company released an update to address the problem. Amazon says that an update to the Kindle Fire is coming to address performance issues and feature omissions.

Many consumers think that if the development cycle slowed the issues that end users have to deal with today would decrease. Products that are launched without major issues would make many more likely to upgrade when new versions launched down the road.

Source: dailytech