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/OPINION
Are gadget life cycles too short? YES
NO
Matt Priest thinks tech’s fast turnover is encouraging a dangerous throwaway culture… …but Thomas Shambler argues that the machine-gun approach to tech ultimately benefits everyone
MP Remember the attachment you had to your CD player? Sure the stacks of CDs (which you would listen to from start to finish) would change, but the actual CD player did a job, and a damn good job at that. Today, we’ve been thrown into a world where we’re seemingly upgrading phones and tellies every year. And it’s not right, I tell you! Where has the sentimentality gone? TS Sentimentality - that’s an app, right? An app I can run seamlessly thanks to the latest firmware upgrade for my new phone. Gadgets go out of date, get with the programme. And even if you could slow down the great conveyor belt of shiny new things that arrive
each year, why would you? So you can feel better about having an old CD player and that beat-up blower you call a mobile phone? MP Funny you should mention that, this morning I was thinking about how much I enjoy my phone (HTC Legend), and how after the initial period of mastering it and customising it to my needs (thanks, Andriod), it now does my bidding without confusion. Yes it is 18-months old, but I can call, text, check my mail, surf the net, shoot angry birds and read my ebooks… and it has always run flash. TS Technology does last, and I understand (kinda) your
unwavering loyalty towards the silver brick in your pocket. But when you do decide to get a shiny replacement, faster gadget life cycles make sure a spanking new model is just around the corner (might we suggest the justlaunched HTC Sensation?). Surely that’s better than finding yourself stranded in the middle of some manufacturer’s arbitrary two-year product roadmap, unable to find a new phone? MP A slow turning cycle it might be, but at least it is a structured process, and not a profit fueled ‘release now, fix later’ mentality that leaves products filled with bugs and glitches. I am just as happy to play with my fully functioning HTC as I am to play on my PS3 for four more years. When there is a new model
What you said... As a total gadget fiend – I can never wait until the next one is out. It feeds my addiction @MoadhBukhash What’s hot today is sure to be put on the back burner
out that is drastically better, I will buy it. For me, it’s quality, not quantity, that breeds loyalty. TS Ah, but that ‘fix later’ approach makes your tech last longer than ever. It’s what gives your threeyear-old Canon EOS 5D Mark II a lovely new 24p mode, or your iPad wireless syncing. It’s these firmware upgrades that make tech last. Even your 18 month young phone will have benefitted from the same Android tweaks that appeared on later models, in fact, you can thank the newer HTC Incredible, Desire S and Sensation for the speedier interface and better apps you know and love. It seems your phone will only get better as the updates trickle down from every newer model released. Which is a tad ironic, isn’t it.
tomorrow as there is always something new on the horizon. Regardless if we’re talking about mobile phones, tablets, netbooks or laptops. Cin Rupp
Too often it’s just last year’s thing, with a slightly better screen. I’ll fork out for genuinely new technology though, like NFC or glasses-free 3D Anthony Galbraith
We all want the latest, fastest, most cool gadgets. Sorry, but it is the way of the world! NickNickNickM
The Android phone life cycle is ludicrous. I quite like the predictable Apple refresh cycle – it lets you plan your purchases Hugh J. Parse
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6/27/11 4:55 PM