Both matters of course!
A device that you would love to hold and carry should match your design interests and choices. Of course! It should.
No one wants to buy a smartphone with the dumbest design and super performance (though). People rather choose to buy the one with better design and less-super performance. ‘Looks’ also matter as we spend much enough bucks on it.
Smartphones-style icons; a good combo. If not, there won’t be crazy night outs for iPhone x’s release in front of the stores. There won’t be design patent legal cases running in the court. Design matters for a lifestyle gadget and it is a universal fact.
Does design matters for gadget accessories too?
May be!
May be not!
In case of ‘maybe’, we can consider the headphones, wrist bands, and digital watches, flip covers and so on.
In case of ‘maybe not’, we can consider the memory cards, batteries, wall mount chargers, USB cables and so on. All these accessories need not be perfectly designed or furnished stylishly.
For example, a flat wired USB cable or round wired USB cable does the same job but only differs in design. Also, though flat wired headphones and round wired headphones do the same job, we’ll go with the stylish one among both. Probably, most choose the trending flat wire design.
There is a justification in it. Headphones appear to public and USB cables won’t while using. People won’t use USB cables hanging over their ears or nose while walking down the street. Will you?
(Imagine it once and that should have made you laugh)
So, what this is all about? Sync between design and technology?
A sort of. There is a hidden third musketeer in the topic, the ‘marketing’. Before we dive into the hidden marketing technique, let’s talk about the price ranges of the gadgets and accessories differed by designs and colors.Believe me, I won’t take long ago examples and the count won’t cross over two. Yes, two example are very fine to make you understand well.
Take an example of the latest flick Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. The technical specifications of both the devices are the same but the edge version differs in design. Its edge bent screen, 100 extra mAh battery and 6gms less weight costs you Rs.9000 ($140) more compared to the normal screen version.
Do they (odd design features) worth it?
Never!
“That’s just a pure gimmick to trick consumers”, said a famous gadget reviewer on YouTube.
In a case, if style really matters to you, 9K rupees (i.e., $140) is not an issue at all but still not worthy.
For another example, consider Asus’s Zenpower 10050mAh power bank. It is available in different colors but with the same specifications and capacity. The only variation that we can notice is the color. For our surprise, the price varies with color. The variation of the price ranged from Rs.100 to Rs.400 (i.e. from $1.5 to $6.5).
It may not be a big deal if the general price of the power bank ranged in big digits. But it shows Rs.1,499 ($23). Does it make sense increasing 33% of the price for particular colored pieces?
The point is
We buy everything online today. “With great demand comes great price variation”, said some market-man in the past. The price set varies depending on the demand in the market. Remember iPhone 5S with gold finishing was sold for higher prices than usual on e-commerce stores? But the original price of it is as same as the rest of the sibling versions, space gray and silver finishing on the official Apple website.I agree that style matters for people. If you are buying something little more stylish than the regular, check for its price hike and analyze if it is worth buying. 9K INR for edged screens is purely a stupid marketing trick executed by Samsung Corporation.
Tagging hiked prices for power banks of specific colors is the dumbest trick ever. A power bank cannot be showcased in public even. Is the company not aware of it? Yes, they are.
There is a hidden dimension here
If people are mad about color, they would buy it for 33% extra price. If they are not, they would consider the wisest solution, buying it for a general price. The seller would get the profit anyway.What do you think?
You are on target Sasidhar. I did some thinking after reading your post and I chose my S5 for the color, and although my tablet is basic black, the cover is a bright color. However, when you think about it, that is how we purchase cars, clothing and even household appliances. The best and most popular colors and the way things look are very important to us. 33% more does not surprise me at all. Good article.
ReplyDeleteHi Clearissa,
ReplyDeleteWelcome to Amfas Tech!
Gadgets like smartphones, vehicles, clothing and household appliances can be considered for deisgn but the only thing we should be smart about is, if they are worth buying for such value. When I wrote "I agree that style matters for people. If you are buying something little more stylish than the regular, check for its price hike and analyze if it is worth buying", It means the same. Buying a color variant for little hiked price is not bad. But buying the same product for drastically hiked changed price is a disaster.
Coming to a product like iPhone 5S, Apple website displays the same price for all the variants but ecommerce stores brings the difference. As my tone in the post goes, buying accessories that are publicly visible need to be considered with color and design. But what difference can a colored powerbank bring? It can't be showed off like headphones.
That's what I actually mean.
Anyhow, thank you so much stoppingby and sharing your thoughts about the article. I am so glad to have you involved in Amfas Tech dicussions for the first time.
Keep visiting back! Have a great week ahead :)
Hi Sasidhar,
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely true in all that you wrote :)
With everything that's available online nowadays, one needs to be aware about being fooled in many such things, as you mentioned.
I'd perhaps take the best of both, a little of style and design, but would preferably see the product and it's features more in detail, and whether it's all worth the price. Survey the market offline as well, because sometimes you find them cheaper there, than in the online stores - though not always.
If some product is more stylish than the regular, there is bound to be a price hike, and the choice is what you have to make, whether you still wish to go for it or not - is it really worth the cost and do you have that extra budget too, isn't it?
Thanks for sharing. Have a nice week ahead :)
Hi madam,
ReplyDeleteThank you!
Design matters and I agree on that. Color matters and I agree on that too. But, it should not create a fake demand and bring price hike. Also, we should be aware if the design variation is worth enough to buy for that price hike.
Regarding colors and gadget accessories, a blue powerbank and a red powrbank does the same job when they are have the same design and specs. We have to have our eyes-opened when buying.
I also agree on your point "though the price hikes may not be always high on ecommerce stores". It adds up a point to this discussion.
Thank you so much for taking time in sharing your views about the article. Have a great week ahead :)
Hi Sasidhar
ReplyDeleteWell what can I say than you are right in this post. Everyone has a reason for buying electronics.. For me I chose style and performance. I don't play with the two factors.
For instance I have been looking for a smartphone that is light weight and has much performance. I have not seen any yet that fits my description.
Thanks for sharing.
Hi Ikechi,
ReplyDeleteDesign and style matters my friend. But for what price? I hopefully highlighted the point in the article.
Haha! "Keep searching for it. Don't compromise", That's what Steve Jobs of Apple used to say.
Thank for commenting on the article. Have a great day :)
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