The pressure of knowing technology
People love to feel needed, and love to know that people will do something because they said that’s what they should do. They love the fact that someone wants to pick their brain about things, and think that they know enough about a product to ask them their opinion. It’s these types of people that undermine my years of experience and research into technology (not mentioning my bachelor in “Knowing What The Fuck Is Going On In Electronics”, or “bKWFGE”, or “b-kwha-farge”). This is indeed sad, as many people get gypped, ending in a product that worked wonderfully for one person, but on the whole lacks in many of the necessary elements to make a technical accessory usable and worthwhile.
No doubt, you will be asked at some point in your life if you “know about technology”, and if you’re human you’ll instinctively reply “does a bear shit in the woods?” or “Yes” for short, even if you can’t tell the difference between a cellphone and a computer mouse. You want these people to go “Wow. I wish I could be like that guy, knowing about all these complex technological products!” You want people to listen and tell you that your choice was fantastic. But let’s face reality. You don’t know shit, and your obsession with being socially popular will ultimately cost someone $500 in hard-earned money for something that they can’t use, and makes life more complex than inviting a third person into their marriage.
Below is a simple guide to simple technology, so even if you don’t know REALLY what the “asker” really needs, you can tell them to get a product that will cover 99% of all users needs and has almost 100% satisfied users. The two main accessories that get replaced year after year are cellphones and digicams, so I’ll cover these. But first, the asker.
The asker
Now, when being asked, it is important that you take into consideration the “asker’s” requirements and needs, and not yours. This is a common mistake made by people who are so excited people care what they think, and have used a product that worked for them, and assume therefore that product is the best you can get. This, funnily, is almost always not the case.
Do note that when you use a product for an extended amount of time (i.e. if you own it and use it for a week), then that product is easy to use. It may have been hard when you started, but you endured and now it’s easy! Therefore that product is easy to use! This is not the case, and you should be aware of that situation, and aware that it’s an easy trap to fall into. Chances are, if someone is asking you, they’re not technically savvy, and you are. So if for you a product was hard to work the first time you got it, it’s not for them. Repeat, I don’t care how great your product is NOW, IT’S NOT FOR THEM!
In an ideal world, a non-technically savvy person could ask another equally illiterate person what product they use, as they’ve been there and know what was easy to grasp. But it’s a two-edged sword really.
Do not forget to ask them what they will be using the product for. Chances are, again, they want something that will perform a single task (or at most, 2-3 tasks). Take a cellphone, for instance. Most people I talk to say “I want to make calls. Texts? What are they?” There. Easy. No Bluetooth, no infared, camera, kitchen sink, built-in helicopter rotors, they just want a bloody phone. Simplicity and usability should be the name of the game. If someone asks you your opinion, it’s your obligation to provide unbiased information that best suits the asker’s needs, not “I use this phone therefore it’s the best” crap that 80% of people pull out. And don’t forget price. They need to set a limit, and it’s up to you to take the challenge and stick to it. If you want to offer your “researched opinion”, then it doesn’t come easy. You gotta work for it.
And forget reviews, unless they compare products reviewed by the same person and the same comments stand out time after time. Anyone can find a review saying anything they want. Reviews should be used sporadically, and only as a last resort. You’re much better off asking someone who has used the products. And don’t ask the guy in the shop because he’s out to make a sale. Highest price and poorest reliability are his motives, and don’t think otherwise.
Right, now you have your needs, let’s find them a phone and a camera.
The phone
This section is going to be short. I’ve not been asked by anyone that needs anything special as far as cameras and phones go, so chances are no-one will ask you. So let’s assume the user has these needs for their gear:
Phone: Make phone calls, text, make silent whilst in movie
Camera: Take pictures… um, yeah. Take pictures.
Now, let’s get them a phone. I know all of you are going to go “Wow, what a surprise” when I say, default to the Nokia. I know this because I’ve met so many people that have hard-ons for different phone manufacturers. My good friend Nat loves Siemens, but he has admitted he likes it because the menu is slightly more “technical” and suited for people that know what they want out of their phone. I do recall a comment made about the simplicity of the Nokia interface making for slower navigation. So in this instance, for a person that doesn’t know technology, then a Nokia would be the way to go. For a businessman who is tech-savvy (he won’t be asking you for your opinion though, because he already knows), maybe a Siemens is the way to go. Sounds like something you should ask when getting the user requirements ;)
I’ve been asked countless times by countless people what phone they should get, and almost always the Nokia fits everyone’s requirements perfectly. And I’m not lying here, but many people I’ve hooked up with Nokia’s have said:
Jim: “It’s the best phone I’ve ever had!” (x2)
Jenny: “It’s the best phone I’ve ever had!”
bKen (I didn’t get him this one, but he still has a Nokia): “It’s the best phone I’ve ever had!”
Me: “It’s the best phone I’ve ever had!” (x4 or so)
And everyone else gives fantastic reviews, and I chase them up all the time to make sure it’s going well. And I can also say that _every one_ of these people above have had an Ericsson. Saying anything?
Other things to take into consideration (and this goes for cameras too) are the development of interfaces and technology over the past 10 years as all the main cellphone companies grow up. Nokia have had their current interface for around 10 years, and it’s only changed slightly to allow for subtle improvements to be made. The Nokia interface is brilliantly easy to use, and allows for even the weakest of users to get the most from their phone (do not confuse the menu interface with the Symbian interface, which was about a 15-year step backwards for Nokia. It’s confusing and bloody difficult to use. Make sure you steer AWAY from any phone boasting that technology. Nokia provide a couple of phones with the Symbian interface, but mostly stick with their traditional one).
Anyway, the Nokia interface has been finely tuned over many years to produce something that works for both 15 year-old tech-geeks and 1960’s veterans alike. Alcatel started their life with some wall-bashingly poor interfaces that somehow lasted years (things like having to remember the number of the person you want to send a text to because you couldn’t search for them and the text you’re writing being cleared every time you received a text). The interfaces were no better, and the expected lifespan for an Alcatel barely reached a year. They haven’t come too far (which is amazing, given that all they have to do is copy another company’s interface. My sister was happy to move from her Alcatel to a Nokia after the Alcatel starting having issues a year after purchase. “It kept turning itself off,” was the verdict.
Sony-Ericsson (Sony purchased the Ericsson phone division, I think) have moved up in the world, producing good phones sometimes, and sometimes producing not-so-great phones. I’ve heard OK things about them. Do note their battery life is second to none though, and easily beat any other phone’s lifetime by sometimes up to one and a half times.
Forget Motorola. We’ve not heard anything from them for a long time, and that’s a good thing.
And Siemens are boasting the second-highest number of phone sales world-wide which speaks for itself. New Zealand doesn’t have a particularly high-profile distributor and/or marketer so I don’t hear a lot about it (apart from Nat who swears by them, and he knows tech if no-one else does). You can look into them if necessary.
But regardless of what I or other people say, Nokia have a proven record for usable reliable products, and sell more phones than any other manufacturer world-wide. Hard to imagine that many people being wrong. Nokia are not perfect (take Symbian for example), and some models have issues with screens and some internal connections giving up the ghost, but what company doesn’t? If you don’t know better, get your asker a Nokia, and be done with it.
Part two, “Cameras”, coming soon. |
