Recently, I was shopping for a new MP3 player
. Maybe at the time, I just wasn't into the hassle of comparison shopping, or didn't feel like researching the latest and greatest gadget…with the latest and greatest bells, whistles and features.
Instead I just decided to purchase a simple Sandisk Sansa MP3 player and get moving on with life.
So what happens?
I'm constantly using the MP3 player more than I ever had with my previously two MP3 players.
Why? Because of simplicity.
I found that because it's not cluttered with features which get in the way of usability, I'm using the player more.
Being a technology person, you think I would be into the latest gadget with all the bells and whistles
But instead, after all these years, the simplest gadget with less features turns out to be the best damn MP3 player I have owned.
In the past, I HAD to have features such as an equalizer, smart play lists, etc, only to realize that I never used many of these features just to listen to music on my MP3 player.
So it got me thinking. Do all the bells and whistle make for a great gadget? Do companies over-do-it with cramming in feature after feature, thinking that the average consumer will eventually figure every thing out.
Well, if you look at some of the latest gadgets that are popular, such as Pure Digital Technologies Flip Video Camera and Jitterbug Simple Cell Phones, I have the feeling some companies finally "get it".
I don't think I will ever will stop buying new gadgets, but for now on, it's not going to be for that must have feature. For me, less is better and it will also save me money on features that I don't really need.
Time will only tell if more companies tone down the number of features on their latest gadget.
In the mean time, leave a comment and let me know - do you use all those features or just give up trying to figure out how to make all those features work which causes you to rarely use that gadget?
I'm willing to bet on the latter.
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