May 13

Entelligence: Close to the edge

Posted in: column, Features, Today's Chili
Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he’ll explore where our industry is and where it’s going — on both micro and macro levels — with the unique wit and insight only he can provide.

There’s an interesting debate that I’ve had recently. Should product designers aim for the enthusiast or “edge” cases when designing products, or should they instead target mainstream users from day one? It’s an interesting discussion, but I believe that those that say “aim for the edge” and the enthusiast aren’t correct, at least in the long run.

Now if you’re reading this, chances are you’re a bit of an edge case — or at the very least a gadget enthusiast. That’s cool, I’m one as well. In fact, over the last few years I’ve coined three rules that I’ve come to refer to as Gartenberg’s Three Laws of Consumer Electronics. For those of you not familiar with them, they are:

  1. There’s a world wide market of 50,000 for any device sold to enthusiasts and early adopters.
  2. If Gartenberg sees a product at a demo and doesn’t offer his credit card for purchase immediately, the product is doomed.
  3. Even if Gartenberg does offer his credit card, the product may well still be doomed — as Gartenberg is part of the 50,000 enthusiasts that will buy (almost) anything.

(If you’re in the NY area, come on over some time and I’ll show you my collection)

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Entelligence: Close to the edge originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 May 2009 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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