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Guess What's the Fastest-Adopted Gadget of the Last 50 Years

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Re: Guess What's the Fastest-Adopted Gadget of the Last 50 Years

#31

Post by rosser »

amirmc wrote: post #27
laughinghan wrote: post #16

If you take another look at the figure, the highest correlating factor isn't whether the "gadget" (by which they mean consumer technology, not any specific device) is for "consumption of entertainment" or "communication or production of media", as the text of the article suggests. It's simply how complicated the technology is--dare I say, how innovative the technology is--and the reason is simple: the more innovative…

I think I get your point but I don't think it entirely matches the graph. Is an answering machine more technologically advanced than a portable CD player? Edit: What I'm really trying to get at is that there are so many factors that go into adoption. Trying to sum it up by how 'advanced' the tech may be is a gross oversimplification

The GP said complicated, not advanced. A CD player is much less complicated for the "VCR clock has flashed 12:00 for the last four years" crowd than an answering machine.

Re: Guess What's the Fastest-Adopted Gadget of the Last 50 Years

#32

Post by amirmc »

rosser wrote: post #31
amirmc wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think I get your point but I don't think it entirely matches the graph. Is an answering machine more technologically advanced than a portable CD player? Edit: What I'm really trying to get at is that there are so many factors that go into adoption. Trying to sum it up by how 'advanced' the tech may be is a gross oversimplification

The GP said complicated , not advanced . A CD player is much less complicated for the "VCR clock has flashed 12:00 for the last four years" crowd than an answering machine.

Please re-read his last sentence.

Also, this doesn't really affect my point. Complicated, advanced, cheap, fashionable, etc are all valid factors in how/why things get adopted. Picking out one of them, on the basis of a graph, oversimplifies things.

Re: Guess What's the Fastest-Adopted Gadget of the Last 50 Years

#33

Post by recursive »

planckscnst wrote: post #25

My guess was the keyless entry remote, which I expect is now very close to 100% penetration in the US. I wonder if that was one considered for the chart.

It's definitely not 100%. Probably over 50%, but my car and many others I know of do not have it.

Re: Guess What's the Fastest-Adopted Gadget of the Last 50 Years

#34

Post by ben1040 »

pawosty wrote: post #12
cperciva wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, it's 7 years after first introduction to market . There are lots of products which spent a long time going nowhere and then suddenly exploded once they became sufficiently refined.

Such as the iPod? Or are you thinking of a different example? Actually I might be way off with the iPod...

Actually I might be way off with the iPod...

Naw, you're pretty much spot on. It took a few refinements to get traction, and that all happened about two years after it launched.

The 3rd gen iPod came out in early 2003, and was the first one with USB support and the familiar dock connector that we all take for granted today. At the same time the iTunes Music Store launched as well.

Then in fall 2003 Apple released iTunes for Windows. That and USB support means millions of potential customers who couldn't have used an iPod otherwise before. Then, checkmate: they brought out the iPod Mini in 2004. Not only did it look cool, it was priced at a point where all sorts other folks could get in, and they could finally use it on their Windows PCs.

Re: Guess What's the Fastest-Adopted Gadget of the Last 50 Years

#35

Post by meatsock »

datagramm wrote: post #26

One wonders exactly what constitutes a 'boombox'. Would my bakelite wireless count? Or must the device have a fade-sporting b-boy attached to it's base to qualify?

no, your bakelite radio would not count, as a boombox is understood to include a tape or cd player - few radio stations adapted to the new musical styles quickly enough for the street.

Re: Guess What's the Fastest-Adopted Gadget of the Last 50 Years

#36

Post by meatsock »

datagramm wrote: post #26

One wonders exactly what constitutes a 'boombox'. Would my bakelite wireless count? Or must the device have a fade-sporting b-boy attached to it's base to qualify?

no, your bakelite radio would not count, as a boombox is understood to include a tape or cd player - few radio stations adapted to the new musical styles quickly enough for the street.

Re: Guess What's the Fastest-Adopted Gadget of the Last 50 Years

#37

Post by crusso »

The things on the left side of the graph were relatively inexpensive consumer devices while the things on the right were generally more expensive.

The author's surprise that the color tv or cell phone weren't more quickly adopted seems ignorant of price considerations. Color televisions and cell phones were very expensive when they were introduced.

Re: Guess What's the Fastest-Adopted Gadget of the Last 50 Years

#38

Post by vectorpush »

gcb wrote: post #19
ohashi wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But it does a poor job replacing the boombox. You need some other device or attachment to really share that sound.

It already does a pretty good job at annoying me in the bus with other people's dance/rap "music"

Certainly, if you don't personally enjoy it then it doesn't qualify as music.

Re: Guess What's the Fastest-Adopted Gadget of the Last 50 Years

#39

Post by crusso »

__alexs wrote: post #18
xbryanx wrote: post #15

It's interesting to compare this to the rate of adoption for the land line telephone: https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AnZb5H7... This new technology took decades to reach mass use, from the time it was introduced on the market.

A direct requirement for new infrastructure deployment to make use of a new technology is always going to reduce the rate of uptake. The top 5 things on the list all require pretty much just a factory and a large number of trucks to get value out to the consumers quickly. Plus customers themselves were providing amplification in the value being delivered on those trucks by producing their own mixtapes and VHS recordi…

That's an excellent point. Cell phone networks and color television content took a long time to develop. They weren't useful to very many consumers when first introduced, so the market rate was naturally very slow.

Re: Guess What's the Fastest-Adopted Gadget of the Last 50 Years

#40

Post by callmeed »

crusso wrote: post #37

The things on the left side of the graph were relatively inexpensive consumer devices while the things on the right were generally more expensive. The author's surprise that the color tv or cell phone weren't more quickly adopted seems ignorant of price considerations. Color televisions and cell phones were very expensive when they were introduced.

When you consider all the D batteries I had to buy for my boom box, it was pretty expensive ;)
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