Customization

We live in a highly customizable world. Everything can be made to order; even the computer I'm working on was made with features that I chose. At least I have come to expect that any product I buy will fill the needs that I intend it to fill. In turn, businesses create their products to fill my needs so they can maximize profit. Seems pretty logical to me. However, what I read on PC World today made me think of customization in a whole new light.

In Europe (everything happens first in Europe), Puma has released a cell phone. Okay, so now your thinking, so what? This phone is tailored to the needs of a sports fan! The features that the article highlights include essentially an application that acts as a pedometer, counting the number of steps and calories burned. Also, for my eco-friendly readers, there is a solar panel on the back of the phone that will help reduce your carbon footprint. Who would not want a phone that can fill in many of your needs in one device rather than carrying around five different devices? According to the report, this phone should quickly be available in most of the world although pricing has not been announced.

I wonder if this multi-use device will be all it promises to be. The only reason I say this is that new devices can have bugs. When devices do not work the way they're supposed to, the consumers get upset. Consumers get even more upset when they have used the broken device to run many aspects of their life and have disposed of the outdated devices. Then, the consumers realize that bundling their equipment into one machine is not worth the time and will not buy them again. Therefore, I hope Puma is careful because if they do not produce a quality electronic device on the first swing, people will not trust the company again for future needs.