Why Asians get cool gadgets and Americans don't

[starroute]

We've got a problem, Houston.

Apparently, it's not just that Americans are ignorant of science and the the US government no longer sponsors basic research. Americans aren't even that fond of technology any more -- they'd rather have cheap DVD players and status-conscious sneakers than the latest technological marvels.


http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/archive/2004/12/09/gadgetgap.DTL

Japan's gizmo utopia exists in part because of a happy harmonic convergence between its domestic market and its industrial sector: Japanese consumers are intensely style and status conscious, willing to pay more for better and cooler features and motivated to upgrade their core electronic devices at least annually, and sometimes even every six months.

<snip>

America has its share of early adopters, but they tend to be the exception rather than the rule; the average U.S. electronics consumer is driven more by cost and value than by features and technological sophistication.

"We're much more Wal-Mart," says Carnegie-Mellon's David J. Farber ruefully. "We buy our electronics from big-box stores where the salespeople know nothing about what they're selling -- they know how to swipe a credit card, and that's it."

<snip>

"Consumer behavior in Japan is totally driven by the teenagers," says Manfred "Luigi" Lugmeyer, editor in chief of the global gadget e-zine I4U. "They're not just buying toys -- they're buying electronics. They're competing in school to have the coolest stuff. American kids are into sneakers. Japanese kids are into technology."

[cheezus]

1. +1, Interesting

First Post!

[porkrind]

14. What are you, a slashdotter or K5'er?

:)

In soviet russia, the election fraud gets you!

[gnofg]

2. rule of thumb

Never buy a stereo from a place that sells appliances.

[jayfish]

6. Rule Broken.

http://www.deckersons.com/products.html

Sorry. :shrug: They are mom & pop though, not big-box.

Jay

[Shadowen]

15. What electronics chains are you checking?

There's a Canadian chain called Future Shop that's primarily electronics, software, music, movies, etc., but they also sell fridges, washers, and dryers, last time I checked.

[salvorhardin]

3. starroute!

Are you reading Slashdot now or are you just a fan of the SFGate? We'll make a geek of you yet. :-)

[starroute]

7. Hey, Salvor

I've been reading Slashdot since the 90's and I've probably been a geek since before you were born. ;) So mind your manners.

[Ravenseye]

4. Americans Will Never be like the Japanese but...

..thats a good thing.

However Farber was right. This is all about the Wall-martization of america.

Americans used to be interested in Quality. We didn't care where it came from or how it got to us, as long as it was quality. Then sometime in the later part of the last century we switched to being about Value which translated to 'the cheapest hunk of shit you can buy'.

When given a choice between a 100 dollar pair of shoes that will last 10 years and a 10 dollar pair of shoes that will last 1 year, Americans will buy the 10 dollar pair much more frequently than say the Japanese who will get the 100 dollar pair.

I buy quality. I never shop wall-mart.

[bryant69]

5. Of course, to be fair,

lots of American's don't really have the option of buying the $100 pair.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[hughee99]

11. Does quality=durability?

Getting of the Walmart issue for a moment, when you buy a pair of shoes, do you buy the pair that's going to last the longest? Personally, I would rather buy a pair that is comfortable and lasts 1 year than a pair that is uncomfortable and lasts 20 years. To me, the cost of the shoes isn't always an accurate reflection of their value. As I see it, more often than not, the $100 shoes cost more because of style and brand name than any actual value the shoe itself has. The point of the article seemed to me that the Japaneese were not buying based on quality, but for style and status. If this is the case, then the Japanese would be more likely to get the 100 pair, not because it's higher quality, and they would even buy a lower quality item if it were more stylish.

[Celeborn Skywalker]

8. I don't think this is such a big problem

Who cares if the Japanese decide to upgrade their technology more? I, for one, don't have the money to be constantly buying new gadgets.

[lectrobyte]

10. The article points this out -- real estate is so expensive in Japan

that a lot of people end up living longer with their parents, so they have more money to upgrade that PDA every six months or whatever. It's really an apples to oranges comparison. I'd love to have more gadgets and toys, but it's not worth it to me to either get into debt, or not spend money in other ways.

[theboss]

9. Are you arguing we need to become more materialistic?

I'm as big into technology as anyone, but I am not buying a plasma tv until it becomes affordable. If the Japanese want to spend a few grand on electronics every few weeks, more power to them. I can barely use what I have now.

[President Jesus]

12. this is total crap

it's just cultural differences. So they like inane gadgets. Ever notice how they are quasi-retarded when it comes to personal computing? Americans have a distinct technological advantage there. No one mentions that.

[wantedtohelp]

13. You obviously don't work in IT do you?

The Japanese usually have advanced technology in use FAR FAR sooner than here. (and the rest of the world - not just the states - for that matter)

Take a guess how long CD and DVD(R/W) tech, for example, was in use in Japan before it even was INTRODUCED to this country. Currently, take a look at blu-ray and HD-DVD tech availability by nation. Once again, the Japanese have one upped us by (likely) several years.

[starroute]

16. Silly posters, you're missing the point

If you'd go read the article instead of just commenting on the cute lead-in paragraphs I quoted, you'd see the real point was that American corporations have become so risk-averse that they avoid anything leading edge -- and that as a result, Americans no longer manufacture anything the rest of the world actually wants.

I'm not sure it's capitalism that's the problem here -- more likely it's the way U.S. corporations are set up so that they have to maximize profits to their shareholders at the end of every quarter and thus can't afford to speculate on anything new. But either way, the failure to innovate is killing this country in the global marketplace.

It's the same as the difference between anime -- where the Japanese companies are prepared to fund a lot of creative people and figure that some of what results will be hits -- and American animation, which won't take a chance on anything that isn't pre-certified.

Between the reluctance of American business to take chances, and its use of copyright and patent law to prevent anyone else from trying the experimental stuff they won't, we're all going to wind up as 21st century peasants.

[jmowreader]

17. Another problem with the American business model

is that EVERYTHING YOU MAKE and EVERYTHING YOU DO has to turn a profit.

Some firms don't see it that way--IBM and AT&T always did a lot of pure science--but most companies want every person working there, every square foot of facility space and every minute of the working day to generate profit.

Sometimes it gets stupid. I sell Sika, which is a line of sealants and adhesives. Most of their stuff is single-component polyurethane. You can't put single-component polyurethane down too thickly or it won't cure. Customers didn't realize this when they first started using it; they'd just squirt it in an inch thick then call the company to claim that the product was no good when it never cured. The solution to the problem is backer rod--it looks like foam-rubber rope, and you shove it down into the crack before you put the polyurethane in there. It took the head chemist at Sika over a year to convince the powers that be that they had to sell backer rod. "We won't make any money on the backer rod, but we'll sell more sealant and make more money that way." "If we won't make money on the backer rod, we don't want to sell it." (He finally used unconventional means to solve the problem: he went to a tool place one Friday night, rented a concrete saw, and cut the boardroom floor in half with it on Saturday. On Monday morning, he made the board members fill half the crack with backer rod and sealant and the other half with sealant all the way up. When the backer rod half cured in a day and the other half didn't cure at all, he got his backer rod. Sales at Sika are up 45 percent since he did this. Don't google this; the guy who told me this story is the one who sawed the boardroom floor in half.)