Banned in the U.S.A.
- From: "Igor The Terrible" <igor_the_terrible@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: 8 Dec 2005 12:58:56 -0800
This is free trade??????????? I can see why many Americans employed by
Wal-Mart, McDonalds, and other sweatshop employers have a cow at the
idea of spending $3k, for a 2 lb notebook--when a $499.00 notebook is
barely in reach with long term financing or layaways
Yep, the Wal-Mart HP/Compaq is the perfect solution to learn AutoCad,
Maple or Mathematica with...
So let's find yet another avenue to dumb down America.
Banned in the U.S.A. Elizabeth Millard, newsfactor.com
Wed Dec 7, 4:19 PM ET
The images on gadget-focused blogs are enough to impress even
technophobes: super lightweight laptops from Japan, feature-packed
smartphones from Europe, and shiny, funky devices designed by geniuses
in India, South Korea, and Taiwan.
Too bad very few of them will actually end up in the U.S. or even be
available for online sale here.
There is a range of technology that emerges overseas to the delight of
technophiles in Japan, Europe, and other places, but you will never see
those gadgets on store shelves here in the U.S. -- and for good reason.
Different development targets, service challenges, patent issues, and
other factors keep you from sharing in the tech wealth. And that
situation likely will not change any time soon.
Market Challenge
One of the major reasons that overseas innovation does not cross the
ocean has to do with market drivers, noted Douglas Krone, chief
executive of Dynamism.com, perhaps the most well-known importer of
technology that cannot be bought on the shelves at local retailers here
in the U.S.
"In Japan, where a majority of the cutting-edge innovation occurs,
they're driven by consumer demand," he said. "In the U.S., we're mainly
driven by business needs. That's why you see more of an emphasis on
cheap laptops than on lightweight machines."
Japanese consumers do not flinch at spending $3,000 or more for a
laptop as long as it has the most up-to-date technology and is less
than 2 pounds, said Krone. But U.S. consumers are more interested in
lower prices than lighter weights. That makes it difficult to sell into
this country, he noted.
Also, in the U.S. we tend to be less interested in having the absolute
latest in innovation, Krone noted. Those in Japan, and many in Europe,
will spend more to be on the cutting edge rather than use a laptop or
gadget that is "good enough" for their purposes.
Different Tastes
Another reason some products don't even have a chance here is often
form rather than function. Laptops designed in other countries tend to
be created with increased mobility in mind, and, because of that, they
have smaller screens and keyboards. Those in the U.S. prefer larger
screens, said Krone, and have a difficult time adjusting to diminutive
keyboards.
An example is the 1.2 pound Sony (NYSE: SNE - news) Vaio U50, currently
being offered by Dynamism.com, but not offered for sale in retail
outlets in the U.S. As the lightest PC on the market, it is smaller
than a portable DVD player and has an external foldable keyboard.
Although the U50 would appeal to those who crave the ultimate in
mobility, most U.S. corporate users would pass on this device,
according to Krone.
"We're a niche site because the mass market wouldn't go for these
products," he said. "They don't want computers that are under 2
pounds."
In addition, consumers in the U.S. do have their own tastes and
requirements, said IDC analyst Dan Kusnetzky. "As we've seen with the
success of certain types of phones or devices in Japan and Europe
compared to here, U.S. customers sometimes like features that other
countries don't," he noted. "Mostly, they're more price conscious."
Service Plan
On top of these issues, some companies in Europe and Japan do not enter
the U.S. market because the profit margins are razor thin. Even U.S.
companies like IBM (NYSE: IBM - news) and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ -
news) have stepped away from certain kinds of equipment in favor of
more revenue-producing technology.
But even if the foreign companies did decide to enter the competitive
U.S. arena and hope that the margins made sense, they still would have
to deal with service issues, which could be an operations and logistics
headache.
Dynamism.com provides service for all the equipment it sells, acting as
a go-between for consumers and companies like Sony, Nuvo, Xacti, and
Fuji.
But if the companies wanted to launch the products in the U.S.
officially, they would need to put additional service in place, and,
given the massive size of the U.S. market, many might be reluctant to
undertake such a plan.
Patent Not Pending
Beyond market forces, there are also patents to consider. Patent law in
Japan and Europe is different than in the U.S., although some
legislation is pending that could bring the U.S. system more in line
with its global counterparts.
Until then, bringing out a wealth of technology into the U.S. and then
trying to do patent enforcement might be more of a hassle than some
companies are willing to weather, especially smaller developers that
might not yet have a U.S. presence.
"Companies in the U.S. look at markets like Japan and Europe and decide
whether it makes sense from a business perspective to file and
prosecute patents in those areas," noted Steve Kelber, a Merchant &
Gould attorney specializing in patent-enforcement litigation.
"It works the other way as well," he said. "Sometimes, it just doesn't
make sense for a company to spend the time and effort to get patents
here and do the enforcement necessary just to sell here." That could
change with the Patent Reform Act of 2005, he said, which would make
the U.S. law so similar to other countries that there would be more
uniformity in patenting.
With patent concerns, small margins, and different U.S. tastes, it is
likely that many nifty gadgets and technologies will continue to wow
the rest of the world but pass the U.S. by. But for now, the
technophiles still can comfort themselves with trips to sites like
Dynamism.com to buy a Japanese-developed thumb drive shaped like --
what else? -- a human thumb.
.
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