Editorial: New gadgets for company first

OPINION: Things are moving again in the electronic gadget world, led as usual by Apple with the long-heralded iPad.

Not to be outdone, Microsoft is relaunching its mobile phone operating system in an attempt to take some of the steam out of the iPhone juggernaut.

And all of of this comes alongside a seemingly never-ending range of initiatives from internet powerhouse Google, including its own iPhone challenger, the Nexus One.

If you were to believe all the hype, you could easily think we were awash in a new technology revolution with a whole rush to provide extra functionality and services.

But the brave new world of these shiny toys is as much about locking in customers and extracting extra revenue from the market.

Perhaps a little history of computing might help here. The real boom in personal computing came with the release of the IBM PC which was (or rather ultimately became) an incredibly flexible and powerful platform for initially basic applications such as spreadsheets and word processing but ultimately a tool for a huge range of business, photographic and personal entertainment activities.

Microsoft ruthlessly exploited the market with its Windows and Office products. But the PC platform was just too flexible for its own good and apart from Microsoft, few companies were able to extract high margins from the market.

Then Apple came back from the dead, invented the iPod, created a marketing monster and began to boost profits with carefully controlled functionality in its devices (all cloaked in stunning designs) and also by controlling content through mechanisms such as iTunes. Proprietary technology and locked down devices are also a key part of this particular puzzle.

The iPad, which in fact uses well-established technology and has limits to it functionality such as the lack of a camera, is another step down this path.

Johnny-come-lately Microsoft is trying to emulate Apple's success with its new Windows Phone 7 Series by tying it closely to Windows Live and other services such as the Bing search engine.

So far, the company's effort in most of its non-PC markets have achieved little traction and some pundits say the company is losing US$2 billion trying to branch out from its core business.

It can also be a slippery slope introducing leading edge technology into the market, especially if you rush things. Just ask Telecom and its customers about the XT network.

Apple has used marketing nous and the PR and propaganda genius of its leader, Steve Jobs, to monopolise mindshare and quietly move on from the occasional quality problem.

And it's the heavy emphasis on marketing and PR around all these new toys that should make the customer cautious.

Many of us have found ourselves locked in to long term contracts for mobile phones and there have been a spate of horror stories lately about horrendous roaming charges for mobile phones.

So do take all the announcements with a grain of salt. Remember their primary function is to boost the profits of the makers as much as it to enhance your life.

- The Marlborough Express