difenbaker
10-05-2006, 07:20 AM
Tech Gadgets Banned in the USA
Elizabeth Millard, newsfactor.com Wed Oct 4, 7:47 PM ET
There's no doubt about it: foreign technology can whet your appetite. Super-lightweight laptops from Japan, feature-packed smartphones from Europe, and shiny, gotta-get-it devices designed in India, South Korea, and Taiwan are but a few of the items that currently reside on tech's cutting edge. But chances are you will never see those gadgets on store shelves here in the U.S.
A trip to the typical U.S. electronics store suggests many Americans would gladly shell out some extra cash for high-end lightweight products. Smaller, lighter, and more-expensive laptops are occupying an ever-increasing amount of shelf space. Even if a larger percentage of Japanese and European consumers reach for higher-end products than their U.S. counterparts, a small percentage of Americans could still spell big sales.
Why, then, do some innovative products never make it to our shores?
The Corporate Quarantine
Many manufacturers prefer to introduce new electronics in their own countries, to see what problems may arise before exporting the goods. There is a strong interest in catching and repairing previously unknown design defects before hitting the U.S. mass market, where the cost of a product recall could be disastrous.
Companies must also gauge consumer reaction locally before exporting. Manufacturers realize that despite extensive consumer testing, it is important to float a limited quantity of a product and see how well consumers react to it before opening the floodgates-only to find less demand than anticipated.
Some products are at a performance disadvantage in the U.S., like cutting-edge smartphones that do not mesh well with the current state of American telecom services, and videophones that operate much better in countries that have higher-speed wireless networks. The faster the network, the smoother the video will appear. In general, Japanese and Korean telecommunications companies have been quicker to provide faster connections than those offered in the U.S., so consumers in those countries are presented with more-advanced phones and more-advanced services.
Smaller, Faster, Better?
In addition to corporate strategies driven by the bottom line, there are cultural preferences to consider.
Japanese consumers do not flinch at spending the equivalent of $3,000 or more on a laptop as long as it has the most up-to-date technology and weighs less than 2 pounds, Krone says. Consumers in Japan, and many in Europe, will spend more to enjoy the fruits of innovation rather than use a laptop or gadget that is just "good enough" for their purposes.
American consumers, on the other hand, are more interested in lower prices than lighter weights, which makes top-of-the-line electronics a difficult sell in this country, Krone says.
Too Much To Chew
Some companies in Europe and Japan do not enter the U.S. market because their profit margins are razor-thin. Even U.S. companies like IBM and Hewlett-Packard have stepped away from certain kinds of equipment in favor of technology that produces more revenue. Foreign companies that decide to sell their most-innovative products to Americans would have to set up extensive customer-service operations, which could be cost-prohibitive given the massive size of the U.S. market. Dynamism.com tries to fill this gap by providing customer service and tech support for all the equipment it sells, acting as a go-between for consumers and companies like Sony, Nuvo, Xacti, and Fuji.
Even if sufficient demand for these products emerges, there are legal issues to consider. For example, patent law in Japan and Europe is different than in the U.S. Exporting a wealth of technology and then trying to protect valuable patents might be more trouble than many companies are willing to undertake-especially smaller manufacturers that might not yet have a corporate presence in America.
"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," says Steve Kelber, an attorney at the law firm of Merchant & Gould.
more here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20061004/tc_nf/46073
cheers!
Elizabeth Millard, newsfactor.com Wed Oct 4, 7:47 PM ET
There's no doubt about it: foreign technology can whet your appetite. Super-lightweight laptops from Japan, feature-packed smartphones from Europe, and shiny, gotta-get-it devices designed in India, South Korea, and Taiwan are but a few of the items that currently reside on tech's cutting edge. But chances are you will never see those gadgets on store shelves here in the U.S.
A trip to the typical U.S. electronics store suggests many Americans would gladly shell out some extra cash for high-end lightweight products. Smaller, lighter, and more-expensive laptops are occupying an ever-increasing amount of shelf space. Even if a larger percentage of Japanese and European consumers reach for higher-end products than their U.S. counterparts, a small percentage of Americans could still spell big sales.
Why, then, do some innovative products never make it to our shores?
The Corporate Quarantine
Many manufacturers prefer to introduce new electronics in their own countries, to see what problems may arise before exporting the goods. There is a strong interest in catching and repairing previously unknown design defects before hitting the U.S. mass market, where the cost of a product recall could be disastrous.
Companies must also gauge consumer reaction locally before exporting. Manufacturers realize that despite extensive consumer testing, it is important to float a limited quantity of a product and see how well consumers react to it before opening the floodgates-only to find less demand than anticipated.
Some products are at a performance disadvantage in the U.S., like cutting-edge smartphones that do not mesh well with the current state of American telecom services, and videophones that operate much better in countries that have higher-speed wireless networks. The faster the network, the smoother the video will appear. In general, Japanese and Korean telecommunications companies have been quicker to provide faster connections than those offered in the U.S., so consumers in those countries are presented with more-advanced phones and more-advanced services.
Smaller, Faster, Better?
In addition to corporate strategies driven by the bottom line, there are cultural preferences to consider.
Japanese consumers do not flinch at spending the equivalent of $3,000 or more on a laptop as long as it has the most up-to-date technology and weighs less than 2 pounds, Krone says. Consumers in Japan, and many in Europe, will spend more to enjoy the fruits of innovation rather than use a laptop or gadget that is just "good enough" for their purposes.
American consumers, on the other hand, are more interested in lower prices than lighter weights, which makes top-of-the-line electronics a difficult sell in this country, Krone says.
Too Much To Chew
Some companies in Europe and Japan do not enter the U.S. market because their profit margins are razor-thin. Even U.S. companies like IBM and Hewlett-Packard have stepped away from certain kinds of equipment in favor of technology that produces more revenue. Foreign companies that decide to sell their most-innovative products to Americans would have to set up extensive customer-service operations, which could be cost-prohibitive given the massive size of the U.S. market. Dynamism.com tries to fill this gap by providing customer service and tech support for all the equipment it sells, acting as a go-between for consumers and companies like Sony, Nuvo, Xacti, and Fuji.
Even if sufficient demand for these products emerges, there are legal issues to consider. For example, patent law in Japan and Europe is different than in the U.S. Exporting a wealth of technology and then trying to protect valuable patents might be more trouble than many companies are willing to undertake-especially smaller manufacturers that might not yet have a corporate presence in America.
"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," says Steve Kelber, an attorney at the law firm of Merchant & Gould.
more here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20061004/tc_nf/46073
cheers!