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Gadgets
By Michael Alan Hamlin
April 22, 2002
I'm writing this column Friday afternoon
on my new iPAQ. I got it in Hong Kong last week. In fact, I bought
it within minutes of arriving at the hotel. The Park Lane is a pleasant
businessperson's hotel, but that's not why I stay there. I stay
there because it is across the street from Windsor House, which
is actually a large office tower and vertical mall, which includes
three solid floors of computer equipment.
A gadget lover after spending 10 years in gadget-obsessed
Japan, the computer shops are generally my first stop. They are
certainly the most anticipated. My previous trip had been a real
bore because I'd found no new equipment I could somehow rationalize
buying.
Last week was different, though. My original iPAQ conked
out after less than six months, and although Compaq will either
fix it or replace it, I was left temporarily without a pocket PC.
My iPAQ has become so integrated into my lifestyle that I'm miserable
without it.
There was also the matter of the new iPAQ models. I
hadn't been able to justify getting one because I had my old one.
Although flimsy, the fact that I had to move around Hong Kong iPAQ-less
for a couple of days was enough to warrant an investment.
And I invested with vigor, acquiring the most advanced
model with Bluetooth wireless capability. What this means is that,
in theory, I can keep a Bluetooth-equipped phone in my pocket and
use it as a wireless modem for my iPAQ. I like this idea because
I can send columns and other writing assignments on the fly.
And I accessorized, purchasing a new, slick-looking fold up keyboard,
flash memory, and a travel kit.
Unfortunately, things got hectic over the following
couple of days, and I never got the chance to shop for the mobile
phone, or to find out how exactly to get the iPAQ and the phone
to work together. I know this must be a pretty simple matter, but
I'm at the stage where I'm too cranky and impatient to figure it
out on my own. I want to be led through the process by some knowledgeable
person.
And that's the problem. When I arrived back mid-week,
I made a beeline to the retail center of the mobile service provider
I use. I quickly found that getting a Bluetooth-equipped phone was
going to involve leaping a series of hurdles with very little help
from the service provider.
First there are very few Bluetooth-equipped mobile
phone models available. Those that are available aren't readily
available. When I picked out what I thought was a nice phone, I
was told, "it's not exactly available." When I asked what
that meant, I was told that the phones were still in the warehouse,
but that with luck they'd be available by the weekend.
That's irritating, but even I can wait a few days for
a new gadget. The real deal killer was that none of the salespeople
knew what Bluetooth means. Worse, from my point of view, was that
they had no idea how to make the phone work with my iPAQ, although
they were aware that this can be done.
Since the service provider is currently extolling the
benefits of the wireless Internet, I was surprised that the salesperson,
who was smart and obviously well educated, had no idea how to help
me. In my book, that's not good for at least a couple of reasons.
First, I was ready to buy a phone, and needed just
a little nudge, even if I had to wait a couple of days. Second,
I'm a really long-term customer, having been a subscriber virtually
from the service provider's inception. Given all we hear about customer
relationship management and increasing share of profitable customers
these days, I felt I deserved better, although I'm just one of millions
of subscribers.
That brings up something that rankles even more, and
that's the price gouging existing subscribers take when they purchase
a new phone from any service provider. Steep discounts are offered
for new subscribers, because the service provider expects the subsidized
cost of the phone to be made up by a lifetime of telephone calls.
Existing users don't get the same discounts, apparently on the assumption
that one heavily discounted phone per subscriber is enough.
Well, that may be. But to an existing customer like
me, the sense is that being a loyal subscriber is stupid. Especially
considering that to avail of the discount all I have to do is cancel
my current account and open a new one. Incidentally, the service
provider doesn't think many people will cancel a subscription and
open another because they don't want to go through the hassles associated
with broadcasting the new number to everyone in their address books.
I assume that the service providers are satisfied this
is the case, because they continue to abuse their subscribers.
When I discussed this unfair circumstance with the
salesperson, it was obvious that I was one in a long line of loyal
customers who feel the same way. But don't expect that to make any
difference.
I left the store without a phone, or reserving one.
I left behind a name card after requesting that the salesperson
find out how to make a Bluetooth-equipped phone and a Bluetooth-equipped
iPAQ work together. I also want to know when, exactly, the phone
I want will be available.
Whether I eventually get a call or not, I'll wind up
getting the phone, and sooner probably than later. And I'll more
than likely remain loyal, if not a royal, customer. But I'll be
irritated, and looking for the first better deal that comes along.
(Michael Alan Hamlin is the managing director of consultancy
TeamAsia and the author of three books on Asian economies and companies.
His latest book is Marketing Asian Places, of which he is co-author.
His e-mail address is mahamlin@teamasia.com.ph.)
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