Essay

Part Fourteen — digitally analog

By Garry Bassin

There was a time in the not-so-distant past when Japanese technology was the best and the coolest in the world. From the days of the transistor radio to walkman to video cameras to mobile phones, the Japanese were able to make quality electronics smaller and better than anyone else. But for some reason, although the quality remains, electronic makers in Japan continue to miss the mark when it comes to finding what the consumers want.

The difference between good hardware and good software could never be clearer. Japanese manufacturers have always been about how to make a device smaller, better and cuter. They have never been good at making software. Endless menus and options make all Japanese electronic devices difficult to use and fun for only the most technical of consumers. Without easy-to-use software, electronics become annoying.

It took me a very long time to start using computers. Not until I realized that you could paint and draw and type on the same machine did I begin to see their usefulness. Even then, I couldn't (and still can't) use a mouse, and just the thought of sitting in front of a keyboard and a screen all day made me ill. Computers though, within a few years became a very important part of my creative and productive life.

When the iPhone came out a few years ago something changed in the world of computing. A phone or a computer was no longer a scary keyboard and a screen with a series of commands or keystrokes, it became a fun and easy toy to play with. Imagine "playing" with a computer? Absolutely unheard of until the advent of the iPhone and multi-touch technology. Immediately every phone maker in the world raced to copy and make their phones fun and easy to use too. And then what happened? The iPad.

In the first 28 days of being on sale one million people have bought iPads in the U.S. Many are saying that they no longer need to use their computers for 70 to 80 percent of the things they used to use it for. In just a month it has become obvious again, that as cute or slick or nice a device is, the software is the key. The fundamental way we use computers, just like what happened to how we use our mobile phones, has changed. A child, a teenager, an adult or an elderly person can pick up an iPad and start using it immediately. The iPhone and iPad have been able to hide all the geeky operating system (OS) in the background, and give us back an analog experience while harnessing the newest and greatest technology.

So we come around in full circle to where we began before the computer entered our lives.Touching, listening, watching in the modern age of high-tech, on a device that doesn't require we learn how to use it. And this is something that Japanese electronic manufacturers should think long and hard about. It's not about the device, it's about the experience using the device, that counts.

Shukan ST: May 21, 2010

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