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DESIRES BECOME FUTURE NEEDS
By Victoria Wancel
What once was a luxury is now a necessity these days.
With cell phones and computers evolving into a need in most homes, it will be no surprise when the Human Segway Transporter, The Tablet Personal Computer (PC), the Smart Personal Objects Technology (SPOT) watch, and the Bowlingual device become essential to American homes.
According to the International Herald Tribune, research done at Columbia University suggests that most American households spent an increasing percentage of their disposable income over the last decade to link themselves to the outside world through personal technology.
Automobiles were a luxury in the early 1900s. Now in 2003 most American households own several automobiles.
The Human Segway Transporter may imitate the automobile’s trend.
The Segway, invented by Dean Kamen, is a two-wheeled personal transportation device, intended for a single standing rider, that doesn’t leave the ground and is powered by battery.
It can go up to 12 miles an hour and does not have brakes. It is designed to imitate the human body's ability to maintain its balance.
Riders control the speed and direction of the device simply by shifting their weight and using a manual turning mechanism on one of the handlebars.
Jon Haberman, Saturn car dealer, Flushing, N.Y., said the Segway will grow in popularity.
“People are getting lazier and lazier by the day,” said Haberman. “Give the Segway some time and it will become a huge hit because most people hate to walk anywhere.”
However Christian Torres, Taxi driver, New York City, said the Segway will flop.
“Adults will feel silly riding around on a motorized scooter,” said Torres. “I think people will continue to use their cars or use public transportation to get around.”
The Segway was a finalist in the 2003 Embedded Systems Conference "Best of Show" award for the most superior embedded technology in an end-user application displayed by an exhibitor.
Getting awards like that may allow the Segway a promising journey in the technology world.
Similar to the history of the automobile, the PC’s growth has risen rapidly the past decade so it is safe to say that consumers will feel comfortable using the Tablet PC by Microsoft.
Tablet PCs accept input via an active pen onto a digitizing screen that allows the user to write and store handwritten notes.
Louis Kramer, Sales Associate for Radio Shack, Bayside, N.Y., said the Tablet PCs are a hot commodity in his store.
“Customers like the idea of using a digitalized pen on their computer instead of typing things out,” said Kramer. “Customers have said that they find writing the input more engaging than typing it.”
Jin Park, Assistant Professor of computer science, State University of New York at New Paltz, said Tablet PC’s are great if you’re a journalist.
“People who use their PC only in their office will have no use for a Tablet PC,” said Park.
According to Microsoft’s website, their initial market focus is the corporate knowledge worker. They believe the Tablet PC will be especially useful for business people.
Business people will see important efficiency gains because they tend to spend a lot of time away from their desks and attend lots of meetings.
A Tablet PC user can also employ or attach more traditional input mechanisms, such as a keyboard or mouse, to operate the computer. The Tablet PC also includes voice-recognition software that enables the use of voice to command and control applications as well as input text.
According to Tablet PC Buzz, a website devoted to Tablet PC news, International Design and Construction (IDC) analyst Allen Promisel said there is room for improvement and suspects the handwriting recognition is somewhere between 75 and 80 percent accurate.
Perhaps the Tablet PC will stay a luxury for a while to come.
As for the SPOT watch, they have a possibility of becoming very popular.
SPOT has invented wristwatches designed to receive and display continuous, up-to-date information through the use of nationwide wireless communication technology.
Weather forecasts, news, sports scores, stock quotes, searching the web, and receiving instant messages can be discovered when using SPOT watches.
Watchmaker partners, Citizen, Fossil and Suunto developed collections of fashionable watches that include SPOT.
Kevin Fitzgerald, a Sales Associate for Best Buy Co., Inc., Rego Park, N.Y., said the SPOT watches are unappealing by sight, but have desirable features.
“Customers seem intrigued with the SPOT watch,” said Fitzgerald. “I think if you give the watches time it will become a trend and maybe will become a necessity in the future.”
Bowlingual will not attract just any customer; it has to specifically appeal to dog owners.
Bowlingual is a toy created by Takara Co. Ltd. in Tokyo that translates dog barks into human language.The device consists of an eight-centimeter microphone attached to a dog collar, and transmits sounds to a palm-sized console held by the dog's master.
It is equipped with a tiny display that immediately sorts the sounds into six emotional categories: frustration, menace, joy, sorrow, demand, and self-expression.
Jodi Basile, veterinarian for Animal Hospital in Whitestone, N.Y., said Bowlingual should be well liked by obsessive dog owners but will not draw any other type of people to buy it.
“I meet all kinds of dog owners when working,” said Basile. “And I have a good feeling that fanatical dog owners will flock to the toy stores to buy Bowlingual.”
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Harumi Ogishima, spokeswoman for Hakuhinkan toy store in Tokyo, said Bowlingual sold out in one day and customers were calling in to find out when the next shipment was going to come in.Being that Bowlingual is a toy, children of dog owners may want to play with their dogs using Bowlingual, which could start a new wave in American toy stores.
Having Time magazine dub Bowlingual one of the best inventions of 2002, and the U.S. science humor magazine Annals of Improbable Research award Bowlingual its 2002 Nobel Peace Prize for promoting harmony between the species, foretells a good future for the eccentric toy.