Consumer tech: Cheap and cheerful, please?

Hardware startups need not push the latest and the greatest. Sometimes, ‘good enough’ will do, if it does the job as intended

The problem with planned obsolescence and a skewed application of Moore’s Law is that nothing seems to be built to last these days. Manufacturers appear keen on producing heaps of wimpy gadgets that are smart but not so tough. I remember we had an old Westinghouse refrigerator that ran for almost 20 years without a hitch. We only eventually replaced it since it took a whole heap of juice to run and the door’s got rusted out already. But that was a tank of an appliance.

The problem with today’s products is that their lifespans seem to be almost in tune with the release of the newer model. Gone are the days when top-of-the-line means a product will endure the test of use, abuse, and time. There seems to be no gadget out there today that can be an heirloom for the next generation. But if we can’t have that, what can we?

Replacements are cheaper than repairs

Just recently, I had to let go of my trusty Samsung Galaxy S4. I got it when it first came out in 2013 and, aside from getting a replacement battery, it gave me a good three years’ service until I carelessly dropped it a week ago. It has been dropped before but that last drop did it in.

I did try asking around for how much the repairing the phone would cost, and I wasn’t surprised that it will cost me just about the same price as those cheap off-brand Chinese smartphones that are gaining popularity. Specs-wise they can compare to the S4 sans the 4G, infrared, and NFC. But if you can be a technological Spartan like me who believes that 4G is just a faster way to eat up allocated bandwidth (especially with the expensive rates Philippine telcos charge), those I can do without. At least for now.

So I bit the bullet. Retired the S4 and bought the cheap phone.

I remember a time when we didn’t consider those cases as reasons to throw things away. Whatever happened to repairs? Our old Sony CRT TV only needed some cheap components to fix, but the new LCD one just three years from purchase needed a replacement of the LCD panel and the board when it conked out.

It’s really this vicious cycle, really. We’ve come to a point where replacing things are cheaper than repairs. With computing devices, you also have to deal with how faster and better hardware comes out rather quickly that it appears to be more cost effective to buy new.

Premium pricing doesn’t always mean premium product

There’s this concept in marketing that, when pricing your product or service, it’s best to start out at a premium because it’s hard to raise prices once you’re in the market. This makes sense on a business perspective, but there should be some ethic behind it – that the product really is unique and valuable to demand such a price. How many so-called premium products actually justify their price tags?

Too bad we’re in the era of brands – where logos make a product ‘valuable’ and not necessarily the craftsmanship. Apple, which has priced its products with a premium, has no shortage of critics calling their products overpriced. One can get a smartphone with similar specs to the iPhone at literally a fraction of the cost even with emerging brands like Xiaomi and Huawei.

Though to be fair, a survey by Consumer Reports indicates that when it comes to notebooks MacBooks are among the most reliable. That said, I haven’t been a fan of Apple.

Also read: The new Xiaomi phone’s borderless display covers nearly its entire body

Still, I always find appeal in build quality. I find joy in a product’s elegance, heft, and even the right resistance and click of keys when pressed. These tactile cues communicated ‘premium’ to me. Unfortunately, with electronics, where the game is about what’s sleeker, shinier, and has the right logo, it has been tough to find these little joys.

This is perhaps why I’ve become a buck-per-bang technology user. I now can’t quite justify spending hundreds of dollars (or tens of thousands of Philippine pesos) on a top-of-the-line device the core functions of which can be done by some cheaper alternative. I always end up stripping choices down to the bare essentials and decide based on need and not want.

Buying cheap has its risks, however

Thanks to the Philippines’ proximity to major manufacturers and exporters of electronics, we actually can enjoy plenty of generic and rebranded products at relatively accessible costs. Brand new octacore smartphones can be had for US$50 or less and they are sold everywhere – in malls, online, and even side-street stands.

Local electronics retailer CD-R King, which started out selling blank optical media, has expanded to offer all sorts of store-brand electronic devices ranging from computing peripherals to household appliances.

They’re now even venturing into electric transport. The products are cheap, but the caveat includes a short replacement policy and service warranties of only a few months. For comparison, most branded electronics bought from authorised dealers come with a minimum one-year warranty. Cheap does come with some risk.

The adage “You get what you pay for,” does ring true with some of these cheap gadgets. Just this month, I also purchased a cheap US$15 wireless router for home use. It was on sale online with free delivery, so I decided to just get one.

I was quite excited when the item arrived rather quickly, but my enthusiasm was dashed when, upon trying it out, I noticed that the router messes up the DHCP settings every hour which meant my devices had a hard time keeping connected to the router. The only fix was to power-cycle the router. If a router need that every hour, it’s practically useless. It’s a good thing it has a repeater function so I’m just using it to extend my wi-fi coverage.

Give me the cheap and cheerful

So as consumers, it seems that we’re facing layered conundrums – product life cycles that make all products seem disposable, premium-priced products that don’t quite separate themselves from the rest to warrant their price tags, and cheap alternatives that don’t quite function the way they’re supposed to and often have reliability issues.

On the first, it would be great if we could go back to the time when we deal with products that are built by craftsmen who take pride in the quality of their work. It’s comforting that there are legislation that are now geared to end planned obsolescence (France got theirs last year). It would be interesting if we get similar legislation in the region.

There’s also a call for a global repair movement to help curb demand for disposable tech. There is no shortage of repair services in the Philippines, it’s a matter of making repair a truly cost-efficient option over buying new.

As for the other two issues, it seems that these will be the challenge for tech companies and how they approach their market. Premium products should really stand out. If they could not edge the cheap ones in terms of features, perhaps they could offer premium in other parts of the value chain like support and warranties.

Surely, there will be room for the cheaper alternatives to distinguish themselves as buyer’s gems that offer the best buck-per-bang. I have actually enjoyed some of these gems – cheap and cheerful gadgets that do their work well and have lasted long enough to maximise their utility.

If the immediate reality is that devices will continue to be obsolete in half a year to year, then give me cheap and cheerful tech to enjoy. I hope this new phone would be one of them.

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Image Credit: Pixabay

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