"iPod's Cool Factor May Be Fading," says a hopeful Laurie Sullivan of TechWeb.com.
She bases her claim on a poll done by a consumer gadget market research group -- now there's a market differentiator! -- that shows that 31% of customers (who bought an iPod because it was cool) are likely to buy a different brand next time.
The article interprets this wrongly in so many ways. Here's some of them:
- people's intentions provided to pollsters does not correlate to decision making -- neither the next purchase of an MP3 player or voting on election day.
- 31% of what percent? The article does not report the larger % of people who bought the iPod because it was cool. If it the number is not significant, then perhaps it is not being reported, because then the article's lacks its thesis.
- OTOH, of course people who buy objects based on coolness will buy something different next time. Buying the same thing amounts to being unfaithful to their self-proclaimed coolness code.
I was in a bookstore Saturday when I overheard a customer telling the salesclerk he was wanting to buy an iPod Nano for his wife. I siddled up to him, and reported, "You know, if you sign up for Telus high-speed Internet service, you get the Nano for free."
"I know," he signed. "I already have Telus. Perhaps I should un-signup, and then re-signup just to get the Nano."
iPod uncool? Not yet!
PS: Perhaps we can work out the number who bought iPods because they are cool. (The remainder, I presume, bought the iPod because it is an appliance, like a toaster?) The article provides these numbers:
- 75% of those who purchased an iPod for its “cool factor” are interested in owning a multimedia phone
- 59% of iPod owners are interested in owning a multimedia phone. [Is this 59% of all owners, or of the uncool owners?]
- 2000 people were interviewed.
Now go do the math...
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