Author: spr1334svaldez

The Pinky and the Brain Couldn’t Do It, But Android Has… Over the World of Technology That Is!

Posted on by spr1334svaldez

As the title of the referred article suggests, Android really is everywhere… you just don’t realize it. Not only is Google’s Android the number one mobile operating system currently out there, but Android is in just about anything with a computer chip and is becoming the standard for operating systems in smart devices. As more devices with the Android operating system hit the market, Google is continually widening the gap between its competitors, Microsoft and Apple, and is making its home as the dominant software player in the tech device world.

So how does Google’s Android tie into quality?

source: www.giantbomb.com

One of the things that we learned in class is how important quality is to consumers. In the end, your product does not really matter. It all comes down to customer satisfaction and delivering on the fulfillment of their needs. In a sense, this is what Google has done through Android. This open source software can easily be manipulated by virtually anyone to get just about anything to do whatever they want it to. Users are not limited to certain functionalities already pre-decided by the makers of the operating system, but instead allow consumers to keep their freedom of choice and allow them to act upon them. In the end, consumers fulfill their own needs and end up with their own unique, customized product.

This not only allows for Google to keep its current customers from switching to competitors, but Google is also benefiting from expanding its consumer base to include individuals who like to experiment with technology. As more consumers join the Android community and take the operating system into their own hands by modifying its uses and capabilities, Google is getting developers to make their product better and its application vast. And it is all done free.

Android isn’t just popular with consumers, but also with hardware and software companies. As its popularity has increased and its dominance established in the market, Android is becoming a standard for devices. More and more hardware and software companies are becoming “Android experts” to ensure that their products are compatible with the software.

By allowing its software to be easily accessible and modified by anyone, it is no wonder that Google’s Android has risen in popularity so quickly and widespread.  Although many companies, such as Apple and Microsoft, strive to keep their product’s formulas secret in order stay ahead of the competition, Google has proven that doing the exact opposite can be done. Not only that, but that one can benefit from it as well.

Personally, I think that what Google allows to be done with Android should be applicable to other devices. As an Android user who took advantage of making my phone better to suit my preferences, I am a big fan. On the other hand, Apple’s I-phone has left me wondering why I ever made the switch.

What do you think? How will Android affect the future of technology and the way products are being deployed?

 

Source:

Vance, Ashlee. “Behind the ‘Internet of Things’ Is Android—and It’s Everywhere.” Bloomberg Businessweek. 30 May 2013. http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-05-29/behind-the-internet-of-things-is-android-and-its-everywhere#p1

Rinse, Wash, Repeat and Waste Money

Posted on by spr1334svaldez

As a society, we are technically getting smarter.  More people are getting a higher education and attaining degrees. Between 1980 and 2011, people who had completed a bachelor’s degree or higher increased from 22 to 32 percent, and people who’d received a master’s degree or higher increased 2 percent from 1995.[1] So why is it that we very rarely think about the quality of our decisions and why we make them?

source: flickr.com

Ever think about  the effect a marketing strategy? For example, for products like shampoo, sales doubled by simply adding one word -“repeat” – to their products’ instructions. One would think this wouldn’t make much of a difference, but it seems that it does to the so many people that bought the product that was no different from before the marketing strategy took effect. That one word increased the rate at which shampoo was being used, thus increasing the rate to which someone needed to go buy a new bottle.  Not only that, but sales of other hair products such as conditioners increased as well since washing hair more than once can dry it out. Back in the 1940’s, it was necessary due to lack of technology and advancements that didn’t allow for shampoos to get rid of the oil in hair with just one wash.[2] However, today it’s changed to where we really only need one wash. Yet we are still buying into this marketing strategy today; it’s become integral to our daily body cleansing customs that we no longer question it.

Along the line of marketing strategies, there are also products that consumers are led into buying because of who endorsed it.

source: stuffpoint.com

Products such as Nike’s Air Jordan, for example, have long been a social fad that people first bought in association to the great basketball legend of Michael Jordan, despite its hefty price tag.  I’m sure they were once good quality basketball shoes, but today people don’t really buy them to play basketball but because of the transcendent quality associated with the name or because they look good. Another example would be the Beats headphones endorsed by Dr. Dre. Although they look good, they really aren’t the best that’s out there for the price. Imagine how much money we’d save or how meaningful our decisions can be if we stop to think about them and actually do research to find their true value. It’s amazing to me how we have the Internet at our fingertips yet we don’t bother to find the information we need, or how some people believe everything they read.

Questions:

What do you think? Is society getting more naive or lazier? Is quality a social fad everyone buys into? How different do you think your life would be if you’d asked more questions?

 

[1] “Education Attainment.” National Center for Education Statistics. <http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=27>.

[2] Goldstein, Lauren. “Lather, Rinse, Repeat: Hygiene Tip or Marketing Ploy?” CNN Money. Oct. 1999. Web. May 12 2013. <http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1999/10/11/267035/>.