MoneyWatch

Athena financial & insurance services, inc.

Registered Investment Advisors
Text Box: Sometimes I can’t help but wonder if major corporations introduce ‘dead on arrival’ product ideas just to see how gullible the buying public might be. The latest ridiculous idea to hit the shelves: the Phillips Ambilight television. For those of you who have been mercifully spared exposure to this turkey, the Phillips Ambilight is an LCD TV with a halo around the sides of the screen with colors that change according to its program material. If the predominant color on the screen is blue, then the color around the television turns blue. Admittedly, such a device might spare you from ever having to repaint the family room, but other than that why would anyone want to buy such a device? I’ll guarantee you something else, this idea had to be the brainchild of a Phillips senior executive, probably even the chairman of the board. Otherwise the Ambilight television would have never seen the light of day. There’s something about being the head honcho that makes underlings think your idea is inspired instead of just stupid. Just because two products can be combined doesn’t mean they need to be. After all, an electric toothbrush could be added to my toaster, but should I really have to risk scorching my forehead while waiting for my morning bagel? How about the LG side by side refrigerator with a built in 13 inch LCD television and stereo sound that is cable and Internet ready? Refrigerators with icemakers I can understand, but iceboxes with DirecTV I cannot. Besides, I really don’t need to be reminded of all the weight Oprah Winfrey is putting back on when I’m foraging around the refrigerator looking for the leftover cheesecake. I am not against innovation, I’m just against companies telling me that I need something that I am perfectly content without. Remember “New Coke”? If there was a hall of fame for dumb marketing ideas this one would make the top five. “Hey fellas, let’s take the number one selling soft drink in the entire world and make it taste exactly like the number two selling soft drink in world!” Sheesh. But there are some product ideas on the horizon that do seem worthwhile and practical. Here are a few of them: The I-Drive. This is an in-dash computer for your car with a keyboard built into the steering wheel and a full-screen heads-up display projected on the windshield. The technology really isn’t new; it was invented for jet fighters more than 30 years ago, allowing pilots to read cockpit data without taking their eyes off the sky. Commercial pilots now rely on it, too. Automaker studies have shown that eyes can refocus much faster when they're switching between the road and a projected display than when they're toggling back and forth between the road and the dashboard. Like the car navigation systems which have become so popular it is just a matter of time before this product becomes widely available. The ultracapacitor battery. Several companies, including Maxwell Technologies of California are working on ultracapacitors, which are batteries capable of powering everything from cars to tractors. Unlike chemical batteries, ultracapacitors store energy as an electrical field between a pair of conducting plates. Theoretically, they can be charged in less than a second and far outlast anything now on the market. Wireless Patient Monitoring. Recent advances in low-power wireless chipsets, materials, and microelectromechanical systems makes implantable monitoring devices a product that is close to becoming a reality. Healthcare providers are searching for ways to proactively monitor manageable diseases such as diabetes or heart disease. A device designed to monitor a diabetic patient, for instance, might trigger a bedside alarm for spikes in blood sugar levels, or send continuous data to a doctor or HMO, or both.▲

The good, the bad and the ugly       ...

Volume 17, Issue 22

November 6, 2006

Disingenuous Product Ideas