How Are You Influenced In Your PDA Purchases?

[Janak Parekh]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://news.com.com/2010-1041-5158621.html?tag=nefd_acpro' target='_blank'>http://news.com.com/2010-1041-51586...?tag=nefd_acpro</a><br /><br /></div>Palm has begun an aggressive marketing campaign to put their devices in the hands of who they consider to be "influential", including celebrities.<br /><br />"Welcome to the world of influencer marketing. Colombano, who runs San Francisco-based Avantgarde, tries to build momentum for products by getting them in the hands of the right people. He conducts the Treo campaign for PalmOne, the hardware side of the former Palm, which acquired the Treo when it bought rival handheld maker Handspring in 2003. For PalmOne and PalmSource--the software spinoff that is holding its developer conference in San Jose, Calif., this week--this personalized form of product placement appears to pay off. Actor Kevin Spacey gave the Palm companies a public-relations bump, for example, when he used his Treo 600 to conduct a remote television interview during the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. Avantgarde also landed a Treo 600 in the hands of Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz. Whether there is a connection or not, Starbucks is rolling out Treos to parts of its field force at the moment."<br /><br />The irony, of course, is that Treo 600s won't work with T-Mobile Hotspots in those very Starbucks, because their SDIO ports don't give out enough power for a WiFi card. :roll: Anyway, I've got two questions for you. First, how much do others' purchasing decisions affect your own, and do you feel Microsoft and its OEMs should be more aggressive in this regard?<br /><br /><b>Update:</b> OK, I've banned the machine that was skewing the votes and reset the results. Let's try again, shall we?

[Steven Cedrone]

Geez, next thing you know, they'll come out with crap like a Claudia Schiffer Palm... :roll: :wink:

Steve

[rmasinag]

Geez, next thing you know, they'll come out with crap like a Claudia Schiffer Palm...

Too late my man......they already had the Michelin Man Zire!

I voted for my my peers as half the factor for my purchase. My definition for peer is mostly you guys in this site! the other half falls to playing with it in Comp USA and if I can get education pricing :mrgreen:

I think cell phones are in Japan because you have all these teenage Japanese girls who think it's "kewl". So yes! I believe people can be tha shallow in making device purchases, or else no "Matrix" edition phones.

[bdegroodt]

The interesting part of this question is if we even recognize when we are being marketed to by celebs. I see more and more product placements in all kinds of places that aren't overt enough for me to recognize as an advertisement, but get me to wonder what that person has in their hand.

[arnage2]

if its NEW and exciting, wheres my wallet!

When a new os comes out, im first in line.

[gorkon280]

My peers are more important then celebs. So many celebs are CLUELESS about technology. Thank god most of them make the right choice in choosing a Mac! :D I love my Mac. I love my PPC. Thanks to MarkSpace, I can use my PPC with my Mac's iCal and Address book. MarkSpace's product is SOOO close to being perfect. Fix the issue I have with leaving the BT connection connected after disconnecting in Missing Sync and you got a winner! Even better would be if Apple or Microsoft added it to iSync. THAT would be great!

[c38b2]

I do insane amounts of research with anything technological I buy. I first scope out all possible products, narrow down those within my price range and require specifications until I have chosen the best candidates. Then I read reviews and discussion forums (especially the problems with the devices) before making my final descision. 8) I don't trust celebrities, but I do factor in peer influence (hence the discussion boards). All in all, I think I have made the most prudent choices for my needs. I have no regrets. :wink:

[Jonathon Watkins]

The celebs are usually a step behind the techie crowd. This site has a lot of leading and bleeding edge adaptors! :wink:

[dh]

My next PDA buying decision will be based totally on what meets my self imposed specification.

Currently there are two that come close (the new Loox and the Tosh e800 - actually there might be one other as well but I forget the name) but none inspire me enough to trade my trusty X5.

No way will I get an SD only device as long as CF memory is cheaper and bigger.

The celebs are usually a step behind the techie crowd. This site has a lot of leading and bleeding edge adaptors! :wink:
That's because most celebs have had successful brain removal operations.

[dequardo]

I could not care less about their political views and I certainly care equally less about their comp'd technology devices.

[c38b2]

Over 1000 votes in 48 minutes? 8O And most of them are for "celebrities" too... this is odd... :?

EDIT: make that 1500! 8O

[ctmagnus]

For some, it comes down to the definition of "celebrity".

If x members on this board who have over y posts use/recommend/lust after it, it must be good!

[Locksmith]

somebodies jackin' around with the poll. Must be time to nuke another IP eh?
:devilboy:

[gorkon280]

Over 1000 votes in 48 minutes? 8O And most of them are for "celebrities" too... this is odd... :?

EDIT: make that 1500! 8O

Yeah I agree. Somebody's gotta be jackin with the poll!

[ombu]

This is simply an "opinion leaders" capture used in several markets and targeting first time consumers (mainly) with strong competitive options to choose between. It's meant to work in FAST GROWING MARKETS (???).

The other side for opinion leaders that SHOULD WORK at the same time is the "geek" who spreads mouth to word and word to mouth.

The main goal is to "dress" the product with a "quality" and a "status" the opinion leader is supposed to demand and as seen in ads both are supplied, so everybody else should be self-sure and social-sure which is the right product to buy.

This kind of ads target the consumer who's going to buy a product for sure, not the other one who "doesn't know" he/she needs that product, meaning marketeers here think this market is getting close to maturity and are looking for a brand status. Somehow I think they think that tech features won't be a strong reason in the consumer decission process for the near future, I mean they think self and competitors' features will be so close that something else is needed to create brand loyalty.

Do you think they're right? Only time will tell, IMO this strategy might be good for the mass market and I'm curious to know what the retaliation would be.

BTW, yep, part of my job is close related to marketing.

Regards.

[c38b2]

Oh yeah, 4000 votes, keep 'em coming! :roll:

[szamot]

Yes, no monkey see, monkey do here. I buy what is best for me, based on my own deduction. I guess marketing is largely wasted on people like me.

[ombu]

Over 4,000 votes on the first option, 8O , seems almost everybody here is celebrity driven, yeah .............. :twisted:, I'll buy the one used by Scooby Doo :mrgreen:

[Godsongz]

hehe the jacked slant toward the celebrity option in the poll aside, the majority of votes goes toward the "independant" option and thats just about what I would expect from PPCT readers.

[Steven Cedrone]

It seems we have a high tech comedian in our midst... :roll: Thread locked, temporarily...

Steve

[Janak Parekh]

It seems we have a high tech comedian in our midst... :roll: Thread locked, temporarily...
I've figured out a fair amount of data on him. We're continuing our research. If it turns out they're a real PPCT poster, they're never posting again here. Ever.

And, of course, if idiots keep on doing this, we'll just have to restrict polls to registered-only users, which solves the problem in its own way, but with a loss to the larger community at hand. Whoever you are, don't make us do this. Please. :|

--janak

[Hyperluminal]

Hey, I didn't know unregistered users could vote in polls...

I don't know why I thought they couldn't.. probably because the front page polls seem to go through the forum software, and as far as I know you have to be registered to vote in forum polls (right?), so I guess that's why...

[Janak Parekh]

Hey, I didn't know unregistered users could vote in polls...
We kept it open to enable participation, but that might not last long.

--janak

[David C]

We do realize that this poll is completly skewed right? Anyone who visit pocketpcthoughts.com regualrly is an enthusist. Most enthusist are very knowedgable, and are not easily swayed by public opinion. So, of couse most of us make our decision independently.

[Janak Parekh]

We do realize that this poll is completly skewed right? Anyone who visit pocketpcthoughts.com regualrly is an enthusist. Most enthusist are very knowedgable, and are not easily swayed by public opinion. So, of couse most of us make our decision independently.
Of course. I don't pretend to imply that people here are representative of the public at-large; I'm just curious what you think.

--janak

[JustinGTP]

I wonder how thed did that? I have never seen that done before, does that mean this person has other access to other parts of the site?!

-Justin.

[Janak Parekh]

I wonder how thed did that? I have never seen that done before, does that mean this person has other access to other parts of the site?!
No, it has nothing to do gaining access to "other parts" of the site. Suffice it to say there are ways of doing it that I know, and I'm not going to get into here. ;) And let's avoid discussion of it here -- it's an issue best left to other topics, and quite frankly, webboards.

--janak

[sublime]

Ho-hum!

Allow me to bite my tongue, lest this conversation get out of hand.

[bjornkeizers]

If anything, if it's used by a celeb - I'm not buying it or if I already have it, I'm dumping it. I'm not influenced by anyone; not even my peers as such. Yes, I'll read the reviews and talk to someone on occasion, but ultimately, *I* know what's best for *me*. Besides, celebs aren't power users, maybe with one or two exceptions. I no more trust their endorsement then I would a sponsored review or ad...

[Janak Parekh]

Let me reiterate my point: do not discuss technical aspects of the voting process here. If you have constructive feedback, use the contact link above. Thanks. :)

Let's get back ontopic...

--janak

[dean_shan]

Geez, next thing you know, they'll come out with crap like a Claudia Schiffer Palm... :roll: :wink:

Steve

They've done that before (http://news.com.com/2100-1040-243941.html?legacy=cnet). They did it the same time they did the Michael Jordan (http://www.palminfocenter.com/view_Story.asp?ID=2036) Palm.

[Paula]

Why would anyone ever be influenced by what a celeb uses? 8O
They are given the product free of charge and paid to hawk it. Now on the other hand, if the celeb was a known power user and paid for the device for themselves, then I might consider what they had to say.

Peer opinions matter more to me, especially when I live in a country where the choices are limited and odds are you won't find a demo model in a store to test drive. In the end, I weigh all the pros and cons and make an educated decision. Or I toss all that out and go with my gut. :D

Paula

[JvanEkris]

IMHO, i think this is a biassed crowd. I guess people that hang around this place long enough are technically advanced enough to decide for themselves what they like.

No we turn to a specific segment that in marketing terms sometimes is called the "sucker segment". These are the people that know nothing, and just follow the big people, because they cannot decide for themselves what they like. These people can be influenced very easy by celeb's using Palm's. Basically, these people already decided what cloths they liked and what sports are cool and which not, so another toy there would be an easy trick....

Jaap

[surur]

I don't let celebs make my choices, but after I decided and bought my product, I do feel vindicated when I see celebs using it (especially when using a gigantic phone like the XDA2 when everyone else have tiny cellphone jewelry). I must admit to buying the old nokia matrix phone (not the new one, which is ugly) but that was because I thought it was cool already.

Surur

[Steven Cedrone]

They've done that before (http://news.com.com/2100-1040-243941.html?legacy=cnet).

I know, hence the :roll: :wink: , you didn't think I just pulled her name out of a hat, did you? :wink:

Steve

[bdegroodt]

If anything, if it's used by a celeb - I'm not buying it or if I already have it, I'm dumping it. I'm not influenced by anyone; not even my peers as such. Yes, I'll read the reviews and talk to someone on occasion, but ultimately, *I* know what's best for *me*. Besides, celebs aren't power users, maybe with one or two exceptions. I no more trust their endorsement then I would a sponsored review or ad...
Might be hard to hang onto any device since so many celebs are being seeded.

I once saw Kevin Spacey on TechTV and he had an older Treo that he "demonstrated" why it doesn't work well for him by slamming Leo's cover shut. Made me realize why I wouldn't want that particular Treo, even though he claimed to be a user then.

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

I don't even notice when a celeb happens to be using or pushing any particular PDA device. I'll usually look at which devices meet my requirements and then seek opinions from this board.

...and actually, I'll lay much more weight to those on the board that I recognize as frequent posters who are highly technical. I came within a hair of ordering the new Toshiba a few weeks back based on some tesimonial from Janek himself.

[Nudicles]

hold on hold on...

Is this vote thing still messed up?

I find it hard to believe that so many of you believe that you make this decision largely independently... Doesn't the fact that you guys are here in the first place suggest that an occasional review or opinion from your peers is pretty important? I'm willing to bet that atleast 80% of you people out there RELY on reviews from peers in order to make a good, solid, informed decision. If you have at any time researched a product before purchasing, 99.999% of the time that research information is based off of someone else's opinion.

Ok, maybe I'm exagerating a bit :wink:
But comon now, 83% of people who read this forum are indifferent to other people's opinion? why are you here??

My nickel and a dime...

[Raynne]

I use my Magic 8_Ball. :D

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

Ok, maybe I'm exagerating a bit :wink:
But comon now, 83% of people who read this forum are indifferent to other people's opinion? why are you here??
I think the results you see are open to a larger range of interpretation than you're allowing. Making choices that are "largely independent" doesn't mean indifference to reviews and opinions. Quite the contrary for me.

I do come here to read the opinions and reviews of new devices, but my selection isn't based strictly on their choices, but the feedback they provide from their choices. In other words, it isn't enough for me to know that the majority of my peers have decided to purchase device XYZ. I want to evaluate the reasons they chose device XYZ and see if those reasons match up with my requirements. I also want to know how well it delivers on my most important requirements... If it delivers in spades, GREAT! I'm more likely to buy the same device, but if (for example) they were raving about a built-in thumbpad that I neither need or want, then their choice may mean little to me.

I suspect most people on this board would operate in the same manner.

[Nudicles]

hmmm, good point. I think I misread the original question

For some reason read:

I don't use celebrities' opinions, but my peers' choices are significant.

as

I don't use celebrities' choices, but my peers' opinions are significant.

:oops:

Anyways, after reviewing that, I completely agree with ekkie. My main point being still, however, that the majority of people who would read at a site like this would most likely consider the opinions of peers very important. And as you said, most people of course end up making the decision on their own and weighing out what is personally important to them. But I think part of this weighing process involves the opinions and evaluations of others, very key if you're not able to try it out yourself before you buy.

Guess it's just a language problem =P (sorry, I've been reading alot of Theory of Knowledge school stuff)

[minimage]

I answered that I choose independently.

My friend bought a 1st-gen iPAQ; I wanted an iPAQ, too.
My friend is a well-paid sysadmin. I'm an underpaid PC Tech. No going out and shelling out 500 bucks for an iPAQ for me!
About 1.5 years later, Dell sends me email. I can get an Axim for under $200. Shucks; I just bought a Casio BE-300 for a little less than that, but I have to have a real PDA with more storage space (the BE was just a delectable appetizer), so I jump off the cliff. Hey, while I'm diving, I might as well get the best they've got, so maybe I'll be satisfied with that for a year or two, so I get the $300 model, with funky light-up cradle. 10% discount and $50 rebate. Bottom line, money makes my choices for me! And yeah, I don't get as many frames per second as other people, and my IR isn't consumer grade, but I'm pretty freaking happy!

[axim5fan]

Last time I checked, there were no celebrities worried about if I was happy with my tech choices, had a job or not, or contributing to my bottom line so I could afford what they get for free. So their opinions never enter into decision making. I pay to see them sing and dance and we're even.