Is the CE Industry alienating consumers?

CE Pro: How Useful Is Today's Technology?

While we've discussed the idea that simplicity of technology will help drive the adoption of connected homes, Paul Zeven, CEO of Philips Electronic North America, poses this question: Do people need the gizmos we're selling?
During a recent three-day period, I was exposed to a new robotic vacuum cleaner, a new high-definition version of TiVo, a device to stream movies from a PC to a television, new game consoles, new MP3 players and, yes, even a belt buckle that plays videos.
I can't help but wonder if consumers really want all this. Have we gone too far? Are we in step with the needs of today's American consumer?
On the one hand, few consumers want to be left behind with yesterday's technology. On the other hand, the consumer electronics industry may be moving so fast and jamming so many new features into devices that we are making the experience too complex.

My favorite part is this:

two out of three Americans have lost interest in a technology product because it seemed too complex to set up or operate. We also found that only 13 percent of Americans believe technology products in general are easy to use. The study concluded that only one in four consumers reports using the full range of features on most new technology products.
If these findings aren't enough of a wake-up call, the study also found that more than half of Americans believe manufacturers are trying to satisfy perceived consumer needs that may not be real.
Clearly, the American consumer believes that we are still cramming features and functions into our products simply because we think they will sell or in response to fierce industry competition.

Why does a cell phone have to have a 2 megapixel camera or a 1 gig mp3 player built in? Given the cynicism and apathy that consumers (and retailers) have displayed towards Blu-ray and HD-DVD, I think we are forced to ask ourselves if, as an industry, we've jumped the shark.

Regarding complexity, I've asserted for years that it doesn't matter how great your toys are, if you don't know how to use them. Last Christmas, I was called upon by a friend of my parents: her husband had disconnected his television and stereo system, moved them to another room, and then realized that he had no idea how to put them back together. Once I completed the simple (well, for me) re-installation, I walked him through how his system worked: how to watch HDTV, how to watch a DVD, and how to listen to the radio. My training session was repeatedly punctuated by his declarations of "Wow, I didn't know that my system could do that!" Bear in mind that he had bought all of his equipment over time from a high end boutique in town that claims to offer service and expertise, and yet he still had no idea what features and benefits he had actually paid for, nor was his system optimized before I got my hands on it!

Honestly, if you expect people to spend money with you, don't you think you need to go a little further than saying "This box is a really great box, you'll be very happy with it. Do you want to put it on your Visa card?" And if you expect people to buy what you've got, you need to meet the needs they really have, rather than the needs you tell them they have.

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