Compromise…

If you read David Pogue’s column in the New York Times, you know beneath his funny and random banter, there is always a grain of poignancy. Somehow we doubt he’s just talking about digital photo frames here:

“The only question, then, is why manufacturers don’t actually bother doing what’s right. I’m sure they have all kinds of excuses for compromise: “That would cost money,” “That would set us back a month,” “That would limit sales in Eastern Europe,” whatever.

But you don’t have to have an M.B.A. to understand that refusing to compromise on design, for any reason, can lead to fantastic commercial success. Look at Apple, Google, Sonos, R.I.M. (makers of the BlackBerry), or (in its glory days) Palm.

So what goes through the minds of executives who don’t sweat the small stuff? Don’t they realize that critics and bloggers will find and publicize the limitations? Don’t they realize that customers nowadays can compare notes, can warn each other away? And in a crowded field like digital frames, why on earth can’t they see that the only way to differentiate is to be better than the other guys?”

We could all do well to remember that…

( via Daring Fireball )