Novelty effect or true change in behavior?

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Comment by Colin Dullaghan on October 25, 2009 at 8:47am

My iPod has actually never been used to any serious extent, and I've had it so long that my college-aged sister has to ask me what it is.

"That's an iPod?" she says...
"Yep," I answer. "An old one."
"But why is it so humongous?"
"I used to think it was quite compact, actually."
"How much does it hold?"
"15GB."
"Ha!"

(I think it was just one of those things that was for folks with a different lifestyle than my own. After being seduced by the shininess and begging for this relic for my birthday one year, I realized I'm never too far from some other form of music, whether at home, in the car or at my desk. Now if I rode a subway or something, sure.)

On the other hand, my iPhone use has continued to climb since the day I got it, with no slackening in sight. Similarly, an old Garmin eTrex hiking-oriented GPS that I "had to have" has probably gotten turned on a dozen times in its several-year life, while the TomTom GPS, which is decidedly *driving* oriented, almost got worn out from constant usage. (At least until we got the iPhone.)

Maybe it just depends more on the gizmo's true usefulness -- in the context of the user's true habits.

Comment by Linda J Ranger on October 22, 2009 at 9:01am

The Wii I had to have is not being used like it was when it was new. Definitely its use has plateaued.

Comment by Pat Coyle on October 21, 2009 at 10:30pm

I never used my ipod until I got a docking station that plays and re-charges it. It sits in my kitchen. Now I use it at least once a week (while cutting the lawn) or while doing the dishes. But (I am embarrassed to admit) I've had the same load of songs on my ipod for 2 years because I never really got confident in how to add more.