Tech Pockets, what will they think of next? This week I bought some new short pants from my favorite department store and discovered they have little pockets to put a cell phone or MP3 player. After studying them for a little bit it hit me that technology influences many things we buy that normally wouldn’t have anything to do with technology.
Rather than take a look at obvious accessories for technology, I’d like to look at non-tech stuff that technology has influenced. In other words, items like cell phone covers were made for phones but a cell phone pocket on shorts was a direct influence of technology on an existing product. Technology sways manufacturers of traditional items to rethink their design.
Clothing, in my example, comes to mind first because it’s close to us: literally and figuratively. My daughter has a sweatshirt with built-in headphones, my brother has a coat with ten or so pockets for holding tech gadgets and I now have shorts with Tech Pockets. Now that portable gadgets are used every day it only makes sense that garments come equipped with places to stash them.
Shoe manufacturer Nike, realizing that most people carry their phone everywhere, created shoes that track running distance, jump height and much more. Runners who carry their devices with them can synchronize their phone and shoes in real time. It is my understanding that their basketball shoes stores data and connect to the owner’s phone off the court.
Years before Bluetooth, car radios came with accessory plugs that would allow inserting a headphone extension cord. Pushing a button on the radio would allow users to switch between the in-dash radio and an MP3 player. With the advent of Bluetooth and other technology users can now integrate the full functionality of their phones into their car radio.
A year ago I dated a woman who was so tech savvy it made me uncomfortable. She upgraded her kitchen with the latest appliances which allowed her to control functions of the dishwasher from a cell phone. When the dishwasher cycle completed she would receive a message telling her it was time to empty the load. Reports sent back to her cell phone included the temperature of the cycle and time the dishwasher ran.
Even my new bicycle has an optional accessory to hold a phone. Listening to music through headphones would be extremely dangerous, but rather than an odometer that only tracks distance this device maps my path and a myriad of other data. I’m not sure I would ever want something like this but it’s neat to know that technology influenced its implementation.
I was helping a friend with a small project. The multiuse tool she gave me included a small screwdriver. Stamped into the metal near the tiny screwdriver it specifically indicated “electronic tool.” Interestingly enough the multi-tool was designed for use around the house. I have a similar tool by the same manufacturer that was made years ago and mine doesn’t have that little screwdriver.
What this all boils down to is product designers creating items for a technology enabled world. For better or worse, technological gadgets are here to stay. Most of the world’s population has a phone that does more than dial phone numbers so it makes sense for companies to cater to these consumers. Perhaps I’m a cynic, but having a cell phone pocket wouldn’t be necessary if I wasn’t strapped to my cell phone 24 hours a day.
(Jeromy Patriquin is the President of Laptop & Computer Repair, Inc. located at 509 Main St. in Gardner. You can call him at (978) 919-8059 or visit www.LocalComputerWiz.com.)