The biggest issue I have with the prevalence of product variations on store shelves is that it's caused some companies to wrongly conclude that simply creating lots of products is an effective product development strategy.  After all, when browsing the aisles of the supermarket it's easy to assume that the all those pasta sauces are just a result of what's easy to manufacturer or part of a clever marketing scheme.  But as Gladwell discusses, the origins of product variations came from exhaustive research.  So the strategy isn't just making a lot of products, it's using research to make new products that address previously unknown consumer desires.  I think some companies, particularly in consumer technology, have missed this point and are just creating a lot of products with little or no research and analysis.  This is one way that product variations become product spam, and it's an approach that only serves to demonstrate the company has no clue what people want.

Then there are the "me too" products.  This is when a company enters a large or growing product segment just to glean whatever sales they can, despite not having anything original to contribute.  More often then not the company who's brand name is on the product had nothing to do with it's creation and outsourced it's creation or rebranded someone else's product.  These are the worst types of product spam because they often just distract customers from quality products.  Also, it's not uncommon for the company to have little to no commitment to the products and consequently offer little customer support.

Will it ever stop?

The big downside to product spam, is that I don't see it going away anytime soon.  While product spam isn't effective at creating interesting or meaningful products, it does seem to be effective at boosting sales.  A company with a lot of products and product variations can cause its competitor's products to get lost on the store shelves (or search results), which yield more sales.  Also, just by creating a lot of products, the company can present an image of having expertise in that product area, whether or not the products are any good or not.  Companies can also use a big selection of products to influence the buyers for retail chains.  Invariably some buyers will be too busy to properly research the products (or just conclude that they don't know what customers want either) and just purchase some of everything, again yielding a larger order for the manufacturer.  Even those me too products will generate a lot of sales when placed in the right retailers.

What's interesting to me about is how Sprint has been disadvantaged by being a first-mover.  Sprint was the first company to offer digital cell service back in the 1990s.  At the time Sprint's CDMA network offered features and call quality that the competing analog networks couldn't touch.  Back then CDMA networks were a bit more proven then the competing GSM standard and it seemed like a safe bet.  However, GSM networks quickly caught up and became much more popular globally.  Now GSM networks have about an 80% market share.  Consequently, the number of CMDA compatible handsets became limited.  It's really disappointing to see a pioneer of digital cell service fall behind.  And I have to say, part of the reason I've stayed with Sprint so long is because of its heritage.  But since getting my current phone, a MOTOSLVR, I've had it with second rate hardware and I don't plan to renew my contract with Sprint.  Also, the iPod touch has really wet my appetite for an iPhone.

I'm on a perpetual quest for the perfect computer mouse.  I find something wrong with almost every mouse I use: wireless mice - too heavy, Microsoft mice - comfy but kinda plain looking, Logitech mice - the high pitched click sound grates on me (I WISH I were kidding), Apple mice - pretty, but not that comfy and hard to clean, gaming mice - expensive and ugly... I could go on.  The one brand of mice I always like are Wacom mice.  They look great, have all the right features, and they're super comfortable.  The problem is they only work on a Wacom drawing tablet.  Which is why Wacom should make regular USB (and Bluetooth) mice with high sensitivity tracking.  Wacom mice could be really popular with style conscious customers and anyone looking for something a little nice than the standard mouse.  In fact just writing this has me thinking if it would be possible to cobble one together with an existing Wacom mouse and a USB mouse.

Google Maps on the iPod touch is great but with only Wi-Fi for internet access, it's often inaccessible when you need it most: in the car. I'm really hoping someone uses the new iPhone SDK to create a Maps application that works offline by locally saving maps of the entire US. Even iPhone users could find this useful as it would probably run much faster than Google Maps over the EDGE network.

Ok, you're probably thinking, "Zini-what and Texteri-who?"  Zinio and Texterity are both companies that convert print editions of popular magazines into digital replicas that can be read online.  The digital edtion looks just like the original magazine, ads and all, but boasts some very handy features like searchable text, web-links, and a simplified table of contents.  You can check out sample magazines by Texterity and Zinio for free.  Both have some impressive titles and offer way more selection than is available for the Kindle.  As I wrote before, I think magazines could be a killer app for the Kindle, but they need more titles and a way to deliver full-color editions which can be read from your PC.  Purchasing either Zinio or Texterity would help accomplish both those objectives.  Of course, Amazon already has it's own Amazon Online Reader which delivers faithful reproductions of books, so the actual software and methods may be less attractive then the magazine titles they would gain in an acquisition.   Also, both Texterity and Zinio have created online readers optimized for the iPhone, which could prove to be a tough rival to the Kindle.  By purchasing Zinio or Texterity, Amazon could control their competition better or even profit from it.

Reader Paul sent this in, and I totally love the idea of transparent Post-it Notes.  I'm not sure if it's just a concept product or something we actually may see one day soon.  Either way, I'd totally use them.  3M should jump on this if they haven't already.

Transparent Post-It Notes on Noisy Decent Graphics

Through a rather odd turn of events, I'm now the proud owner of a 32GB iPod Touch.  Looks like I'll no longer be using my trusty 20GB iPod 4G (sigh).  Anyways, I've been using it for several days now and it's great.  I actually wrote a full review, but decided it was too long and way too boring.  So I've boiled it down to some highlights. 

• The iPod Touch is incredibly thin, yet feels really solid.
• The Sleep/Wake button is super useful and perfectly placed.  I love it.
• Love that the headphone jack is on the bottom.
• The iPod Touch looks really plain though, it almost doesn't look like an Apple product.  There's nothing cute about the iPod Touch; the dark bezel seems really out of character for an iPod.

Music Playback

• Double tapping the "Home" button displays music playback controls (play/pause, next, previous, and volume) from any application or even sleep.  It's fast and easy to use, but I still wish the Touch had volume buttons on the side like the iPhone, and a third for play/pause.
• Coverflow sorts albums by artist THEN album, it's awesome!
• Music playback is fast thanks to flash memory.
• Wish I could put music shortcuts (e.g. artists, shuffle songs) on the home screen.  This thing may run OS X, but it's still an iPod.

Podcast Playback

• A blue dot is displayed next to any podcasts you haven't started playing which is really helpful to tell which ones you've started but not finished.
• It doesn't display podcast descriptions.  Boo.
  
• Using the scrubber to seek to a certain point is a little tricky on a hour long podcast.  One trick I've found is to tap the scrubber, then slide my finger down.  The scrubber still drags, but it's easier to position without your finger in the way.
  

Safari

• Best portable web browser.
• Text and images look amazingly crisp and clear.
• Wish it could save passwords, with a master password like Firefox.
• Embedded YouTube videos should launch in the YouTube application.  Seems like a no-brainer... Does it already do this, somebody clue me in...

Photos and Videos

• Hi-res photos become low-res when you transfer them to the iPod Touch.  Not sure if there's a workaround for this yet.
  
• Video playback is fine.
• I think David Lynch has it right, I can't imagine watching a movie on the Touch or really anything longer than 45 minutes.  Still, I've been known to do crazy things when I'm bored...

Other

• The Weather application rocks.
• Using this thing can't help but make you want an iPhone.
• Can't wait for "official" apps.
• Also, I really wish I could save PDFs, web pages, and other files to it.

MacBook Pros were just released sporting faster Penryn processors and the Multi-touch trackpad.  Also, the base configuration starts with a 256MB video card (up from 128), while the faster models have 512MB.  Oddly, the remote is now a $19 add-on (it used to be free).  MacBook Pros are still sporting the same design as PowerBooks from 2003, and there's still no high-resolution 15" display option.  I can't help but see these MBPs as just the appetizer before the all-new MacBook Pro feast that should be served up with the new Intel Chipset Montevina (or Centrino 2, or whatever).

This recent article on CNET comparing the failed Palm Foleo to similar, and arguably successful, sub-notebooks has me thinking that the problem wasn't with the Foleo itself but how Palm described the product.  At its core the Palm Foleo was a lightweight (2.5 lbs) Linux based notebook with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a 10" screen and full size keyboard.  It was to be bundled with a solid web browser, e-mail application, and basic office applications.  In reality, the Foleo is not that different from the EEE PC. But from the onset the Foleo was described as a "mobile companion" for your smartphone, not a standalone device.  By contrast, the EEE PC, and other sub-notebooks, have been marketed as nothing less than a small, simple, cheap, easy-to-use PC.  The Foleo was met with skepticism and criticism, while EEE PC enjoyed overwhelmingly positive reactions.

If you want to destroy a product's perception there's no better word to use than "companion."  To many consumers "companion" means overpriced, limited compatibility, limited-use, and unnecessary.  Much of what Palm did seemed to emphasize that it was not a standalone device: in photographs, the Foleo was almost always pictured with a Treo by it's side; even in in this video with the CEO of Palm, Ed Colligan, the first thing he said was that it's a mobile companion.   Colligan goes on to make some very compelling points, but I think he lost most people after the companion part, and, by the way, it only works with Palm smartphones.

I really don't know if the Foleo would have been the flop people expected.  Given Palm's emphasis on engineering and useability, it wouldn't be surprised if a Foleo out-preformed an EEE PC in stability and basic tasks like web browsing and editing Word documents.  I think the Foleo could have had a chance, and a second revision could have been dynamite.  But with the way it was described in the media, the Foleo never had a chance.  Perhaps for that reason alone Palm was right to can it...

Still this new study by Mindset Media hits a little too close to home.  Here some of the trends among Mac users:

• More likely to use laptops. Check (my last 3 computer have all been notebooks).
• Buy organic food. Check
• Pay to download music. Check.
• Have bought 5 new pairs of sneakers in the last year.  I'm at 3 and counting...
• Drive a station wagon.  Check.
• Drive a hybrid.  Maybe one day...
• Use teeth whitening products.  Nope
• Liberal. Check
• Frequent Starbucks.  Nope, their tea selection is lame, but (much to my embarrassment) I do get their Chai Tea Latte from time to time.

Man, am I really that much of a cliche?  My next computer might have to be a Dell Latitude E just to shake things up.