Early adopter blues

Overnight Google introduced – then quickly withdrew – their new Gmail app for the iPhone and iPad after a wave of criticism that the software wasn’t ready for release. At the same time Apple’s new iPhone 4S itself is being criticised for its power thirsty ways.

None of this is new; we always find problems with the latest big technology release. Last year saw the Antennae Of Death glitch on the iPhone 4 and Windows Vista’s general clunkiness has left Microsoft playing catch-up for the last five years.

Computer users in general have learnt to wait until a new tech product has been on the market for at least a few months, or the first service pack in the case of new Windows versions – rather than joining the early adopters who are swept along by gushing reviews by a breathless trade press.

By waiting, those later adopters get a better product and probably pay less for it as well.

The initial up front cost isn’t the only price, as there’s a learning process in a new technology product regardless of how much the vendor proclaims it’s the fastest, simplest and most user-friendly version to date.

Earlier adopters in effect become the crash test dummies for the support industry and vendors’ help lines as everybody tries to figure out exactly how the new product works.

To add insult to injury the early adopters gnash their teeth as other big vendors like telcos, camera and printer manufacturers all disavow the latest version as being “unsupported” despite sometimes having several years to prepare for the new release.

Of course the company denies there are any issues at all and there’s usually more than a few industry commentators prepared to help them deny the obvious problems that only makes the early adopters even more frustrated.

We keep coming back to the simple solution, and that is to wait until the bugs are identified and – if not ironed out – at least work arounds and fixes are discovered.

In every way early adopters pay dearly for their status symbols, that’s why the smart folk treat new releases with well-deserved suspicion and wait a few weeks before buying or installing a new product.

Paul Wallbank is one of Australia’s leading experts on how industries and societies are changing in this connected, globalised era. When he isn’t explaining technology issues, he helps businesses and community organisations find opportunities in the new economy.