The title of this post is a bit controversial but I can't help it, when I see the names of companies on some devices today I wonder if my first impression of a new device wouldn't be more positive (or at least different) if I wouldn't see the company name so prominently displayed!? Let me give you some examples:
- Whenever I see an HP notebook these days, I think, "Phew, that's the company that wants to get out of the PC business, this is one of the last" (yes, I know they since have said these plans are off the table). Time perhaps heals wounds.
- Whenever I see "Philips" on a product it immediately goes back into the shelf because I will never buy a Philips product again in my life since the time they refused to give me a replacement for lost in-ear plugs for my noise cancellation headset when I had lost them due to them falling off all the time. A replacement part that perhaps costs one cent they refused to give or sell to me so I could continue using their headset completely destroyed their brand image for me permanently.
- Nokia: So sad, whenever I see Nokia these days I think, "yeah, once a great company, being the leader in the mobile domain, doing open source, being open, creating great devices, etc". But with their 180 degrees turn-around earlier in the year to the ultra-closed Windows Phone OS, the slaughter of Meego and Symbian and their subsequent ultra quick move from market leading company to insignificance makes me feel sad when I see a Nokia logo these days.
- SonyEricsson: Now that Ericsson has sold their stake to Sony and devices are likely to be re-branded soon, anyone with a SonyEricsson phone in their hand will immediately be identified as "out of date".
- HP/Palm/WebOS: Out of business, just like that…
Perhaps you think these thoughts are shallow and one should look behind the company names. But I think the opposite is the case. Companies keep changing their strategies and leave an impression to consumers (or at least to me) that no matter when I buy something from them, the company is going to change in their core values (read: not only their marketing campaign) the second I've swiped my credit card through the reader at the cash register and the device I bought and the ideas it was built on top will not get support from the company in the future and will not see any successors.
Perhaps with the mobile industry evolving at such a quick rate, such twists and turns in very short succession are unavoidable as companies search for ways not to fall behind and gain market share. As a consumer, however, this makes me feel uneasy.