Attractive design makes you buy things…faster!

I suppose anyone with a good taste would agree with me if I say a good design can influence people’s first impression of a product.  To illustrate my point, let’s take Sony VAIO as an example.  I don’t know about you, but to me Sony VAIO laptops are superior in their design to other laptops.  The only laptops that would come close to it is those MacBooks.  But let’s face it, MacBooks are in a different class on its own, which I intent to leave out for another discussion in my future posts.

Let’s forget the fact that Sony’s brand is known for their quality.  Let’s forget that I was a proud owner of one, and that it never failed me from time to time (I speak for my self).  I was so happy with VAIO that after all these years, I still would like to get me another one.  VAIO simply had me at “Hello” (referring to Tom Cruise’s famous line in Jerry McGuire).
Back then, I didn’t even know much about battery power or “blue screen of death” that was all too popular among Windows users.  I just loved VAIO’s curvy look and how it felt less bulky in my hand.  Though sold at a premium price, the protruding metallic “VAIO” logo on the casing immediately placed me one class above the rest (again, I speak for my self, but please keep up as I’m trying to prove a point).  Sony VAIO design was so revolutionary to me that no other laptops could come close (Apple was not yet mainstream back then).

10 years have passed, and here I am thinking that I have gained more insights in the world of tech-gadgetry, and that I would value a gadget based on its capability more than its look so I know a product inside and out before I buy it.  Boy  I was wrong!

A few months ago, I contemplated whether I should get my self an iPhone or Google Nexus One (Android-based smart phone made by Google).  I really did do some research on the two products, one reason because there’s just a geek in me that tells me to do it for fun, two because Nexus One just had more to offer in terms of flexibility (Android is an open source platform, as iPhone is proprietary), and three because they both ain’t cheap!  A power user that I am, that would’ve come naturally as I interact with Google applications on Internet for most of my Internet life time.  I even did some research on blackberry, just to be sure that I wouldn’t miss anything (and I didn’t) as my wife happens to have one (and an avid fan of “BB Messenger” as well).

But in all fairness, I wasn’t thinking about that when I looked down at an actual iPhone in my hand!  This device had my name written all over it! It looked way more “cool” than Nexus One (though I only saw a picture of Nexus One on the Internet).  I know about all the benefits of both phones, and that they are not priced too far apart either.  But I just couldn’t picture my self having another brand but iPhone…period! (really, this was my attitude).

After about 10 minutes getting a feel of it, observing it like it was mine already, I was eventually sold…I finally got my self an iPhone!