It’s been the term talked of frequently in message boards of recent years and continues thanks to the ever faster pace of technological development. Upgrade Syndrome certainly isn’t something your doctor can prescribe a cure for but is something which we can identify and remove through patience, research and reflection on our decisions before buying upgrades.
Just look at the world’s most popular smartphone, the iPhone, which has gone through the roof in sales since its 2007 launch and that’s just talking about the 1st generation model. Now with iPhone 4 coming into the market just what is it that makes these small handheld devices reach the hands of not just new customers but those with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation handsets?
The most obvious answer is of course technology improvements such as better processors, new components and extra functionality. But it’s not necessarily for this reason alone that the masses decide to chuck their 6 month old iPhone into the drain for the latest model. The classic catchphrase ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ applies as much to this flash new technology as it did when Arthur R coined it in the early 1900s.
What’s rather intriguing about technology such as the iPhone is that despite a high price tag, contract or not, they continue to fly off the shelves in good financial times as well as bad. Driving the demand forward and keeping it up is only maintained through building on the success of these products and rapidly developing them by way of upgraded models. It keeps companies like Apple happy whilst simultaneously pleasing the auction sites such as eBay who are quickly becoming the second-hand showrooms for last generation smartphones.
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