Simplicity is the New Quality

In the article on Wired.com titled "The Good Enough Revolution: When Cheap and Simple Is Just Fine" Robert Capps essentially states that while technology is getting better people settle for lesser version of it because they function as needed in a faster moving world. His analysis of how technology has changed the camera and music industries, among other, is truly insightful into how consumers are acting in a more technologically developed society.

I'm am not an avid photographer, but as a Journalism major I've had experience handling a wide range of camera, including SLR and DSLR. I understand the camera markets shift through my own experience with these cameras as opposed to a simple point and shoot camera. Point and shoot cameras take options away from the user. The user is generally confined to the normal manufactured settings that allows them to take the what the user believes is the best picture possible. While a SLR or DSLR camera may be able to take a better picture, an inexperienced and indifferent user will not take full advantage of the it's settings thus making it as useful as the simple point and shoot. An avid photographer may complain about the quality, but the normal consumer does not analyze a photo as passionately. Besides, if the consumer is happy about the photo, the photo holds a high quality in the eyes of the consumer even it's photographic value is low. 

Cheap and Simple has become the new wave of satisfaction because it grants consumers the quality they're most looking for: instant gratification in a simple, swift manner. According a 2008 article on Engadget.com 95 percent of returned gadgets work and an executive the consulting firm Accenture blamed it on the complexity of gadgets. This coupled with the general practice of not reading the instruction manner creates a consumer base that is not looking for quality, but rather quick usability that leads to quick satisfaction. 

Downloading a mp3 file to your phone is much faster than driving to the store to buy a vinyl album (if the record company even prints one). Quality is now defined by ease and quickness of use.