Ok, stop snickering…
I’m referring to an article (“The Technology of Tiny Parts”)
that PRODUCTS FINISHING published last month in which we profiled
Professional Plating, a company whose expertise is the plating of
minuscule parts used in hearing aids, telecommunication devices,
computers and other electronic systems.
While I applaud the fact
that ProPlate is among the best at what they do, the article made
me do some serious thinking about the current trene—particularly
in the consumer electronics industry—towards small. It seems
that every new wireless phone, PDA or handheld computer is smaller
than its predecessor. At some point, this trend begs the question,
“when is small too small?”
There’s no doubt
that, at least for now, the trend towards small will continue. Chip-makers
have had no trouble making chips smaller even as they’ve become
more powerful. And manufacturers of wireless and handheld devices
show no sign of slowing down in the race to see who can cram the
most features into the smallest unit. But as the old saying goes,
just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
To be honest, my motivation
for raising this issue is selfish in nature. Yours truly does not
possess the most nimble fingers in the world. It’s this limitation
that has prevented me from trying some of the smaller handheld devices
such as the Blackberry (wireless e-mail device), which loads 32
keys and a screen into an interface smaller than a 3x5 index card.
To be fair, the Blackberry owners that I’ve spoken to insist
that once you master the art of “thumbing,” the devices
are rather easy-to-use.
Don’t get me wrong—small
does have its advantages. The gadget-junkie in me is quite fond
of small (especially when it translates to “light”). When
you’re walking around with a “George Costanza” wallet
stuffed into your back pocket, there are only so many more items
you can stuff in your pockets before the resulting weight initiates
a conflict between your waistline and gravity.
I will also confess that,
in spite of my concerns, my pudgy little fingers have adapted to
small more easily than I thought they might. I once regarded my
Nokia 8260 wireless phone (roughly the size of a deck of playing
cards) as much too tiny to ever be practical. But I’ve adapted
relatively quickly—my chubby digits now pound away at the buttons
with a dexterity that I didn’t know I possessed.
Still, I wonder when
it will all stop. I’m reminded of a Saturday Night Live skit
in which the biggest laugh revolved around comedian Will Ferrell’s
use of an ultra-stylish cell phone the size of a nickel. It certainly
makes you wonder what’s in store for the future.
