They don’t know tech, and they don’t know simple arthmetic
This $857 device is quite impressive. But who’s got that kind of money lying around?
James A. MartinPC World
Friday, April 7, 2006; 12:10 AMYears ago, when the Earth was still cooling, I had an appointment with the CEO of a software company in Tampa. Not having been there before, I missed a freeway exit and became horribly lost. To make a long story short, I was over two hours late for my interview (at that time, cell phones weren’t common).
I thought of this incident several times recently while testing Garmin’s Nuvi 350 , a sleek, pocket-sized Global Positioning System device. If only I’d had such a gadget back then, I would never have been so late for that interview…..
Well, yesterday I was picking on a reporter for blaming the GPS for a problem that wasn’t caused by GPS at all. Today, we have a guy who claims to be a long-time reporter covering business and technology, who has no idea how to figure the return on an investment (that’s ROI, James).
The report is actually well written and presents the Nuvi in a very favorable light. The features, including tracking accuracy, seem to have been well explored and the evaluation has a definite ring of authority.
Then our stalwart reporter wanders off on a totally uncalled for editorial view that the unit is vastly overpriced … at the same time acknowledging that he overstated the price by 26% or so, just to make a better headline. Let’s look at some facts.
You can buy pocket-size GPS receivers for as little as $89 (or perhaps even less). You can buy ones that plug into a laptop or a Pocket PC and run off the USB port and use the master device’s power, Bluetooth and/or WiFi capabilities for much less. Apples and oranges though, methinks.
You certainly won’t buy a Pocket PC and a GPS plug-in and maps for all of North America for any less than $700 or $800 and you will not have a small, purpose built navigator. For what this unit provides it is very well priced in today’s technology. In 2007, there will undoubtedly be units that beat the performance or equal it for a lower price point. But go to the example that Mr. Martin started his report with. How much will it cost you to fly to Tampa, rent a car, check in to a modest motel and then drive to visit a corporate CEO for an important interview … or a sales call where you hope to ink an order for hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of profit? A lot more than $675!
If you get lost and show up egregiously late for the appointment and thus lose the interview or blow the sales closing, what was your return on investment for the trip? Does your calculator show negative numbers? Might as well have stayed at home. If you want to spend nothing, do nothing. Doing nothing is cheap. But you can’t be a successful reporter or businessman sitting on your can … and if you have zero cash flow, all the economizing in the world won’t keep your company in the black.
A tool like this is a business tool, plain and simple. Figure even a mid-level salesman or manager’s total burdened value when traveling is well over $100 an hour. You only need to save 30 minutes a month to make this tool break even … not to mention the deals you won’t lose. And don’t forget the cost of rental car gas for all those unintended excursions.
If you want a toy to keep track of your bike rides in the park, buy one of those $5.99 “click, click, click” bicycle spoke odometers. If you’re in business and want to succeed, then equip yourself with the right tools.