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Consumers prefer simpler gadgets

by Ben Furfie
Friday, January 18th 2008 at 12:47PM

Consumers prefer simpler gadgets A poll by which.co.uk has found that the majority of consumers want simpler gadgets.

Almost two-thirds of the 1034 people polled by the website said that some gadgets have functions that they either don't understand or don't use.

Among the devices singled out by the survey were remote controls for TVs, DVD players and stereos: the worst offender with 63 per cent of those questioned saying that they were very or fairly likely to choose a simple remote over one that had lots of extras.

Digital radios also fell foul of those questioned with 61 per cent of people saying they would rather just have a simple model.

59 per cent said that they would prefer a simpler mobile phone, while 58 per cent said that they would choose a simple digital camera over a expensive model with bells and whistles.

Speaking about the results, editor of which.co.uk, Malcolm Coles said: "Manufacturers are forever bringing out updated products with extra functions. There's no need to make a meal out of remote controls, radios or any other technical products.

"The result of our survey shows that many consumers would prefer simple gadgets to unnecessarily complicated versions.

"We use a panel of ease-of-use experts to assess all electronic products featured in Which? as part of our product testing. This means readers know which are the easier products to use, and which are overcomplicated.

"This is a unique aspect of Which? testing and we place a lot of emphasis on it."

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Tags: Accessories, Gadgets, which?, simple

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