The history of devices goes back to humanity itself, since the hominids began creating tools to make their lives easier. Human beings have always created devices and gadgets for specific practical purposes that were initially considered novelties, due to unfamiliarity and initial unwillingness to accept the technology. Today, the industry has ramped up the creation of new devices, while certain retailers, including Brookstone’s RichardSolo.com and Richard Thalheimer, specialize in popularizing them.
What famous inventors Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and Leonardo da Vinci, among others, had in common was foresight. They understood that a lifetime spent playing with what others considered pointless toys and gadgets would eventually become indispensable technology. From that small group alone, the foundations for electricity, communications, motion pictures, and flight were laid because of their devices, which obviously possessed more value than novelty.
Perhaps one of the first and best known contraptions created is the wheel, many millennia ago. Take a ride in your car and witness how truly revolutionary this device has become and how much we now depend on it for transportation. A newer device, Apple’s iPhone, appears to be the beginning stage of another device-turned-necessity that will reshape communications.
“The iPhone may one day be seen as the device that started a second revolution in computing. Desktop computing was the first revolution. Mobile computing will one day be seen as the second revolution, and the iPhone is the product that started it.” “.
-Richard Thalheimer, RichardSolo.com
All gadgets are not created equal. In fact, most inventions are based on the newest technology. The world of gadgets is staggered; Devices fall into one of four categories: mechanical, electronic, programmable, and application. Mechanical contraptions include the wheel, as well as later developments such as the pulley, the bicycle, the sailboat, the thermometer, and the like. Following the advent of electricity, devices were taken to a new level as inventors began to discover different uses for the newly harnessed energy. Television, radio and quartz clock are examples of electronic devices. After electricity, inventors tinkered with electronic information via microprocessors, beginning an era of programmable devices like computers and, later, MP3 players and the iPhone. Application gadgets include iTunes, Microsoft Office, and other computer applications that personalize our experience with programmable devices.
Richard Thalheimer, president and founder of online gadget provider RichardSolo.com, and founder and former CEO of gadget giant The Sharper Image, understands, perhaps better than anyone, that gadgets are about much more than novelty.
“Certainly, most people enjoy the novelty of a device that introduces a new convenience to their lifestyle. What they forget is that solving these everyday problems is not just entertainment, but some of these devices become necessities.” In my personal life, I rely on my iPhone, my garage door opener, my nose hair trimmer, my electric toothbrush, and other devices that were once considered novelty devices.”
-Richard Thalheimer, RichardSolo.com
Both his former creation and his current company sell quirky, useful and fun gadgets of all kinds, from mechanical to programmable to app. It has seen some devices, like the Ionic Breeze air purifier, drive sensational and long-lasting trends based on realizing utility value, while others gathered dust on shelves after their novelty wore off. Specialty stores like Richard Thalheimer’s The Sharper Image and RichardSolo.com have a larger purpose: to spread new ideas and give credit to the Franklins and Edisons of the world.
~Ben Anton, 2008