Post re-write to clarify my thoughts on this issue.
To your original question, the answer is yes.
To your thoughts on the matter, the answer is also yes.
This should be obvious. If you look at any successful business, you will find one thing in common: More convenience and more features = more profit and happier customers. If you don't believe me, just ask any Apple employee.
The perfect e-cigarette device is a combination of several:
- Provari:
- Innokin MBV 2.0:
- internal charging circuits
- Variable wattage
- Other "cool factor" features
- eVic:
- Firmware updates that negate the necessity and hassle of having to upgrade or purchase new hardware -- Saves time (waiting), shipping costs, adds convenience and offers the customer that "new" feeling (new software features/bug fixes)
People want convenience, they want features, and they want a decent price but are willing to pay more later on when new products come out. So the best business model is to offer an e-cig that is EASY for the customer to use, looks good, lasts a long time, and is just different enough to be considered unique and at a price point that gets them buying into the brand (like the iPod did for Apple).
The Provari only hits home on Quality and Aesthetics. that's it. It doesn't have the features or convenience. Also, their upgrade process sucks up cash from both ends. If they offered Firmware upgrades then customers would not have to pay $20.00 and spend time without their device while awaiting the new one. This means they could have theirs personalized and not have to worry about losing that when they upgrade (again, not convenient).
Until an e-cig manufacturer finally realizes this, the business will never be as mainstream as it could be, and that is what you want. The more people using e-cigs, the less the FDA can do to stop it. Going 100% mainstream is the only way to put a stop to all the threats from the FDA and other governing bodies.
I'd like to slap the person at Provari who decided they weren't going to add a feature like VW. How ......ed is that when you know your customers WANT it.
Firmware upgrades are essential because it provides the customer the ability to personalize (engraving, painting/whatever) without having to worry that they will have to mail in their product and lose those personal touches to receive the next "upgrade".
The money they are losing out on is crazy. I ran my own business for over a decade and made very good money before a life-threatening back injury ended it and it drives me bananas when I see small businesses like Provape passing up opportunities due to some very-questionable business decisions.
Everyone in this business is operating under a short-term business model. They all seem to be in it for the quick-buck. They are not thinking long-term and there do not seem to be any visionaries among them that can take the industry to the next level. Provape has the quality and the aesthetics. So IMO they are pretty close, but their total lack of ability to see beyond today kills their chances of continuing the evolution. Which means someone else is going to have to step up and take their "king of the hill" status away from them, which won't be too hard to do. Giving your customers what they want is KING. If some of them want a VW/VV product, then make a version of it. If they want firmware upgrades, do it. Because in the end it will make them more money, the customers will be happier, and everyone wins.
90% of people buy their PCs whether they are Macs or Windows based machines. Only about 10% of those build them from the ground up, and of those 10%, only about another 1% take it to the max with water-cooling, custom light displays, etc.
