Mass Consumer vs. Futurist Prosumer

I notice a discouraging, and exponentially extremeing, rift between design for reality (mass consumption) and designs for awesome (toys for 'rich kids').

On one hand, take Apple's nearly invincible ipod: Originally the ipod was akin to a luxury item, now it reigns heartily across 90% of the market share. This trend is reflected by the current lineup of Macbooks which are largely considered to be the best laptops commercially available, yet seemingly everyone in a college setting already owns one.

I wish the 'luxury' side of Apple still existed. A light, fast, and innovative 'Macbook Elite' would easily sell, even if the price-point loomed around $4-5k (look at how many companies still sell cars for over a quarter of a million). Not only would the sheer number of these 'luxury sales' justify the existence of such an object, but it would give a company the chance to 'field test' the future concepts of their consumer products.


On the flip side, my Devil's Advocate doesn't appreciate when the same 'luxury mentality' is soley applied to innovation. Technology shouldn't be a trickle-down to the proles. The current all-electric cars on the market are leaps and bounds away from the standard consumers reach. A sub-$20k electric car would have a HUGE market in the United States.

It is well known that, even in this economic recession, households are willing to make expendetures on "green investments". As long as people think they are helping the world, while simultaneously making an investment into their own pocketbook (i.e. saving on gasoline and accompaning repairs.) Even if the range was only 80 miles on a charge, at a top speed of 75 mph, there would quickly be a waiting list back-logged for over 3 years. (at one point, a used Prius could be sold for higher than it costed new, simply because the mass-consumer demand was so high.)


Simply, the powers of choice should lie in consumer's hands, and they should be able to choose from all possible products, instead of the products being designed solely around company-perceived niche markets.

What do you think?