Quality of experience

In a technical product's early stages, the typical IEEE MultiMedia reader would judge it by the strength and novelty of its technology. Early adopters in our community will accept a product more based on the technology it uses and the function it performs than its ease of use and their experience in using it. The situation changes when a product ships to mainstream users. Normal users don't care nearly as much about what technology goes into a product. They care more about the problem the product solves and their experience while using it. Given products with the same functionality, what will make the experience better? This critical consideration helps determine a product's success in the marketplace.