Overview
The topic on focus in the instant essay is the television, commonly referred to as the TV. Televisions are among the most common gadgets in the world and are also common in every country within every continent of earth. My reason for writing about the seemingly too obvious choice of TV is because they are like cockroaches in that they never seem to die. Instead of technological advancements eliminating TVs, the gadgets adjust and adapt to changes hence surviving. Even the proliferation of the internet could not kill TVs as they just adjusted.
Technology History
The concept of a working TV can be traced back to the 1920s when the gadgets were made mainly for experimental purposes. In America, the idea of a working TV can be traced back to inventor Charles Jenkins in 1913 (Hur, 2017). The idea would gradually develop but without any form of mass production until the 1930s when TV began to gain prominence in America and Europe. The old version of TV was based on a cathode ray tube (CRT) screen and used radio waves to connect it with the source of picture signals (Stevens, n.d.). In the 21 st century, a lot of technological changes would be visited upon the concept of television in its entirety. For a start, the CRT based screen would be replaced with a plasma screen, then replaced once again with the LED screen. Currently, most TVs in production are predicated on LED technology. Similarly, the means of transmitting content changed from radio signals to include cable as indicated above but of late the same has been replaced by the internet.
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Technology Manufacturing
Traditionally, the USA was the center of TV manufacturing with several top TV makers such as Sharp, Olevia, and Solo Digital being American companies. However, towards the end of the 20 th century and more so in the 21 st century, manufacturing generally and particularly electronic gadget manufacturing has gone down exponentially in America (Hopkins, 2014). Within the TV industry, a lot of the American market has gone to the Far Eastern companies such as Samsung and Sony. Further, many of the local manufactures retain only design and assembly units in the US while most of the manufacturing is done overseas. Among the reasons why TV manufacturing has gone down in America is due to the high cost of labor and regulatory issues (Hopkins, 2014). There is also the issue of extreme competition for Far Eastern manufacturers whose manufacturing advantages include economies of scale due to the availability of a larger market.
Consumer Profile
As indicated above, TV is one of the most commonly used electronic gadgets in America and across the world, being available in almost 75% of all homes. TVs are also available in most offices, social areas, and professional offices (Stevens, n.d.) . In recent times, technological advances have also enabled TVs to be available in transport amenities such as vehicles, planes, and trains. It would be fair to state that almost anyone who can afford a TV generally uses one. Traditionally, TV was mainly used as a source of information and also the propagation of political propaganda more so during the Second World War and the Cold War (Hur, 2017) . Currently, TV is still used as a source of information although the internet is taking precedence in that arena. TV is also used for entertainment and advertising. In the modern times, advertising is taking precedence over all other uses of the TV with adverts being incorporated in most of the available content.
Technology Marketing
At the advent of TV through to about the 1950s, advertising in TV was based on the need for a set but in the modern times, advertising is based on quality and brand. There was a time when TV was new technology and people needed to be convinced that they needed a set to purchase it. At the time, advertising would be predicated on how useful a television set would be. By the 1990s, however, it was obvious to all in most parts of the world that a TV set was an essential gadget to have at home, in entertainment centers, and in the office (Stevens, n.d.). Marketers changed tunes and begun advertising based on the different brands available in the market and also the different qualities available. Today, it would seem absurd to try and convince potential customers that they need a TV. Instead, marketers seek to have customers make a preference for their brand, or replace existing sets with larger, more advanced or more modernized brands (Hur, 2017).
Global Applications
Unless there is a limiting factor, TV is used universally and freely all over the world. In America for example, there is almost no limiting factor for the usage of TV since TV sets are abundantly available in homes, offices, and social centers. The trend in the limitless availability of TV is also replicated in most of the developed world. In the developing world, several limitations for application of TV exist (Thomas, 2012) . Key among these limitations is the pecuniary limitation based on the availability of funds to buy a TV. There are countries where families live on less than a dollar a day thus TV would be an inordinate luxury. TVs also need the energy to operate and unfortunately, cheaper TVs such as CRT-based use more energy than more expensive TVs such as LED-based. Availability and affordability of TV can be an issue. Finally, in despotic nations, application of TV can be limited by government regulation more so when it comes to content (Thomas, 2012) .
Conclusion- Future of Technology
Based on the above, TV is a technology that has been in existence almost for a century now and seems to be capable of being in existence long into the future. The subject of future existence could be debatable since new technology has been rising fast and taking over the duties that were erstwhile relegated to the TV . Among these duties include information, entertainment, and advertising. Relatively newer technologies such as smartphones and tablets can undertake these duties . Further, with the advent of the internet of things, it might soon be possible to use a variety of household furniture and office items as a replacement for TVs. However, the TV has shown a massive capacity for both survival and adaptation. TV survived the advent of the home computer in the 20 th century and the smartphone in the 21 st century hence it might still endure, in spite of efforts to replace it.
References
Hopkins, J. (2014, October 22). Why Americans don't make televisions anymore. Retrieved from https://www.detroitnews.com/story/opinion/2014/10/22/americans-make-tvs/17680951/
Hur, J. (2017, September 06). History of the television. Retrieved from https://bebusinessed.com/history/history-of-the-television/
Stevens, M. (n.d.). History of television. Retrieved from https://www.nyu.edu/classes/stephens/History of Television page.htm
Thomas, B. (2012, May 06). What the world's poor watch on TV. Retrieved from https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/whattheworldspoorwatchontv
