Now I understand your point. I agree totally that it raises expectations. If memory serves me right, the Roadmap was introduced to the public at the time just after the new materials legislation in EU banned the plastics used in most of the FA and FA* lineup, which was also the time when Pentax discontinued most of that line of lenses. It created a vacuum where Pentax really, really needed to advertise their intent to stay in the DSLR business, and as such I think the Roadmap was a good tool at the time. It would not surprise me if it was a good tool internally for Pentax as well, in the process leading up to the merger with Hoya.
I can follow your sentiment of its limited usefulness today, since most of the lineup is now in place, and Pentax made its mark with the K-series cameras. But isn't this more an issue of timing than a discussion of the Roadmap's birthright? This document can be used to calibrate the market's expectation any way they want. It is a business strategic document, not something the R&D dept. is in control of. If the strategic decision-makers put out a roadmap on insufficient information from their organisation, it means that they need to streamline their communication lines internally, and possibly their business processes. But the main audience for this document is not the consumer. It is more for the benefit of investors and other business relationships. Their interests is more difficult to gauge than the general public's. Anyway, if they go back to their traditional tight-lippedness, is that a good thing for Pentax? I don't see why it should be. It's a good document that has already served them well for a while, and could continue to do so if they put out the right information at the right time. Currently they seem a bit off-target, but I don't see that to be a reason to abandon the idea all together. Jostein 2009/3/4 Mark Roberts <[email protected]>: > They certainly need to *have* plans and ideas. They just don't need to make > them public. It raises expectations, which change into frustration and anger > when plans change or problems arise -- as they almost always do in R&D. It > also encourages people to defer present purchases while waiting for future > products. > > As far as I can tell, none of the other manufacturers publishes any kind of > "road map" of future products and I believe they're wise to refrain from > doing so. I think Pentax (perhaps with a "push" from Hoya) has come to the > same conclusion. > > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and > follow the directions. > -- http://www.alunfoto.no/galleri/ http://alunfoto.blogspot.com -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
