No doubt Canon, like other major manufacturers of technology products (hardware and software), builds features into almost every product that we may never see. Why is this? It's rarely due to technological limitations, but most often is due solely to competitive marketing reasons, or rather, the absence of them.
Assume that Company C comes out with a product that has a certain set of publicized features. That product's features are enough (and often more) to set it apart from the product it replaces, making an upgrade among an already captive audience desireable. (Remember, this could be a camera or a word-processing application.)
Now, suppose that four months later, Company N comes out with a product that leapfrogs the one Company C announced earlier. So, what it Company C to do? Throw in the towel and wait two years for its next model or version? Its product has been eclipsed! The answer, in certain cases, is to suddenly enable features that were there all along, but which were hidden from public view. This can be accomplished with a software patch or firmware update, again for your computer's operating system, its application programs, mobile phone, camera, whatever.
Company C announces the new features or capabilities with great fanfare, is an instant hero for "responding to customer feedback" and, in the same action, does its own bit of leapfrogging. (Take that, Company N!)
Ok, you say, but under what circumstances would those latent capabilities never see the light of day? Easy. Now, suppose Company N does come out with a new product, but its feature set falls short and does not leapfrog ahead of the product that Company C announced several months earlier. In this case, little inventive exists for Company C to enable those hidden capabilities. Company C can comfortably sit on the proudct it announced, and delay or even cancel announcing these other features. They may not ever be seen until Company C rolls out its next product, perhaps two or three years down the road.
Insane speculation? Hardly. As a technology journalist for nearly 25 years, who has signed hundreds of of non-disclosure agreements, I've seen it first hand.
Let the flame mail begin!
