I recently had the privilege of unboxing one of my most treasured possessions ever: an Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium. It’s not a gadget, but it’s tangible, and costs more than any other thing I own (other than Risk, my laptop).
What is unboxing? It’s one thing to pick out a tech toy and become its proud owner. But it’s a whole other matter to do the honors of unboxing it. Unboxing, as the word suggests, is the geeky ceremony of taking your beloved gadget, toy, or whatnot, out of its box, piece by piece. Enthusiasts who engage themselves in such an activity pay attention to the packaging and other accessories that come with the box. Also, they make sure they take several pictures or even a video of the whole process.
The psychology behind unboxing. Unboxing isn’t exactly a groundbreaking or alien concept. But to bloggers, especially techie and gadget bloggers, it’s become addictive. Aside from basking in the fact that you’ve gotten your hands on a much-coveted item, I dare say that companies like Apple have done so well with packaging and product design that we’ve learned to appreciate their efforts through unboxing. And then of course there’s the very real possibility that we’ll never be able to own certain gadgets and have to be content with seeing others do the unboxing instead.
Get your unboxing fix! There are several sites out there solely dedicated to unboxing gadgets. There’s even a site that shows the Apple iPhone being unboxed, yet it hasn’t even shipped yet. Here’s an even better idea: the next time you have your hands on a gadget (literally, it need not be your own!), why not do an unboxing of your own?