Samsung seems to have developed a knack for comparing its devices to fruits. Fresh off an ad that compared its Galaxy Round smartphone to a lemon, Samsung executive David Eun has told Business Insider’s Ignition conference that Samsung’s Galaxy Gear smartwatch is like a “small green tomato.” Eun made the comparison after being asked how the company was responding to the flood of negative reviews that have greeted the Gear so far and he explained that developing a new form factor such as the smartwatch should be seen more as a work in progress.
“What we’re dealing with is small green tomatoes,” he said of the Gear’s first-generation growing pains. “And what we want to do is take care of them and work with them so they become big, red ripe tomatoes. And what you want to be sure of is that you don’t pluck the green tomato too early and you want to make sure that you don’t criticize a small green tomato for not being a big, red ripe tomato.”
All of this sounds fine as a metaphor for the innovation process but it’s probably not very comforting to any consumer who just gave Samsung $300 for an unripened tomato.
