5 ms·

I remember this discussion coming up at least once before. AFAIR the argument was that many people had problems interpreting the test strips (not waiting long e

I remember this discussion coming up at least once before. AFAIR the argument was that many people had problems interpreting the test strips (not waiting long enough, mixing the results up). So they built a more foolproof way of reading the strips, which then tells you exactly what's up in simple words. Edit: Turns out there's a response in this thread that says the same and in better words. [1] Man I hate twitter UI. [1]: https://twitter.com/RealSexyCyborg/status/1301786032136835072 https://twitter.com/RealSexyCyborg/status/130178603213683507...

Closi 5y ago
I do think that this is a lot of electronic waste which we should be avoiding, but the marketing / promotional activities are quite interesting in that the pitch to consumers is around it being comforting. > Even if you’ve done one before, taking a pregnancy test is a very emotional time – you can feel a real mixture of conflicting emotions, ranging from nervousness to anticipation which can make for a pretty stressful experience. Those few minutes of waiting for your pregnancy test result can feel like the longest of your life, and time seemingly stands still. > Clearblue DIGITAL Pregnancy Test with Smart Countdown is the only pregnancy test which reassures you from start to finish. With its robust, 50% wider sampling tip, integrated unique Smart Countdown to your result and clear Digital ‘Pregnant’ or ‘Not Pregnant’ results in words you will be reassured right up until your result. I do wonder if there is another way to provide these assurances and comfort without having to put electronics in the thing - it feels like all of this could be solved just with good design in the normal standalone version (particularly as everyone has been practicing on lateral flows for the last few years!).
- sfifs 5y ago
  > I do wonder if there is another way to provide these assurances and comfort without having to put electronics in the thing Yes - by ensuring the education system (both school and continuing adult education) is actually capable of producing residents who are able to follow instructions and is run by competent educationist instead of letting local marginally qualified busy bodies control it. Making instructions easily accessible eg. through a QR on pack linking to video on unmetered network. Widely teaching people how to use QR etc. In many developed countries with good education systems, most people - even elderly and school students seem to have no problems correctly self administering Covid Rapid Antigen tests which is likely same order of magnitude stressful.
  - tsol 5y ago
    Yes but an electronic pregnancy test is cheaper and doesn't require getting congress to agree to pass any laws in improving education nationwide
  - maweki 5y ago
    Especially women in shitty situation do do those tests in secret in badly lit environments. Of course, education is gonna help and reproductive health and contraception are incredibly important. But up to the point where problems in this department are eradicated, some women will need easy-to-read tests.
    - sfifs 5y ago
      > Especially women in shitty situation do do those tests in secret in badly lit environments. Not that I'm not sympathetic but many problems in the US that common people face seem to be either a result of continuation of either hyper-local governance that seems to be a relic of "settling the continent" era OR an extreme form of capitalism that seems to be a relic of the "robber baron" era.
    - buescher 5y ago
      For the extra $2.61 this doodad costs, the lady could buy a light bulb or something.
      - deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
      - watwut 5y ago
        Little diod light can be even cheaper and bright enough.
- watwut 5y ago
  > I do wonder if there is another way to provide these assurances and comfort without having to put electronics in the thing - it feels like all of this could be solved just with good design in the normal standalone version (particularly as everyone has been practicing on lateral flows for the last few years!). There is none, because the "assurances" are there to explain why is the device needed. The whole point of them is to explain to you that you might be confused by non-electronic test and therefore you need to buy this device instead. Otherwise said, it is not about reassuring you nor about showing you how to read the test. It is meant to make you doubt your ability to read the traditional test correctly.
- lm28469 5y ago
  > it feels like all of this could be solved just with good design in the normal standalone version Let's be real 2 seconds here, the only reason this "upgraded" test exist is because it's more profitable than the regular one, this isn't a problem to solve (from the company's perspective). The entire thing revolves around the existence of an "inferior" version. They're going for 10x+ times more than a "dumb" test. It's pure marketing, they're preying on emotional people going through an emotional phase of their lives by selling them a pee stick that's supposedly going to "reassure" them.... this is marketing 101
  - magicalist 5y ago
    Something can be both better and overpriced. This thread is weirdly fixated on cynical reasons being the only thing worth discussing here.
    - kingcharles 5y ago
      I think you've summed up all online discussions since the invention of networking. Be cynical of everything. Always ascribe malice first.
newaccount74 5y ago
Nobody has problems with traditional pregnancy tests. Pretty much anyone can use them. The only problem is waiting long enough to make sure they are be correct (5 days before period is due is meaningless for women with irregular periods), but the digital one doesn't help with that.
- kalleboo 5y ago
  > Nobody has problems with traditional pregnancy tests [citation needed] https://archive.is/20081206110632/http://archfami.ama-assn.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=9755740 https://archive.is/20081206110632/http://archfami.ama-assn.o... > In a 1993 study from France, [...] Of the 478 positive (pregnant) urine samples distributed, 230 were falsely interpreted as negative (sensitivity, 48%) > Valanis and Perlman [...] The incidence of false-negative results in this study was 24.3%.
  - newaccount74 5y ago
    Your link doesn't work for me, but I found a link to the study that does work: https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/AJPH.72.9.1034 https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/AJPH.72.9.... While the study does show that pregnancy tests in 1993 were very inaccurate, there is nothing in the study that suggests the inaccuracy was due to people having problems interpreting the result of the test. They are only hypothesizing about reasons for the inaccuracy, and they think that the biggest factor is that women did not wait long enough, which is pretty much what I said. I strongly doubt that these computer based tests are in any way better than analog tests, especially since the electronics just add another potential point of failure, and they do nothing to address all the other issues with pregnancy tests.
axiosgunnar 5y ago
Wow, Twitter really turns everything political and toxic these days.
- juanci_to 5y ago
  Yeah, can't believe how nasty those answers are. «I get the "I have a vagina, therefore I have to be careful of people trying to scam me." part- but then you say "would this be useful to someone else?" if you have a shred of empathy.» As if questioning something for possibly being a shady marketing strategy is the same as not having "a shred of empathy". She could have explained it without being such a condescending d-bag.
andi999 5y ago
I know a few people who dont wait 15 min on covid tests, and I know a guy who was tested posted positiv, but the line really only could be seen after 15 min (light pink, so background really needs to fade). So ppl not using these types of tests is a thing.

Closi 5y ago

I do think that this is a lot of electronic waste which we should be avoiding, but the marketing / promotional activities are quite interesting in that the pitch to consumers is around it being comforting. > Even if you’ve done one before, taking a pregnancy test is a very emotional time – you can feel a real mixture of conflicting emotions, ranging from nervousness to anticipation which can make for a pretty stressful experience. Those few minutes of waiting for your pregnancy test result can feel like the longest of your life, and time seemingly stands still. > Clearblue DIGITAL Pregnancy Test with Smart Countdown is the only pregnancy test which reassures you from start to finish. With its robust, 50% wider sampling tip, integrated unique Smart Countdown to your result and clear Digital ‘Pregnant’ or ‘Not Pregnant’ results in words you will be reassured right up until your result. I do wonder if there is another way to provide these assurances and comfort without having to put electronics in the thing - it feels like all of this could be solved just with good design in the normal standalone version (particularly as everyone has been practicing on lateral flows for the last few years!).

sfifs 5y ago
> I do wonder if there is another way to provide these assurances and comfort without having to put electronics in the thing Yes - by ensuring the education system (both school and continuing adult education) is actually capable of producing residents who are able to follow instructions and is run by competent educationist instead of letting local marginally qualified busy bodies control it. Making instructions easily accessible eg. through a QR on pack linking to video on unmetered network. Widely teaching people how to use QR etc. In many developed countries with good education systems, most people - even elderly and school students seem to have no problems correctly self administering Covid Rapid Antigen tests which is likely same order of magnitude stressful.
- tsol 5y ago
  Yes but an electronic pregnancy test is cheaper and doesn't require getting congress to agree to pass any laws in improving education nationwide
- maweki 5y ago
  Especially women in shitty situation do do those tests in secret in badly lit environments. Of course, education is gonna help and reproductive health and contraception are incredibly important. But up to the point where problems in this department are eradicated, some women will need easy-to-read tests.
  - sfifs 5y ago
    > Especially women in shitty situation do do those tests in secret in badly lit environments. Not that I'm not sympathetic but many problems in the US that common people face seem to be either a result of continuation of either hyper-local governance that seems to be a relic of "settling the continent" era OR an extreme form of capitalism that seems to be a relic of the "robber baron" era.
  - buescher 5y ago
    For the extra $2.61 this doodad costs, the lady could buy a light bulb or something.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
    - watwut 5y ago
      Little diod light can be even cheaper and bright enough.
watwut 5y ago
> I do wonder if there is another way to provide these assurances and comfort without having to put electronics in the thing - it feels like all of this could be solved just with good design in the normal standalone version (particularly as everyone has been practicing on lateral flows for the last few years!). There is none, because the "assurances" are there to explain why is the device needed. The whole point of them is to explain to you that you might be confused by non-electronic test and therefore you need to buy this device instead. Otherwise said, it is not about reassuring you nor about showing you how to read the test. It is meant to make you doubt your ability to read the traditional test correctly.
lm28469 5y ago
> it feels like all of this could be solved just with good design in the normal standalone version Let's be real 2 seconds here, the only reason this "upgraded" test exist is because it's more profitable than the regular one, this isn't a problem to solve (from the company's perspective). The entire thing revolves around the existence of an "inferior" version. They're going for 10x+ times more than a "dumb" test. It's pure marketing, they're preying on emotional people going through an emotional phase of their lives by selling them a pee stick that's supposedly going to "reassure" them.... this is marketing 101
- magicalist 5y ago
  Something can be both better and overpriced. This thread is weirdly fixated on cynical reasons being the only thing worth discussing here.
  - kingcharles 5y ago
    I think you've summed up all online discussions since the invention of networking. Be cynical of everything. Always ascribe malice first.

newaccount74 5y ago

Nobody has problems with traditional pregnancy tests. Pretty much anyone can use them. The only problem is waiting long enough to make sure they are be correct (5 days before period is due is meaningless for women with irregular periods), but the digital one doesn't help with that.

kalleboo 5y ago
> Nobody has problems with traditional pregnancy tests [citation needed] https://archive.is/20081206110632/http://archfami.ama-assn.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=9755740 https://archive.is/20081206110632/http://archfami.ama-assn.o... > In a 1993 study from France, [...] Of the 478 positive (pregnant) urine samples distributed, 230 were falsely interpreted as negative (sensitivity, 48%) > Valanis and Perlman [...] The incidence of false-negative results in this study was 24.3%.
- newaccount74 5y ago
  Your link doesn't work for me, but I found a link to the study that does work: https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/AJPH.72.9.1034 https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/AJPH.72.9.... While the study does show that pregnancy tests in 1993 were very inaccurate, there is nothing in the study that suggests the inaccuracy was due to people having problems interpreting the result of the test. They are only hypothesizing about reasons for the inaccuracy, and they think that the biggest factor is that women did not wait long enough, which is pretty much what I said. I strongly doubt that these computer based tests are in any way better than analog tests, especially since the electronics just add another potential point of failure, and they do nothing to address all the other issues with pregnancy tests.

axiosgunnar 5y ago

Wow, Twitter really turns everything political and toxic these days.

juanci_to 5y ago
Yeah, can't believe how nasty those answers are. «I get the "I have a vagina, therefore I have to be careful of people trying to scam me." part- but then you say "would this be useful to someone else?" if you have a shred of empathy.» As if questioning something for possibly being a shady marketing strategy is the same as not having "a shred of empathy". She could have explained it without being such a condescending d-bag.

andi999 5y ago

I know a few people who dont wait 15 min on covid tests, and I know a guy who was tested posted positiv, but the line really only could be seen after 15 min (light pink, so background really needs to fade). So ppl not using these types of tests is a thing.