Consumer experts, public speakers, and consultants to the largest consumer technology companies in the world

For the last 25 years Paul Allen Smethers has worked with consumer technology products like PC and Macintosh software, Internet web sites, and mobile phones. Smethers has advised, consulted to, and performed consumer workshops with the biggest names in technology. These companies include:

Amazon.com AT&T Barnes & Noble Cingular KDDI Motorola

Nokia Panasonic Samsung Sanyo Siemens SK Telecom

Sony Sprint-Nextel Virgin Mobile Vodafone Many more...

Smethers has worked in practically every country in the world, often traveling 200,000–300,000 miles a year visiting technology companies. He has worked as vice president of marketing, business unit manager, vice president of engineering, director of product management, and even as director of usability, but in every venture his key goal was to figure out why consumers buy—or don’t buy—technology products.

The coauthor of Five Myths of Consumer Behavior, Alastair France, has worked beside Paul for the last 6 years. France, who is based in England, is a usability expert, with his own bank of years focusing on turning technical ideas into consumer-grade products. France and Smethers have worked together on many projects, providing strategic consulting to companies trying to achieve consumer success. France’s clients include Orange, Vodafone, Vodacom South Africa, Belgacom, T-Mobile, and many more.

Both authors are as comfortable behind a speaker’s podium as they are behind the two-way mirror of a usability lab. Both are innovators and inventors—Smethers has 6 patents issued for consumer experience product features. Most importantly, both have always been willing to do whatever is necessary to understand consumer behavior and improve consumer technology products.