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Too many returns for gadgets

This week I read a blog article about store returns of consumer electronic products. Do you believe this?  Half of the consumer-electronics products returned to stores function properly, but customers simply can't figure out to operate them and therefore return the products. And - Yes, the number mentioned was 50%.

Now take this as additional information. A researcher in the Netherlands found that consumers in the United States will try to get a gadget working for 20 minutes before giving up. This piece of information combined with the statistical data above, provides a very clear picture. Today's gadget seem to be bloated with features that only a small number of consumers can actually figure out how to use.

I have to admit - I barely use all the features on my cell phone (Treo 650). If I use 35% it would be a lot. I used it more in the beginning when it was new, but over time my usage has come down to basic functionality (phone, address book, email).

So, why are buying all these products with feature lists pages long and do either not use them or do not know how to use them? Or is the design and functionality that prohibits us from figuring out how to use a certain feature? Who wants to go through a manual 250+ pages for a device smaller than a candy bar?

Have you returned a product you just couldn't figure out how it would work? Is 20 minutes too much time spent setting up a new device?