Birth of the iPod
Here’s an interesting article on the birth of the iPod. It seems that it was truly a collaborative effort that leveraged some of Apple’s unique technologies to solve existing problems in the digital music world. The stars aligned, money fell from the sky, and good design happened.
“[Apple VP of Industrial Design Jonathan] Ive told the Times that the key to the iPod wasn’t sudden flashes of genius, but the design process. His design group collaborated closely with manufacturers and engineers, constantly tweaking and refining the design. ”It’s not serial,” he told the Times. ”It’s not one person passing something on to the next.”
January 26th, 2007 at 8:58 am EST
I have an iPod. Thanks Lance
January 26th, 2007 at 9:36 am EST
Yes, yes - I’ll admit it - I’m a long time anti-Apple bigot. I’ve despised Macs from back in the days before OSX when you could hold in the mouse button and freeze the whole system. I’ve scoffed at their die hard position that form is more important than function. I’ve laughed at people who bought a system that costs twice as much as mine while having 1/3 the software, 1/2 the speed, and nearly no worthwhile games. And, I’m repulsed by rabid mac-fanboyism - you know the kind where people feel the need to justify their purchase by insisting that none of those things matter because a Mac is pretty, and Microsoft does nothing but copy Apple.
But those times have long passed - now Apple has OSX (BSD based - you can’t find fault with a unix core baby). Now Apple has Intel. And Apple has software. And, even a real honest to God development community. So, I’ve actually come around somewhat. EXECEPT for this iPod thing.
I refuse to buy and iPod. And, yes - I’m biased. That’s what the past two paragraphs were about. But here’s my issues (forgive me if some info is out of date):
1.) I can’t change the battery, and they don’t last very long. Form over function. (http://www.ipodsdirtysecret.com)
2.) No FM radio. So much for an all purpose music device.
3.) iTunes. All your music is locked by FairPlay’s DRM, which means it’s iPod or nothing. You can burn to a CD and re-rip your stuff, but that’s a pain.
4.) File sharing. Not all music is copyrighted. Not all files are copyrighted. Apple assumes otherwise and purposely crippled the iPod to prevent you from sharing.
5.) There have been reports of the screen scratching easily, and I’ve seen the nano which is a fingerprint smudge magnet.
6.) It’s too expensive. $100 is my price point.
So, all that was to say that I just don’t get it. Why is the iPod so wildly popular.? There are cheaper, more functional alternatives. I’ve got a friend that has the Zune and it’s a nice piece of hardware (though still too expensive). How did Apple wind up so successful with the iPod?! Why is this product the de-facto standard in portable music?
January 26th, 2007 at 10:10 am EST
1) Its obviously not a huge deal to most people that they can’t change their battery. Leaving the “guts” inaccessible isn’t a ploy to get your money; just a means of keeping people from messing things up (which they most assuredly would do)
2) FM radio? Does anyone listen to the radio?
3) You don’t have to buy music from iTunes for it to work on the iPod; it’ll take any mp3, m4a. iTunes and iPod are different things.
4) File sharing is highly suspect — since it mostly means “sharing” music or movies to others that they didn’t pay for (even if that’s not what you’d use it for; a large portion of that “file sharing” would be done for that reason).
5) Tell me a mp3 player screen that is full color/video that doesn’t scratch (when vigorously used and not in a protective case).
6) You can get a Shuffle for $80, that has 1GB flash memory; the same or more than other comparably prices models.
I’d doubt that there are more functional alternatives. Certainly people have a preference; and as a UI designer myself; I’ve not seen any devises that are one hand free functional. Plus, you said you were biased; thus you’re predisposed to find fault and error with the product; making your points moot and based on hearsay not actual usage. I’ve used the Zune, Rio, and SanDisk. They all have nice features and are good players (flash memory, connected to satellite radio); but as a whole they lack the full package of usability, functionality, durability and technology. The iPod is a best seller for a reason.
January 26th, 2007 at 10:34 am EST
i have a FIRST GENERATION 10GB iPod. (that means its really old, hard drive based, the old clicky mechanical wheel, etc.) It still works flawlessly, which is the only reason i haven’t “upgraded” to a newer version. (aside: also the reason I use an older 300 MHz G3 iBook laptop, Apple builds such a good product they often shoot themselves in the foot in terms of forcing upgrades, cuz the older stuff just works. my laptop works with the latest OSX, try using a very old doze laptop and the latest M$ OS, but i digress.) I used to commute a total of two hours a day, for over three years. I could regularly listen to my iPod for about 2 weeks, which was about 15 hours, before needing to charge the battery, and it still holds that much of a charge after many many moons of use. And my screen is perfect, with not a scratch in sight. The backside of my iPod is pretty scratched up, on the metal part, but thats probably because I always had it in the cupholder in my car, jostling around. the DRM thing isn’t nearly as big a deal as the media makes it. I would say that 90% of my music is stuff i put in iTunes off CDs i owned or borrowed, the rest is public domain type of stuff. I have several thousand tunes on my iPod, and have never bought a song on iTunes (mostly because i am a cheapskate.) i can’t imagine buying a zune for personal use, solely because its a M$ product. i am forced to use M$ PCs at work, and they are nothing but headaches for normal people and job security for IT departments. how refreshing it is to come home and use a real computer every night…
January 27th, 2007 at 10:46 am EST
Paul - everyone has bias. Bias does not automatically make an argument moot. Also, though I don’t own one, I’ve used an iPod (albeit not extensively). My friend has one of the original nanos, and after holding it for a few short minutes, the thing was covered in fingerprints and just looked disgusting.
I’m not trying to rip on the iPod - I’m just trying to understand if there’s really any merit to its position as a market leader or if it’s just viral marketing. I too design software, and while I see good things about the iPod, I also can’t figure out why people hold it in such esteem when offerings from Creative, Microsoft, and many others are just as good and even nicer in many ares.
Just to respond to your points:
1.) From a lifetime of experience with electronics, the first thing to die on your iPod is going to be the battery. Four small screws in the corners would have let me do something about it without compromising the design.
2.) Yes, people still listen to the radio. Just because you don’t use a feature doesn’t mean it isn’t valuable. It’s a definitely a pre-req for me, and many others as well. Especially if I’m going to throw down $250!
3.) I understand that iTunes and iPod aren’t connected. I’ve purchased music from iTunes, and was annoyed that it’s in a format (FairPlay) is only known to iPods. I had to burn a CD and rip it back.
4.) You have a point here. But, with the way Apple designed this I can’t even share music with myself! If I put songs from my desktop onto my iPod at home, I can’t pull them back off to put them on my laptop or my work machine. If we’re going to be draconian about copying, lets ban USB flash drives too.
5.) True. Very true.
6.) Sure - the iPod shuffle is inexpensive, but you’ve said nothing about why it’s any better than Creative’s Zen or any of the others in that price range.
Not trying to pick a fight - just trying to comprehend.
January 28th, 2007 at 1:12 am EST
I just made the iPod into a harddrive and transfered them that way. There are ways to pull your music off an iPod.
I am just as happy using my mp3 discs and a disc player as an iPod, it just takes longer…an iPod is just a music player, and with nothing else better, I see it as a decent peice of work.
I think the radio is ridiculous anyways. Its not stuff people want to hear.
Long live pirate radio.
I agree with the battery part though. I like being able to change batteries.
January 28th, 2007 at 5:44 am EST
heh… and I’m still using the old tangerine clamshell iBook running 10.3…
Apple got smart and removed the Firewire port from the iPod. It was TOO nifty with that enhancement (HP knows!).
I don’t quite understand Matt’s post #2 points 3 & 4 — unless his desktop and laptops are not Macs, in which case he may have a point.
Apple could overcome all of this by installing those new batteries that recharge through the USB port…
January 28th, 2007 at 10:18 am EST
willy - you are correct, i do like my firewire port. though clunkier than the dock that is now standard, it is much more, shall i say… versatile…
(he said as he inhaled more polyurethane fumes than the human brain was ever intended to.)
January 29th, 2007 at 11:01 pm EST
Joel of “Joel on Software” fame seems to agree with me - the iPod is massively popular, but it’s not immediately apparent why.
From (http://www.joelonsoftware.com/design/1stDraft/02.html):
January 30th, 2007 at 3:57 am EST
if you read the whole article you linked to IN CONTEXT, he states clearly why it is so popular…. GREAT DESIGN. (and i quote at length:)
“Now that we’ve more-or-less defined “design,” since the working title of this series is Great Design, I better come up with a working definition of “great.”
“Just about every product category has its blue-chip, gold-plated stars. Movie stars? Brad Pitt. Best rock song of all time? Sweet Home, Alabama, of course. Office chairs? The Herman Miller Aeron. Portable MP3 players? Clearly the Apple iPod.”
…
“But that only gets you so far, as Creative, makers of the unloved ZEN MP3 players, are learning the hard way. Despite having products that are better than the iPod by just about every reasonable metric, they are unable to even come close to Apple iPod’s dominant market share. They’re cheaper. They have more memory. They support more file formats. Etc. Doesn’t matter: they still have single-digit market share while iPod is probably in the 80s somewhere.
That’s because good design can only take you so far. Getting every aspect of the design perfect, making a usable product, making the right tradeoffs between price and functionality, between flexibility and ease of use, between weight and battery life, etc., etc., etc., is all really important, but the most it can possibly get you is to #2.
…….
“So this is what I’m talking about when I say “Great Design.” It’s that ineffable quality that certain incredibly successful products have that makes people fall in love with them despite their flaws. It’s extremely hard to pull off……..”
(end of ridiculously long quote for a blog post.)
my other comment is, i guess you have to own one to really know. kinda like the guy at work who is looking for a new laptop. i told him the other day to consider a mac, and he said “never, they are pieces of junk.” i asked him if he has ever used one, and he says no, never laid a finger on one… my question back to him is … how can he judge that something is a piece of junk if he’s never even touched one before? its like saying i’m not going to X restaurant because they have terrible food, based purely on heresay or opinion. i can’t tell you how many times i’ve had a PC person tell me that macs are junk, when all they know about them is they tried to use one once back in 1988 and didn’t like it, or something along those lines.
January 30th, 2007 at 6:24 am EST
HP - I should have qualified that I read the whole article and understand what it was about completely - Joel is saying that the iPod is a “Great Design”. However, saying it doesn’t make it so and the design flaws he points out are true and hold more water to me than the fact that “everyone’s got one”.
While I agree with Joel’s comments (the ones I quoted) about the state of the iPod, what I don’t agree with is his assertion that the iPod encompasses “Great Design”. Throughout the whole article he makes no mention of what about the iPod actually makes it great!? And that information was all I was seeking here too. I guess you just have to own one to understand.
Personally, that particular chicken-and-egg problem is what keeps me from buying one. I’m not willing to open my wallet for “buy one, you’ll love it” without the details of “why?”. Though, I’m not kidding myself - losing one sale to little old me makes absolutely no difference to Apple or to the success of the iPod.
January 30th, 2007 at 10:47 pm EST
and i think i’m just too much of a passionate apple geek for my own good, judging by how long of posts i have made on this topic. maybe the truth is that i drank too much of the apple flavored kool-aid…
January 30th, 2007 at 11:42 pm EST
You guys are all right.
The iPod is blessed not only with incredible design, but also with years of hardcore research. At the turn of the century, when most tech companies were making huge cuts across the board, Apple was spending millions on Research and Development (the only high-tech company that did so) … in fact, I have a friend who did a lot of R&D for the Shuffle. As a result, Apple came out of that slump with some great products and perfect positioning. And, as everyone knows, Apple sells an experience (i.e. the retail stores, the packaging, the service plans, etc).
But in reality, the iPod’s popularity, at least in the U.S., is due mostly to their keen understanding of brand marketing and viral popularity. The product does not justify the high price, and a large percentage of buyers are making their purchase because of a trend, not because they have done extensive comparative research. It’s overpriced and they’re getting away with it … and as rediculous as it may sound, people are willing to pay for the experience and the brand.
January 31st, 2007 at 4:53 am EST
i’m not sure i qualify to be in this discussion, but i own an ipod and love it. i’m sure every player has it’s faults. but in the end, even though i don’t get out much, i haven’t met too many people that own an ipod that are unhappy with it. i’m sure there are thousands if not hundreds of thousands…but they are few and far between in my world.
i think that the ipod is a lot like the sony walkman. it hit at the right time and became the standard. apple had its act together on this one…
January 31st, 2007 at 11:25 am EST
you are certainly qualified, and not just because you own one… (all geeky engineers are qualified.)