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iPod What's So Special About The iPod Compared to Others...
- Thread starter DarkNetworks
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its not that the iPod is excellent, its just that everything else is of a terrible quality.
the iPod is far from being what it could be, technically speaking. WiFi... bluetooth... backlit buttons... longer battery life...
but its the best we can get and just feels so good to use.
^my take on it.
the iPod is far from being what it could be, technically speaking. WiFi... bluetooth... backlit buttons... longer battery life...
but its the best we can get and just feels so good to use.
^my take on it.
At first, it wasn't dominant. But it was a little better in a lot of ways - better integration, smaller size, better aesthetics, better interface.
Based off of those (admittedly not overwhelming) advantages, the ipod got relatively popular. And then it became a pop icon.
That's really the story here. It's better than anything else out there, but it's not THAT much better. Come on; I have 2 ipods (shuffle and mini) and am as much of an apple fan as anyone, but there are other good players out there. Maybe not quite as good, but good enough that if the market was divided simply by quality, apple would have a good share, but not market domination.
But it's part of pop culture now; it's cool. At a certain point these things take on a life of their own.
When ipods first came out I was blown away, and wanted one (and eventually got a 1st gen 5 gig
). But a lot of other people, including people who now have ipods, just laughed at me, "taken with yet another apple product." They knew what it did, but it wasn't until it became a part of the culture that they actually wanted one.
Based off of those (admittedly not overwhelming) advantages, the ipod got relatively popular. And then it became a pop icon.
That's really the story here. It's better than anything else out there, but it's not THAT much better. Come on; I have 2 ipods (shuffle and mini) and am as much of an apple fan as anyone, but there are other good players out there. Maybe not quite as good, but good enough that if the market was divided simply by quality, apple would have a good share, but not market domination.
But it's part of pop culture now; it's cool. At a certain point these things take on a life of their own.
When ipods first came out I was blown away, and wanted one (and eventually got a 1st gen 5 gig
). But a lot of other people, including people who now have ipods, just laughed at me, "taken with yet another apple product." They knew what it did, but it wasn't until it became a part of the culture that they actually wanted one.Of all the questions I get asked, this is near the top and I've answered it many times.
Firstly, and mostly, it's marketing. Apple got the iPod to symbolize cool and hip and in doing so secured the majority of the market. If you ask most teens what mp3 player they want, what do you think they'll say? Probably the same thing with most adults.
Secondly, the interface is excellent. This is second because Apple could have marketed a worse interface and still succeeded, but the iPod interface is truly terrific, and it all hinges on the scroll wheel. It's a very mature, simplistic, and advanced design that's a clear winner among MP3 players.
Firstly, and mostly, it's marketing. Apple got the iPod to symbolize cool and hip and in doing so secured the majority of the market. If you ask most teens what mp3 player they want, what do you think they'll say? Probably the same thing with most adults.
Secondly, the interface is excellent. This is second because Apple could have marketed a worse interface and still succeeded, but the iPod interface is truly terrific, and it all hinges on the scroll wheel. It's a very mature, simplistic, and advanced design that's a clear winner among MP3 players.
PlaceofDis said:
Agreed. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: It's the interface that makes the iPod stand out.
DarkNetworks said:
I'm not sure if it's the Zen or the Nomad, but the button layout on that thing just sucks, IMO. The display is on the front and all buttons are on the side. And it's larger than the iPod. Holding the unit to press the buttons and view the display is very awkward compared to having buttons on the front. I don't know why they engineered that way. It just seems like they were going for a "cool" look but not comfortable interaction.
The main argument I've heard as to why other's are better than the iPod is because:
cheaper
voice recorder - I haven't used a voice recorder for years. For me it's a useless feature.
radio/FM tuner - I almost never listen to the radio. Another useless feature for me.
Besides if you really want those features (voice recorder and radio/FM tuner), you get the accessories for iPod anyways.
The main reason why I like the iPod is because it has the simple button layout; the click wheel. I could click with my eye's closed. Other players have them laid out to where you really can't click as fast or smoothly which would be a circular motion.
I bought one for the same reason I bought an iBook -- because I wanted the Apple community experience.
DarkNetworks said:
Seamless integration, seamless design with iBook, iMac not as much with Pb and PowerMac. Flawless design(Apple is known for the hiding of any hardware screws, bolts etc. on their iPods, try to figure out how to take apart an iPod Mini, or Shuffle. I've taken apart a 3rd Gen but that was hell.) Anyway that plus the fact all other offerings just dont do it for me in the look department, they all remind me of chunky PC's. I guess you could argue Dell Laptops match their DJ mp3 player very good in that way, I would not be satisfied by having either sitting on my desk.
It is an MP3 player, and only an MP3 player. It succeeds by focusing on one task and achieving it flawlessly, while alot of other MP3 players try to be things that they are not, and the main feature, being an MP3 player, gets cluttered in the process.
Easy to use, chic, clean, works well, looks good, first with 1000 songs in a pocket, ITMS, iTunes, Windows compatible, Mac compatible, Doubles as a Firewire or USB drive, nice screen (old and new Black and White, and color), stable, good battery life, light, durable, good audio quality, store notes, store pictures (nano and photo), store contacts, play games, nice calendar, secure (nano), world clock (nano), Dual Processor (not sure on nano), and 840quadra has one .
.and apple does not give stupid figures "4000 songs on a 5GB player at 32KBps WMA, 28 hour battery life"
anything below 128KBps sounds like crap no matter the format, so the 4000 songs figure is null, and with the lower bit rate more songs can fit onto the flash memory so it increases the battery life, thats why some audiophiles complain about battery life being way too short as they encode at crazy high bit rates.
anything below 128KBps sounds like crap no matter the format, so the 4000 songs figure is null, and with the lower bit rate more songs can fit onto the flash memory so it increases the battery life, thats why some audiophiles complain about battery life being way too short as they encode at crazy high bit rates.
The seemingly simplistic design of the scroll hiding powerful easy-to-use functionality.
The iPod UI design, navigation and intangibles.
The cottage industry of accessories tailor made for the iPod.
The iPod/iTunes/iTMS combination. Unbeatable.
The best digital music jukebox (iTunes) on Mac or PC.
The iPod UI design, navigation and intangibles.
The cottage industry of accessories tailor made for the iPod.
The iPod/iTunes/iTMS combination. Unbeatable.
The best digital music jukebox (iTunes) on Mac or PC.