The Perfect Thing

1) This article illustrated many different parts of the design process. First and foremost it started with an idea, a simple idea to make a “home digital entertainment device with a hard drive-based jukebox to store thousands of songs.” The man who dreamed up this idea, Anthony Fadell, had bounced around companies who argued over the first stages of this handheld jukebox, but finally he was recruited by Jon Rubenstein to present his product in front of Apple. After he signed a contract with apple, Fadell started the very first stages of design. He took his ideas, which were in his head and on paper at this point, and made a rough design of the product by cutting out pieces of foam-boards and gluing them together, not unlike the activity we did in class on Friday. Then, as the expiration date of his contract loomed, Fadell and the rest of his team presented their conclusions to the Apple board of executives. The team had a clever idea to present two “less desirable” versions of the product, before unveiling their polished model. The idea worked magnificently and Steve Jobs, an Apple executive, along with the rest of the board, loved the idea. However, some of the executives offered ideas such as the infamous thumb wheel that the team asked Fadell to include in the device. The team then named the device the iPod, and by team, I mean Steve Jobs. By the end of the initial advertisement they had customers almost salivating over the realize of the iPod. When in the marketing stage, Apple started building the prototype of this device, perfected the thumb wheel, and spent a few agonizing weeks deciding how to configure the menu for best consumer efficiency and ease. They also performed durability tests on the device and the hard drive in the iPod, since one of the biggest marketing techniques was the ability to pocket the device at any moment. The team actually dropped specially designed devices off of a roof to evaluate how much abuse they could handle.

2) There are many factors that can be used to describe the “perfect thing.” The perfect thing is comprised by affordability, durability, efficiency and overall appearance. The iPod has been so successful because it meets all of the aforementioned criteria. For such advanced technology, the iPod is extremely affordable; the leading competitive device was nearly $2500. The iPod is a very durable device, Apple went to extreme measures to not only test the resiliency, but to also improve it. I can’t even begin to explain what I have put my iPod through and it works perfectly. The iPod is one of the most efficient handheld jukeboxes as well, I have owned many different kinds and using buttons to scroll through songs is extremely time consuming and frustrating. The thumb wheel is a brilliant idea that really sets the iPod apart from its competitors. If the consumer cares about none of the previously mentioned characteristics then they may be apt to buy the iPod purely for its sleek and attractive design. There are other devices that look good, but the iPod blows them out of the proverbial water. Design satisfaction is so important that Apple offers a variety of shapes, sizes and colors for the iPod. An example is the iPod shuffle, consumers can tuck the device away from the rest of the world, including themselves and have the iPod play random songs that they previously selected. Another design is the iPod touch for the more tech savvy customers who want to have more capabilities at the touch of their finger. As if that were not enough, Apple has partnered with other companies to design cases and outerwear for all iPods.

3) The iPod is arguably the most known of all handheld jukeboxes. It has its strengths but it also has its weaknesses. One of the iPod’s biggest strengths is its name alone. The iPod is so well known, that people refer to other non-iPod mp3 players as iPods. This reminds me of people referring to tissue paper as Kleenex. I have heard many people call a piece of tissue paper a Kleenex. Not all tissue paper is made by Kleenex, which is just a common misconception. Similarly, bandages are often referred to as Band-Aids. Concurrent with Kleenex, Band-Aid is just another popular brand name. Some more strengths about the iPod are that it is aesthetically pleasing and has amazing capabilities such as wi-fi, games, maps, weather, and even a personal planner. Unfortunately, the iPod suffers from certain weaknesses such as the price. The iPod is affordable, however there are other devices that are less expensive which provide some of the same main features, such as playing music or games. Customers who realize that they can buy an “off-brand” mp3 player usually end up equally satisfied with their purchase. Also, the iPod has so many functions that it cannot sustain battery life for extended periods of time like other handheld jukeboxes. The iPod’s weaknesses, albeit existent, do not detract many customers or decrease consumer satisfaction.

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