Next To The iPod Everything Else Is Ugly
There are other products out there that do what the iPod does and for less. Check out the specs on the iRiver iHP-120. It has a similar shape to the iPod but comes with a built in FM radio, 16 hour battery, can play way more formats than the iPod (MP3, WMA, ASF, WAV, and OGG), has optical input and output for recording music directly to it and a built in voice recorder!
At $399 this appears to be a steal compared to the iPod. So why one has to ask was every store selling out of iPods this past holiday season and not iRivers and other mp3 players?
One word. Ugly.
Thats right, the products iRiver makes are simply tremendously ugly. The specs may be better but next to the iPod the iRiver and the Dell Jukebox are just plain old dog ugly.
This is why iPod owners dont just like their iPods, they fall in love with them. This is why there is now not only the MacWeb but the iPodweb, led by the excellent ipodlounge.com. This is good design at its best where an object exceeds in both form and function. And function is not just specs, a la iRiver, it is how the thing works. And the iPod works beautifully.
Now there are some people out there who will always buy ugly. And thats fine. There are always people with bad taste or who dont get it. I really dont care that the iPod is now the hottest player out there and in use by the majority. After all, Im a Mac user. For all I care in the future Microsoft could use their monopoly to shove the Window Media format down our throats and the iPod will share the Macintoshs low market penetration. Because, when it comes down to it it will be true for time immemorial that the iPod is the most beautiful audio player ever. Period.
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No question about the beauty, however, the beauty translates into simplicity. The chrome is nice and so is the white finish, but the four buttons and jog dial are just terrific. The lack of buttons makes it look good. Just like my iBook with only one button (other than the key board), this is truly simple and simple feels less crowded and better looking. At least in my opinion.
“Why doesn’t Ford just make a car that looks like a Ferrari, but is as cheap as a Ford Focus?”
That thought always recycles in my head… they could make a fortune! But alas, the would just don’t work that way i found out, and for good reason.
For every Apple, there needs to be a Dell. Or else we wouldn’t love Apple products as much as we do.
“imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”
Mr Underhill