Design Discussion - January 07 - Apple

[SilverVixen]

Hey everyone!!

With the iPhone (finally) coming out a couple weeks ago, it seems like Apple is taking over every aspect of the modern, high tech world.

So what do you think? Are Apple's products like the iPhone, iPod and Apple TV revolutionary? Do you own anything made by Apple? Do you want to?

Is good design part of why these products are so popular? Or is it all a marketing gimmick? biggrin


Hehe. Hope I don't make anybody mad that really loves Apple. I have an iPod, and I love it. I want a MacBook Pro like nothing else.

Apple has done a lot for the digital music world with the iPod... without it, I don't think the idea of selling music online would have caught on as much as it has. It's proved that its possible to provide music downloads and still control it to a certain point.

Sometimes I do think, though, that a lot of what you pay for with Apple products is just the pretty, shiny plastic casing. But hey, it looks good right? biggrin  

[miigiro]

Oh! I read about this in my textbook! Or more like I read about how Apple couldn't top companies like Dell or HP, so then they thought up of iPod! Then they went up in the market, and etc. I think the iPod is a genius. Personally, I prefer my portable cd player, which is like, 5-10 times larger, but I like it. I don't think I'll ever buy an iPod, maybe just because I'm not so into it. I never heard of the iPhone, what is it really? They're getting pretty high tech. I think DESIGN is the key thing. WHy? I mean, look at the iPod. IT'S SO CUTE AND TINY! And it's pretty and skinny, with a nice, simple, modern look. Not only that, but the name! It's very catchy, and the names very simple and easy to remember. Think "Look! She got an iPod!" compared to "Look! She got a CD PLayer!" OH yeah, I think the name has something to do with it. And the "i" in the name is fun too. Imagine, what if instead of a slim, simple design, it's small, but fat enough that it feels like you're holding a bottle of mini lotion. Along with that, the design is too busy. Also, let's say Apple decided to call it "the Pod." Hmmm....you'd probably walk away from it when you see it at a store. Ahaha. Okay, That's enough for my part. How about yours?  

[SilverVixen]

The iPhone is Apple's new product... pretty much the iPod mixed with a cell phone. Go to their site, http://www.apple.com/iphone, and check it out. It's pretty neat. smile

I couldn't live without my iPod. Being able to take my music anywhere, along with videos and files is just awesome to me. biggrin

And speaking of ugly music players, how about the Zune? http://www.zune.net/en-US/meetzune/ They're about as big as the old iPods (roughly the size of a deck of cards) and one of the colors is brown. BROWN?? Ick. Hehe.  

[miigiro]

Oh yeah! I saw that! When I saw it at Target, I was like....what the heck is that? ahaha... and they had the brown one on display too. biggrin  

[SilverVixen]

I just can't imagine how they decided on brown as one of the options. I mean, come on?? A nice blue, dark or bright, or a red.... something nice. Ugh. Whatever. Its Microsoft. What can you expect. biggrin  

[SilverVixen]

Now I'm just spamming my own topic, but here are some fun resources to look at. Here is Steve Balmer's reaction to the iPhone. I could only watch for a minute because he's so annoying!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5oGaZIKYvo

Here's a good place to get more background about Apple stuff. http://blog.wired.com/cultofmac/

And here's a really in-depth discussion about the iPhone from a guy who talks a lot about mobile technology. http://cameronmoll.com/archives/2007/01/why_iphone_wont_revolutionize/

You'd think Steve Jobs would have at least had time to shave: http://blog.wired.com/photos/uncategorized/jobsiphone.jpg

Enjoy. biggrin  

[Chisa]

The iPhone looks so cool! But data plans for phones here in Australia aren't particularly good, so there's not much use for phones with fancy wireless features unless you have plenty of money to play with it sweatdrop

Design is definitely Apple's strong point - it is where Photoshop began and Apple computers have been the traditional computers of choice for designers for ages. After using one for a bit I'd say I still prefer PC's (although that's partly by necessity - as a web designer I need to be able to run IE6 and 7), but the use of most programs is pretty much the same. The design of all their stuff is lovely though, all nice and round and shiny...

Apple has awesome branding from their products, to their site and promotional material... even down to their packaging. I loved the little case my iPod Nano came in xd And I love the clickwheel - after using an MP3 player with a joystick type thing previously, its soooo much more functional. It's nice to be able to control the speed of scrolling and things, and they get so many functions out of it (scrolling through songs/options, changing volume, rating music, fast forwarding through a track...). I love my little Nano whee