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Behind The Development Of The iPod nano
bonch writes "A Time Magazine article on the behind-the-scenes development of the iPod nano reveals that development work began just nine months ago, when the iPod mini was still a top-seller. Every internal component was redesigned and packed into every millimeter of the space inside. Famed Apple designer Jonathan Ives spent months on the tiniest of details, like the laser-etching of the logo and the roughness of the clickwheel compared to the smoothness of the rest of the exterior. 'I know you're not going to consciously find these details particularly appealing," says Ives, 'but I think it's the fact that we've worried about all of them that makes the product so precious.'"
Sorry I've been waiting all to long to get this off my chest. There are so many flippin mp3 players out there, Most as good as, if not better then the damn ipod for better prices. Want a flash based one? How about one that takes compact flash disks (NEX IIe, 50 bucks) hard drive based? Hell even creative is better, nothing gets my blood boiling quicker, then to hear some jackass who knows shit about tech talk about how bad he wants an ipod. You are paying 50+ Bucks just because its fucking white and is called an IPOD. GOD DAMNIT
1.) Apparently it will be precious. That's better than efficient or sturdy. Cute it up, bitches.(Seriously, the damn thing looks like it could snap in half way too easily.)
2.) It will be a ridiculous amount of money compared to Non-iPod rivals in the industry. Keep an eye out, Creative at the very least will whip out something similar. My Zen Xtra 40GB cost a full $200 less than a 4GB iPod. Why should this be any different?
TLoM: Nerds + DDR + Rednecks for the win!
For those of you who don't have time to RTFA, here's the executive summary: - iPod Nano Is Pretty! - Screen shows extra line. - Apple engineers shit maple sugar candy.
Here's the problem - when your users are a bunch of fawning sycophants they don't complain when you do the wrong thing - like enforcing a DRM monopoly on consumers. Pity.
One of these days I'm moving to Theory - everything works there
You say Apple's culture innovates because of external pressure rather than internal motivation, but that's hard to see, given the passion for forward-thinking, human-oriented design shared by the company's management and senior engineers. It's a passion you can't fake in interviews, a passion evident in the strict tolerances and attention to detail in every Apple product I can name (yes, even the hockey puck mouse). It's a passion curiously lacking, on the whole, in companies like Dell and Microsoft. And you honestly believe Apple as top dog would have stagnated as much as Microsoft?
Even throughout the 90s, despite Steve's absence at the top, Apple led the industry with RISC, keyboard placement on laptops, trackpads, UI improvements, audio I/O, onboard networking, CD-ROM, digital photography. Hell, even the Newton... the list goes on. These aren't just "a few bright spots" produced by a company fighting for its survival--it's a pattern of evidence that innovation (can I call it innovation?) at Apple was alive and well even without nurture from management.
I don't see Apple's corporate culture, or Steve Jobs himself, as arrogant in the least. They care about the consumer more than anyone else in the computer industry, as long as said consumer has good taste and a passion for design. They do not, however, give the consumer what he wants, because what the consumer wants per se is often something that sucks (that is why design is a profession, not a hobby). I suppose I can see why some people chafe at that--the stupid philistines.