"The Perfect Thing"

“The Perfect Thing” by Steven Levy

1. What elements of the design process does this article illustrate?

            “The Perfect Thing” describes many elements of the design process, as the road to creating and eventually mass producing the iPod was a long and careful one. Fadell and Ng’s goal was to create an MP3 music player that had mass appeal, a reasonable price, and a portable size. To begin with, they made models of possible designs and sizes out of foam-core board and brought the models to realistic weights using flattened fishing weights. At an eventual meeting with Apple executives, Fadell and Ng presented four prototypes, each one either too clumsy or not practical – with the exception of one that Steve Jobs approved of. Now, they had a concrete idea. From there on, the true development began, including decisions such as including a wheel that would allow the user to easily scroll through thousands of songs, adding a Menu button, allowing the player to only sync one way to prevent piracy, and naming the product “iPod.” Later on in the process, many tests were performed to make sure that the iPod would be practical, durable, and robust, including dropping different prototypes to determine how high of a fall the iPod could survive. Ultimately, the first generation iPod was created and mass produced, spawning a new era in the world of technology.

2. What factors would you use to evaluate a “perfect thing”?

            A “perfect thing” would have to include a combination of several factors. It would need to perform its task better than other similar products and be convenient and easy to use. Also, in order to have mass appeal, it would need to look aesthetically appealing and have a reasonable price that would make it available to as many consumers as possible. Furthermore, a “perfect thing” would need to have the functionality and durability to live up to its price.

3. Whether you own an iPod or not, you probably have some opinions of this product. What do you feel are its strengths and weaknesses?

            I have been a proud iPod user for almost five years now. Before getting an iPod video in 2005, I had used several other types of portable music players including a Sony Walkman and an inexpensive MP3 player that was certainly worthy of its price. The first few types of iPod made entertainment unbelievably easier. I could now listen to hundreds – eventually even thousands – of songs and even watch videos, no matter where I went, because of this little product that could easily slip into a pocket or purse. Moreover, the iPod’s sleek, unique design made it much more appealing than many other products of the kind. The introduction of the iPod touch and the iPhone have revolutionized technology even more than anyone ten years ago every though possible. Now, it is not only possible to listen to music and watch videos anywhere, the user can also surf the web, use it as a telephone, instant message, play games, and so much more with all of the applications that can be downloaded. I have few complaints about the iPod, but the two I do have involve the syncing process and battery life. Although I understand Apple’s concerns about piracy, it can occasionally be terribly inconvenient that the iPod will only sync to one iTunes library. Concerning the battery life, it seems that with each charge, the iPod’s battery life decreases. After actively using an iPod for a while, the battery life might be such that the iPod needs to be charged daily.