I know, you punks online all day with your blogs and chat rooms and www’s think the iPod is all the cat’s pajamas and the bee’s knees, right? Well, it ain’t…
See, yesterday I was talking with a Youth, my nephew in this case, who is somewhere between the age of 0 and 18 years old, and he did not know what the iPod is. This is a kid who has been using a PS2 and Gameboy for like 1/2 his life, and uses computers, and rocks out to music, and he said he wanted an MP3 player for Xmas.
So I sez, “Ah, you want an iPod, eh?” and he’s all puzzled, trying to figure out what I’m taking about. So I ramble on for 5 minutes about usability, and bring up the Rio, the iRiver players, and other such stuff, and he’s not quite there. I tell him that in the “ease of use” and “user experience” categories, the iPod appears to be the clear winner. Sure, I even mention that if you do want features like voice recording, and FM radio, the iPod don’t do it without add ons while some of the other players do.
I tell him that he can put his home directory on it and carry it everywhere, a safe backup right? (His mom thinks I’m nuts, but I point out that a kid has important files too!) I said you could get a crappy player that’s a pain in the “ease of use” and “user experience” categories for around $100, or for around $250 you could get one that holds 10 to 20 times more stuff, and is a portable Firewire hard drive, and was the clear winner in the “ease of use” and “user experience” categories.
The verdict is out. Expect an updated on December 26th.