The iPod

iPod



The iPod is a key example of converged and portable technology, as it covers many different areas of entertainment, such as music playback, gaming and picture viewing. It could be argued that the iPod is a replacement for many different products, and by offering so much capability in such a small package, it is unsurprising that the iPod has won so many fans.



Key Features

- Small, lightweight and portable: provides entertainment on the go
- Main capability=music playback. Replacement for CD and minidisk players. Features inside music playback include the ability to make playlists, which allows a more personalised and customisable music experience, supported synchronisation with iTunes, which automatically updates files, making the process easy for even the most technology-illiterate demographics. There are also options for customising the sound of songs; such as volume adjustment and equalizer, which increases the quality of listening overall.
- The newer generation of iPods also support video playback, which is a fairly recent feature for portable entertainment. Therefore it isn’t really replacing anything in this sphere except maybe portable DVD players, but as they are new themselves, the video playback aspect should be counted as an innovative feature designed to add another dimension to portable entertainment.



- All iPods after the iPod photo support photo viewing, again with the easy option to synchronise all the photos on a home computer. This is also quite a revolutionary feature, as it used to be almost impossible to be able to carry your entire digital photo library around with you.
- Another key aspect of the entertainment experience is gaming. Although not really a substitute for dedicated portable gaming consoles such as PSPs, the iPod does provide basic games that provide satisfactory entertainment for most consumers.
- Although little known about, the iPod does have the function to display text files on-screen, although they cannot be edited. The iPod can be used for a different form of entertainment, reading. Consumers could, for example, read online novels on their iPod, or business reports etc.



- Although this cannot be counted officially, many iPod users are adapting the product for other functions. For example, one consumer turned their iPod into a TV remote, while another added the capability to store their email address book. Because the technology of the iPod is edit-able, tech-minded consumers can take the iPods features one step further.



Success

Since October 2004, the iPod has dominated digital music player sales in the United States, with over 90% of the market for hard drive-based players and over 70% of the market for all types of players. During the year from January 2004 to January 2005, the high rate of sales caused its U.S. market share to increase from 31% to 65% and in July 2005, this market share was measured at 74%.


According to Apple's quarterly financial results (from 2002 Q1 to 2007 Q1), total iPod sales reached 88,701,000 units as of January 2007. Apple's fiscal year ends in September. In January 2007, Apple reported record annual earnings of US$7.1 billion, of which 48% was made from iPod sales. Apple and several industry analysts suggest that iPod users are likely to purchase other Apple products such as Mac computers.





What are the iPods key audiences?

- As with many new technologies, the target consumer for the iPod is the teenage audience. They responded enormously to the ease of music-playback that the iPod offered; its features are accessible to anyone. The marketing also contributed, with the iPod becoming the ‘must-have product’ for young people, reaching iconic status.
- A secondary audience of businesspeople is also present. Again, the stylish design, ease of use and portability of the iPod means it is appealing to businesspeople, who are more rushed for time, and don’t want to spend ages figuring out how a product works.

iPhone

The iPhone


INTRODUCTION

Features:
- Touch screen controls
- Ability to play and store music
- Ability to play and store video clips
- Internet accessible
- 3.5 inch display
- 320x480x160 pixels per inch resolution
- Visual voicemail - no listening to a machine, just scroll through your messages and choose which one you want to listen to
- 4 GB or 8 GB capacity
- Built-in mic for audio recording
- 3.55 mm headphone jack
- 2MP camera
- Photo editing software
- Conference calling
- Speakerphone
- Support for Google Maps
- Text and multimedia messaging
- Wi-fi internet connection
- Stereo bluetooth
- Likely personal organiser features although unconfirmed
- A proximity sensor knows when you bring the phone to your ear and then dims the screen and shuts off the touch screen
- The ambient light sensor adjusts brightness and saves power
- The accelerometer knows when to switch between landscape and portrait orientation
- Battery life: 5 hours for video or calling, 16 hours for music playback

What is it replacing? It is a replacement for three areas: portable music playback, mobile phone and portable internet device/personal organiser.

Why is it relevant? Because it presents a new ultimate for convergence. The plethora of features go further than any phone previously, and with the elegant and simplistic design consumers have come to expect from Apple, this phone is expected to enjoy as great success as the iPod.




AUDIENCES

Which social groups are expected to take a particular interest? As with the iPod, it is likely that the core consumer will be the young (ie between 16+30 yr olds), with a possible focus towards males due to the design and features accentauted, such as internet. It is possible that a secondary audience of 20-35 year old business people will also develop, as the high cost of the phone makes it more appealing to people who can afford to, and will see the most benefit from buying a high-tech gadget like the iPhone.

What are they doing with it? The multitude of features allows a lot of scope of use for the iPhone. The young audience will likely be using it primarily for music and video playback, as well as using the internet. The business market will be using the internet and email features, as well as the personal organiser aspects it is predicted to have.

What are they doing differently? While no one feature (with maybe the exceptions of the answering machine facility and the sensors) is unique, the combination of SO many, such high-quality features is unusual. The iPhone is designed to be an amazing all-rounder, and, unlike the previous 'big' music phone, Motorola's ROKR, the features are enhanced rather than limited.

INSTITUTIONS

Who is involved? The maker of the phone is Apple, while the network provider will be limited, with Cingular as the sole network the phone will be available on.

Benefits? The benefits for Cingular are obvious; greater revenue and a hugely increased consumer base, all signed up for at least two years, as this is the minimum contract length for the iPhone. The benefits to Apple as having Cingular as their sole provider are less obvious, with suggestions that they were only linked because Cingular is the only provider to support random access voicemail. This is seen as a bad decision by many, with one prospective consumer telling: "Beautiful phone, but Cingular is a deal-breaker for me."

Apple spent a huge amount of money investing in the iPhone, both in creation and development, and in marketing. However, Apple has a reputation as the most innovative, and the most design-orientated, and, with the iPod still at peak popularity, it was a good time for Apple to invest and prove their status.

KEY CONCEPTS

What key concepts are involved? The most notable is convergence, but the iPhone also displays many other key theory concepts, such as personalisation, miniaturisation and portability.

How? The use of convergence is obvious: the iPhone is everything, from a phone to a music and video player to an email and internet tool to a camera to a gaming console. The iPhone also offers great scope for personalisation, even down to the way the consumer uses the memory - for example some may use a large proportion for storing music, while others may prefer to use it to store gaming data. The iPhone also allows many technologies to be portable that were previously only accessible at home. Video playback and internet access are two of the most notable, while the 3.5 inch screen ensures that these activities do not lose their enjoyability.