iPod Some questions regarding your experience with iPod

[NicDM93]

Hi all,

I'm an italian student attending a Design for Digital Innovation university. My collegue and I are doing a project about the history and influence of the iPod. We should ask to some users/possessors some questions about their experience and thoughts about this product that brought a significant revolution in the way we relate to music.

Here are the questions, we'd be very grateful if you could answer them and/or freely talk about your relationship with this device!

- How and when did you get to know the iPod?
- Before the iPod, did you already knew Apple? Did you have other Apple products before the iPod?
- How and when have you first got in contact with the iPod?
- What was your first impression seeing the iPod?
- What role did the aesthetics play on your experience with the iPod?
- Did you knew competitor's products before buying an Apple iPod?
- Why did you choose an iPod?
- Wich were the aspects of iPod that affected you the most? (positive & negative ones) (Was it easy to use, compact ecc...)
- How much time did you use it? Did you only use it for music?
- Have you ever had more than one iPod model?
- Do you still have an iPod? Do you still use it?
- Do you think that having an iPod influenced your relationship with music listening? In this case, how?

We're sorry for our english, we hope you can understand these questions anyway (once again, in any case, feel free to reply as you wish).
Thanks for your attention and your time!

Nicolò and Leonardo

 

[BigMcGuire]

1. TV commercials. I first saw the iPod on TV commercials and then everyone I know started getting them.
2. Yep, I knew about Apple - as a kid I had neighbors with Apple computers - but I grew up with non-Apple computers.
3. One was given to me because I couldn’t afford it. Having used really terrible MP3 players and eventually the Zune for many years, the iPod was a blast of fresh air - wonderful ui, and just forever battery life.
4. So simple to use, instant responses, forever battery life, tons and tons of storage. (Everything else I used only had a few GB of storage).
5. The look of the device was significantly more “wow” factor than other MP3 players I had used up until the time. It was a status symbol, something that let people know you had $. Of course, by the time I got one given to me, everyone had one, but it was still a symbol that you had $.
6. Oh yeah, I had used no-name brand MP3 players and even spent years with the Microsoft Zune (which I enjoyed).
7. I didn’t really choose it as much as someone gave me one when they upgraded.
8. The ease of use, the wheel, the audio quality, the massive amounts of storage.
9. Only used it for music - used it for several years before I wanted something a bit smaller and up to date.
10. Eventually yes, I upgraded to the flash iPods and eventually the iPod nanos.
11. I still have my nano but I stopped using it because it was more fun to put my iPhone in an arm band and jog with that.
12. Yes, it allowed me to have all my music in one place (30GB) and it sounded amazing - lasted forever - and was fun to use. Most MP3 players are the time were VERY painful to use, didn’t last very long, and audio quality was atrocious. This definitely impacted my desire to get an iPhone someday - which, when I did (4s was my first iPhone), I couldn’t believe I didn’t do it sooner.

 

[Jessica Lares]

1. I saw someone with the 3rd generation Classic in school, and I got one shortly afterwards.

2. Yes. At that point I only had had the much older machines that were getting thrown out of the schools at the time.

3. My parents bought me the 3rd generation in 2003

4. The way the screen and buttons lit up was cool I guess?

5. It was easy to browse through to find tracks?

6. No.

7. Because it was the next step from my Sony Walkman CD and mixtapes

8. The built-in battery, and having space for a good chunk of music that would last me a long time

9. Yeah, only really used it for music. I used it enough to run out the battery most of the time.

10. I also had the iPod Video, and currently have an iPod Nano.

11. Yes. I use the iPod Nano everyday still.

12. Yes. I am reluctant to move to streaming because I still prefer to just have files on a drive still. I still read music publications, listen to local/internet radio for music discovery.

 

[Slix]

- How and when did you get to know the iPod?
I was about 7 when the iPod came out, and my family was really into Apple, so I heard about the iPod directly from my dad, and him and some of my aunts and uncles got first generation iPods shortly after they came out. I got to use them a little too!
- Before the iPod, did you already knew Apple? Did you have other Apple products before the iPod?
Yes, my family had a Power Macintosh, and then an iMac G3 before the iPod was released.
- How and when have you first got in contact with the iPod?
I believe it would have been early 2002 if my calculations are correct, the first time I got to see and use an iPod.
- What was your first impression seeing the iPod?
I was a kid and loved computer things from an early age, so the iPod was really cool! My family helped me get into music from a young age, so I like the idea that it could hold all the music we already had on our computer at the time.
- What role did the aesthetics play on your experience with the iPod?
It was probably in part due to my family talking highly about the iPod too, but the aesthetics were very important to me with the iPod. After seeing some other cheaper MP3 players over time, I really came to appreciate the simplicity and beauty of the iPod.
- Did you knew competitor's products before buying an Apple iPod?
I got my first iPod, a first generation iPod shuffle, right after it was released in 2005. I knew about CD players which were somewhat popular at the time, and I even remember considering a Hit Clips device, but was talked out of it, thank goodness!
- Why did you choose an iPod?
I liked music and wanted one for myself, after having many of my family members enjoy using about theirs.
- Wich were the aspects of iPod that affected you the most? (positive & negative ones) (Was it easy to use, compact ecc...)
Easy to use, iTunes integration, compact, good battery life and storage size.
- How much time did you use it? Did you only use it for music?
I primarily used iPods for music, but during the heyday of the iPod, having gotten an iPod touch, I used it for photos, videos, music, internet, texting, and other apps. Nowadays, I use iPods mostly just for music.
- Have you ever had more than one iPod model?
Growing up, I had an iPod shuffle, nano, touch, and then later started my collection. At this point, I own nearly every distinct iPod model they made, across most generations.
- Do you still have an iPod? Do you still use it?
I still have a lot of iPods! I use at least one every day. I primarily use a 4th gen Classic for music in my car, and other iPods when I'm out and about, depending on which one I want to bring with me.
- Do you think that having an iPod influenced your relationship with music listening? In this case, how?
Absolutely. I always had headphones in during most of my childhood and into my adult life as well. I don't stream anything, and prefer to have immediate access to music I've bought and added to my collection in iTunes. If it weren't for the iPod's influence on my music listening, I might not listen to music as much as I do now, and I might not have bought as much music as I did over the years.


Thanks for doing this survey! I hope it goes well for you! Please share your findings if you want to!

 

[mvblrb]

Nicolò and Leonardo,

Please see responses below.
- How and when did you get to know the iPod?
I purchased the original iPod in 2001 when it was first introduced.
- Before the iPod, did you already knew Apple? Did you have other Apple products before the iPod?
The law firm where I worked used macintoshes but that was my only exposure to Apple.
- How and when have you first got in contact with the iPod?
In 2001 I was jogging a lot and I thought the iPod would be complementary to that, and it was. Instead of being bored jogging, I was listening to music and, secondarily, jogging. The time sailed by. I immediately purchased an iPod for each of my four brothers knowing it would be as useful to them as it was to me.
- What was your first impression seeing the iPod?
No particular impression until I played with the scroll wheel and came to appreciate the overall aesthetic.
- What role did the aesthetics play on your experience with the iPod?
Huge, once I understood the function.
- Did you knew competitor's products before buying an Apple iPod?
No.
- Why did you choose an iPod?
I liked Apple from my work experience so I took a chance on the iPod without a real clear understanding of how useful it would become to me.
- Wich were the aspects of iPod that affected you the most? (positive & negative ones) (Was it easy to use, compact ecc...)
Ease of use, compactness, it looked cool and, something I have come to appreciate since, you did not have to look at it to make it play what you want, unlike an iPhone, which I own but seldom use to play music. On the negative side, it was really expensive at the start, i.e. $399.
- How much time did you use it? Did you only use it for music?
I use my iPods every day, mostly for music but occasionally for file transfers between computer.
- Have you ever had more than one iPod model?
Yes, for over 20 years.
- Do you still have an iPod?
Yes, an original iPod Classic, three iPod Mini's, two 6th generation iPod Classics, three 1st generation iPod Shuffles and three 4th generation iPod shuffles.
-Do you still use it?
I use the original iPod Classic when booted into MacOS 9, I use the 6th generation iPod classics daily around the house and I use one of the 4th generation iPod shuffles when I swim (the other ipod shuffles have dead batteries, which I would pay to have replaced if only I could find someone that can do it). I use the iPod Minis for swimming or walking.
- Do you think that having an iPod influenced your relationship with music listening?
Yes, enormously.
In this case, how?
The iPod made thing suddenly accessible, and easily accessible at that. A computer novice could pick one up and learn how to navigate it in minutes. Two anecdotes about that. After the first week with my first iPod in 2001 I showed it to my law partner at the time who hated computers but loved music. He played with it for about a minute, looked up in awe and said, "My God, they are going to sell millions of these things." Years later my daughters asked me how a turntable worked. After I explained about the needle and everything I got a look of mystification, "Jeez, that's a lot of work to listen to music." And they were right. The iPod changed all of that.

Lastly, your English is just fine.
Regards,
Mike