3 ms·
Mp3 players didnt have a lot of features when the iPod was launched, and I don't think a portable harddrive solution was particularly simple (engineering wise)
by greendestiny 19y ago
Mp3 players didnt have a lot of features when the iPod was launched, and I don't think a portable harddrive solution was particularly simple (engineering wise) at the time. The iPod won because it was portable and had a large capacity, mp3 players for many years were either one or the other even after the iPod shot to fame.
- rms 19y agoThe iPod had a 1.8" hard drive when all the competitive MP3 players had a 2.5" hard drive, making them twice as large. People seem to forget how much smaller the iPod was compared to all the other hard drive MP3 players, I think this is the real reason it won.
- greendestiny 19y agoYep thats what I'm saying. It wasn't interface or brand, at least not until later. For a very long time I don't think there was a single other player with the capacity of the iPod at a comparable size.
- staunch 19y agoThe other players didn't have a lot of features, but they had more, and they sure weren't simple. They had crappy playlist systems, lots of buttons, confusing interfaces, etc. When I said the iPod was simple I meant for the users, not the creators. It was surely a lot of hard work to create the iPod, but end result was a very simple product. I look at the portability and large capacity as just two requirements for making the iPod simple. A product that "just works". Not holding enough music or fitting in your pocket is a usability problem that detracts from its simplicity.