iPod

red dot: best of the best
red dot award: product design 2002

Intelligent selection. "Choose and select your own music." The gatekeeper function of the record companies is increasingly on the decline. The age of catalogued LP collections is past. MP3 compression has made millions of titles available for download in the Internet. You download music from the net and listen to it on your MP3 player while commuting in the subway. Nevertheless, this cornucopia of music and information needs to be organised. Providing good solutions poses a complex problem for design. iPod is an MP3 music player that can store 2,000 songs and, with the aid of a lithium polymer battery, play them for ten hours. Its design is simple and aesthetically appealing, making use of high-quality materials like stainless steel. As an extra touch of class, customers can order custom laser engraving etched into the back of iPod. The iPod weighs only 185 grammes and fits in any pocket.
The iPod is based on Apple iTunes software which sorts the titles and makes the iPod into a highly effective music management system. When the iPod is plugged into a computer, all iTunes songs and playlists are automatically downloaded at high speed through a FireWire cable. The user interface is functional, ergonomic and logical: titles are selected using a scrollwheel according to playlist, song or artist. In addition to storing music, iPod's high-capacity hard drive (5GB or 10GB) doubles as a portable FireWire drive that will store files such as presentations, large documents, graphics or digital movies. The iTunes software offers features like MP3-CD burning, music overlaying and an equaliser. Recently the iPod has also been coming closer to a PDA that will manage up to 1,000 addresses.
The iPod is an intelligent interface between the user, his music system and his computer. Functionality and a clear-cut, simple design keep information to essentials and easy to handle.