Talk Portables

If you question how popular the Apple iPod has really become, you have to check this out: 

http://portables.about.com/b/a/257160.htm

I just found a recent article that explains more about the Apple iPod’s somewhat proprietary nature as described in my previous post (for those who may not know what I was talking about). You can read it here:  http://www.slyck.com/news.php?story=1133 

Interestingly there is an update at the end of the article that says French lawmakers passed the bill to require Apple to open its proprietary format. I am curious to see whether Apple will comply or leave France altogether in order to protect its trade secrets and tight grip on the market.

When it comes to small consumer electronics, sometimes you might have to choose if you really want to put form over function. Basically what this means is, sometimes those little shiny gadgets look real nice but they don’t really do much for you. Ideally, we should be able to have our cake and eat it too right? Sometimes this happens, as in say the case of the Apple iPod, which gives us the best of both worlds. Although some may argue with its somewhat proprietary nature this is not necessarily the case, I think it is a great example of something that not only looks good but has some great functionality (e.g. does what it intends to do, unless it breaks - but then you can always fix it yourself right?!). 

Some products though may look nice, but not have all the functionality we want or need. And of course this can often be subjective. The fact is each person has different wants and needs. I just found this example (http://wiredblogs.tripod.com/gadgets/index.blog?entry_id=1463650) of something that may be geared a little more towards form than function. However, for some (women mainly who just want a phone to talk on and maybe take a few basic pictures), the functionality may be enough and it’s the style that really matters. For others, such as heavy business users, this would not be a good choice. 

My point here is that before you just buy the next new cool shiny gadget, first think if it’s going to meet your functionality criteria. Just because it looks good and a lot of people are buying it, doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily right for you. I just heard the other day a guy complaining about his Motorola V3 Razr cell phone because of its lack of functions and short battery life (which makes sense considering how darn small the thing is!). He was a business user and now wishes he had never bought it. For many the Razr is a nice, cool phone to show off and works fine. But for someone like him, who just bought it because of the form factor, he ended up making a bad decision. So learn from his mistake and just be careful that the next time you buy something small and nice the shiny exterior doesn’t cloud your judgment!