Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

• Convenience of using
• Looks (asthetics & design of the product )
• Cool toy
• Target audience ( teenagers initially)
• Something else ?

It was for all those reasons, and then some.

I think one of the most brilliant things about the iPod is it`s white earphone cord.  An iPod is a product that generally goes in a pocket, someone`s hand, in a bag, etc.  It`s small and often out of site.  If you saw someone listening to music, how would you know they had an iPod over some other mp3 player?  The cord!  It`s a brilliant move on Apple`s part.  When you see those white cords, you know what it is.  And their advertising with the dancing black silhouettes support the white cord thing.  I think the iPod`s viral success is much due to the earphone cord.

And because of this, other companies seem weary about doing anything other than black.  I mean, I don`t know much about the headphone market but if I were competing with Apple, I wouldn`t want my cords to be confused with their`s, hence pushing their music player and not mine.

Convenience for a new technology delivering a classic in-demand product (music). It`s the same reason AOL took over and demolished CompuServe. AOL made it so easy to go online, anyone could do it. Apple made it so easy to get and play music, anyone could do it. Plus, no moving parts (the new technology part).

The Sony Walkman was the same: portable music using current technology (cassettes).

I favor all of the above.  Additionally, the hardware and software is universally compatible.  Apple`s product designs have always been world class and innovative.

The iPod took off simply because it had/has a kick-ass marketing/branding and advertising to support it. It has a catchy name, supported by an online music store of the same nomenclature (iTunes), and by piggybacking on Apple`s strong identity and ties to the "hip, cool & carefree" of this generation, it was bound for success.

The design of the product is great, but it`s the entire brand experience that has made it a success. That`s my 2¢! 

Brand and shape aren`t enough to explain the dominant force of the iPod. Neither does Apple have that strong an identity to overcome the Windows-based applications. Don`t forget that while iPod was quietly coming along, so too where now-obsolete sites like Napster. They failed, iTunes succeeded.

How can you say Apple doesn`t have that strong an identity over Windows apps?  Windows` competitive edge isn`t much based on identity at all, which is fine.  They are succeeding in other ways, like performance and market saturation.  Apple however, puts A LOT of emphasis on brand identity.  They have a very strong identity over Windows.  No, it`s not enough to explain the iPod`s success but it is one of the major factors of it.

Also, Napster was a great success until they were essentially shut down.  That`s not quite a fair comparison because Napster wasn`t able to keep competing in the open market in the same way they started out.

Steve, that`s my point. It wasn`t Apple`s brand identity that led to the success of the iPod. It was a better business process. To say that it was the "entire [Apple] brand experience that made it a success" is to over-simplify.

I guess we`re saying the same thing in different ways.  :)

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