“The little white boxes and ear-bud headphones are ubiquitous devices on college campuses, but the iPod, like other fad gizmos, is an accessory that often demands its own accessories. Although there are other MP3 players on the market, the faddy nature of the iPod has spawned an entire aftermarket of products designed to make it run longer, work better and appear slicker. This accessorizing is emblematic of the trend toward marketing and selling products to consumers that promote the individualization of mass-produced goods,” Steven Neuman writes for The Oregeon Daily Emerald.
“[University of Oregon] Assistant Professor of marketing Simona Stan said that there is a tension, especially when it comes to young consumers, between the desire to conform and the desire to be an individual that is epitomized by accessories. ‘You belong to a group at a brand level, but you’re different at the product level,’ she said. ‘For example, we all have Apple computers so we belong to a group … but we each have our own colors and styles that makes us an individual. That is very appealing,'” Neuman writes.
“According to Angie Reinhart, who works in the electronics department at Target on West 11th Avenue, Apple products have such a variety of options because of their trendy nature. ‘There is a lot of advertising right now,’ Reinhart said. ‘They’ve been pushing their product and they want those accessories available right when you buy the player.’ However, consumers proved resistant to purchasing other alternative players, Tishman said. The bookstore only offers one player that is not an iPod — a Polaroid Pocket Jam player with 123 megabytes but no accessories. The store discontinued selling other players after they sold poorly,” Neuman writes.
Full article here.
Another iPod story…won�t be surprised if Apple announces at press conference today that it is changing its name to “ApPod”
the beauty is the Apple die-hards knew they were cool a long time ago. Now the rest of the world is catching up. So it goes…
Oh yeah, Oregon used to be on the cutting edge. Republican governors who believe in single-provider health insurance, physician-assisted suicide, de-criminalize tiny amounts of marajuana (not that I use the evil weed myself – my dad was a cop), keeping Californians out, the leading hospital in the world for treating pedophiles, the highest density of lawyers per square mile in the world right here in Salem.
Now the red necks are in power and it’s back to the halcion days of 1926 when the KKK took the governorship and the legislature over. Dump people from health-care plans who can’t afford insurance, shut down any school program other than the 3 Rs, and then dumb them down. A legislature that gets drunk on State money (literally, I knew a janitor in the Capital bulding and you can’t believe the booze that used to flow through that place under the Golden Pioneer), reject any kind of reform that helps people live their lives better and healthier. You can bet if they ever have any more legislation dealing with suicide, it will likely be only liberals are allowed to commit suicide.
But at least we love and buy iPods!!!!
It’s a fad, I tell you! A FAD! A faddy faddy fad-fad! Once this fad is over, Apple is dead!
OK, so I note that it is now chic to complain any time that MDN has an iPod story. I have an idea: Instead of opening the link to the story, reading the story, then complaining about the story, how about IGNORE THE FSCKING STORY! If you don’t want to read about iPods, just ignore the headline.
I mean, really….
Oregon is still a great place for us Californians to buy big ticket items Tom. And, haven’t the red necks always been in power, repeatedly shooting down sales tax initiatives?
jimbo.. right on lmfao
the other day.. reading the posts on the new eMac.. mac users bitch so much.. I’m a fan, but I dont bitch, i know i’m lucky to have this emac
another iPod story.
what? nobody is praising that hardware announcement from yesterday?!!!
I liked the part about them dropping the other players from the store.
Jimbo von Winskinheimer: I noticed it is fad of yours to complain about people that complain any time that MDN has an iPod story.
I have an idea: Instead of reading the complaint, then complaining about the complainer, how about you IGNORE THE POST! If you don’t want to read complaints about iPods, just ignore them.
(Note: I paraphrased a bit from your complaint—heh,heh.)
Personally, I’m completely mesmerized by the newly crafted word in the headline – “competiting” – maybe the good person at MDN doing the edititing could have saved a letter or two, and used “competing” instead? Just a thought…
…”It’s a fad, I tell you! A FAD! A faddy faddy fad-fad! Once this fad is over, Apple is dead!”…
Yeah, similar to the FAD of Windows, which has become LONG in the TOOTH due to the joe users out there being a clueless bunch!
Apple… going out of business since 1984.
“Oregon is still a great place for us Californians to buy big ticket items Tom.”
Leave it to Joe to spend $200.00 on gas to save 40 bucks at Costco. LOL!
Yeah, competing hd players like the iRiver, you can’t buy a remote control, fm tuner, battery pack for 16hr play time, digital in-out, voice recorder – because all built-in or included. iPod – my ass.
But Jobzzzz….
What if you don’t want all that crap but only want 1 or two things (not to mention the other accessories available) but you do want an elegant, easy to use, player that works with the number one legal download service? How does the iRiver stack up then?
What’s an iPod?
I am so happy that you bought the iRiver. Now go away and listen to some music yo’ momma bought you.
(It’s so funny that iRiver was so imaginative to use the prefix “i” like iPod. That is one simlarity between them and Apple ya can’t deny.)
The iPod is rotting the minds of America’s youth. There is an embedded subliminal message planted in every AAC music file that tells them to not follow the crowd and buy a Windows PC. We must figure a way to get WMA on the iPod to save America and the World from the Apple conspiracy. Then I can finish my conquest…
Dear MDN Webmaster – Thanks for making my earlier post irrelevant…
Sometimes when I’m bored, I pull out the credit card and look for things to keep my Apple products company. They usually end up being accessories for my Apple products. Why, just last week was my PowerBook’s birthday, so I decided to splurge and buy a nice new bag for her. She is grateful. If there were no accessories:
a) I’d have to buy something useful
b) There would be no little companies catering to the Apple crowd.
I might even start buying the accessories some accessories.
While I appreciate feedback on my stories i do not appreciate finding that other people are impersonating me and say insanely moronic things under my name. If you read the story one source does suggest that because of the fad-like nature the iPod has proven popular, but what seems to have been missed by most people is that fads are indicative of larger and more important trends in society. Thanks. The REAL Steven Neuman. PS Oregon is scary but Eugene is a liberal alcove.