aTypical Joe: a gay New Yorker living in the rural South

Tuesday, April 26, 2005

The flawed iPod

I’ve always agreed with the received wisdom that the iPod is great design (even though all white doesn’t really work for me, most especially in the iMac). Today Virginia Postrel changed my mind:

It’s gorgeous and tactile, and the software interface is excellent--aesthetic and functional qualities lacking in most electronic products--but Apple has never been much good at the physical side of design. If only they didn’t have to actually make things. In this case, the batteries are the problem. They’re beyond terrible, and Apple won’t replace them. My original iPod lasted about a year before the battery died and I had to throw it out. Worse, my iPod Mini has never really held a charge, except for the day it spent in the Apple Store.

She points to this non-Apple FAQ and this protest video. My own batteries have been fine so far, but my iPod’s old so one day soon…

Check out her post on the new retro-styled McDonalds too. I never would have thought to associate good design with McDonalds, even as I admired the one they put up on 42nd Street.