small object, LARGE SUBJECT

     Music is a big part of peoples' lives. At one point music was just a live experience. Then, it started being recorded so people could listen at home, and records, ATRACs, and eventually cassette tapes became a phenomenon. Skipping ahead to present day, music is merely a file that can be transferred from one device to another with ease. If one were to take a look around, he or she would notice that a large amount of people carry iPods or other mp3's around with them, listening to their favorite bands and songs. By having iPods, we are able to listen to music wherever we are, whether we're on the go or at home. It makes listening to music, for whatever reason, extremely convenient for anyone, especially with its easy-to-use design and sturdy build.
    While many people may be skeptical as to how useful the iPod actually is, I can definitely vouch and say that it is one of my important belongings. I am a huge fan of music, no matter what the genre, and I love being able to listen to whatever I want whenever I want to. Call me spoiled, but it just makes everything so much easier, not to mention the fact that when I'm walking in Manhattan with ear buds in I feel at least 20% cooler. I enjoy listening to music when I write, when I'm traveling, or even when I just need to calm down and take a moment to breath. Those "stupid music players", as some people call them, help me even out my mood, get me pumped up for events, and just plain help me through the day sometimes.
     According to Apple's website, the iPod is a "take everything everywhere" sort of device. It promotes the sleekness of the design, the new and improved sturdiness and stronger glass used for the face, and it boasts of the large amount of space on such a small device. It emphasizes the varieties of iPod that one might choose from, and now also comes in a charming array of colors. It features the hundreds of apps that one could potentially download, as well as other exciting features, such as cameras, internet, and interactive applications where the general public can play one another from their iPods. IPods definitely have their share of flaws; iPhones get debatably good service, for one, and sometimes iPod classics will wipe themselves, and you'd have to put all the music back on again. Yet, by shielding the public from these flaws and instead pushing the positive images and pretty colors, they attract not only the eye, but several million customers a year.
     The general public is very easy to manipulate. Especially on TV and in large cities such as Manhattan, the media is everywhere, tempting you with this, or urging you to buy the best of this product. With so much to take in, one might wonder what the best techniques would be for a company such as Apple to sell their products. One of their advantages is that the public sells to itself. By seeing so many people with iPods, iTouches, iPhones, and the like, it is easy to be tempted to get one for oneself, especially if that person is a music lover. Producers of such products know that consumers go into Apple with at least some interest in their product. By making their stores look as sleek and inviting as their actual product, it seems to dazzle the public into thinking that iPods are the "thing to buy this year". Oh silly consumers. Either way, the production staff of Apple definitely did something right with designing their stores the way they did, as well as letting their products sell themselves.

The original iPod

Today's iPod