Lab+1

Khareem's Wiki page
Lab 1:
 * 

Question: Compare and contrast a Sony Walkman with an Apple iPod **  **By: Khareem Sawwaf ** With the birth of a new decade, a sense of excitement enchants us, as we know in the next few years we will see astonishing advancements in the technological field. Three decades ago, technology hit a peak, which has continued to advance breaking new barriers and overcoming many obstacles. One of the many products produced during this era was the Sony Walkman; a cassette music player. Initially, this was the ultimate music device, the one present every child wanted to find under their Christmas tree, and the same product that made you cool in elementary as well as high school. Till this day, Sony is able to integrate the Walkman name into newer more advanced technology such as cell phones, audio systems, etc.

Apple on the other hand is known for its innovative skills and designs. Not only are its products and services exceptional, but also its advertisements. The release of the first ipod in 2001 was nowhere near as popular as it is today. The ipod gained its outstanding popularity when it was associated with the fashion industry and evolved into a fashion icon (Times online, 2007).

The Sony Walkman is a bulky unattractive music player that is better suited to hide inside a person’s jean pocket than be displayed publicly. As a music player in today’s modern world, it is unable to compete in today’s digital music industry. The reason for this is due to the many features, though recently developed, it still lacks. Firstly, the device is unable to store any amount of music because it does not have any memory installed, but rather uses a cassette tape, which is able to store music. These tapes can be replaced and changed dependant on the user. The music will change as the cassette does, which inevitably means a large storage of cassette tapes are somewhere in a closet at home. Fortunately, this problem of storing physical music no longer exists as ipod’s are able to digitally store thousands of songs using built in memory card ranging from the usual 1gb – 32gb. Secondly, the buttons designed on a cassette player are “custom” buttons, meaning they are only able to provide one function, regardless of the times pressed. Apple further advanced their technology and has created multi-use buttons on its ipod. Therefore, a single button can provide multiple and various tasks, this however is dependant on the number of times pressed or the length of time the button is held onto. A key feature that puts apple’s ipod ahead of the crowd is the organization of music and easy access to songs, artists, albums, and genres.

The physical aspect of the ipod is sleek, elegant, and something you want to show off, yet is slim enough to fit in your pocket. One intriguing aspect of the ipods physical design that may have been overlooked too many times in the past is its easy soft touch. Not only is the plastic that encompasses the ipod soft, but also the buttons work after one simple touch or rotation of your finger. As compared to the Walkman, pressing play or stop created discomfort for the tips of your finger.

The sound delivered by an ipod is ten times better than a Walkman, if not more. The reason for this is greatly due to the design of the earphones. Traditionally, audio output was through headphones, which were never quite comfort and never grasped are ear, as we would hope. The difference with apple is that they use earphones, which fit into the ear canal and remains in place. This not only creates a center area for the music to flow through but also optimizes music quality and sound by concentrating it through the ear canal. The audio produced from the ipod is at a much higher quality with instruments supporting the audio such as a bass.

Overall, the ipod is far more advanced than the Walkman and is certainly one of technologies greatest consumer products.