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COPYRIGHT 2003 FDCH e-media
Original Source: THE FLIPSIDE
GERRI WILLIS, CNNfn ANCHOR, THE FLIPSIDE: Ask any hip teenager, they`ll tell you that the Apple [Company: Apple Computer Inc.; Ticker: AAPL ; URL: http://www.apple.com/] iPod is the hottest thing on the music scene. It weighs less that a half a pound and it can hold up to 1,000 songs. Wow. The iPod costs at least 300 bucks and they still seem to sell like hot cakes. Our next guest, Robert Walker has written an article on the iPod as a cultural icon. And it appears in this weekends "New York Times Magazine." Robert joins us now. Hey remember to start calling us now with your questions. 1-800-304-3638. Rob can answer anything about the iPod. My question is this. You know I think these things are designed beautifully. You know I am used to using Apple products. It`s all about the design, they`re sleek, they`re beautiful. How did they manage to get this right?
ROBERT WALKER, "NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE": I think in this case, they really put a lot of thought into. It sounds kind of counter intuitive, a lot of sometimes when you talk about electronic devices, what you`re talking about is how complex they are, how many thing they can do. The phrase that Jonathan Ive (ph), who is the head of industrial design used when I spoke to him, was "overt simplicity." In that it`s not just simple to use, but it looks simple to use. It is not intimidating if you are used to picking up a cell phone that is also a GPS device and bakes bread or what ever. It`s just covered with buttons. And you spend all this time trying to figure out where do I start. And they really wanted to come up with something that was unintimidating to use, and really just intuitive. And, you know, my own experience with it was very much like that. The first time I saw one I just immediately started sort of playing with it. I have had them in social situations where you have it at party or something everybody wants to put their hands on it.
WILLIS: Speaking of which can, let`s see how light it is.
GREG CLARKIN, CNNfn ANCHOR, THE FLIPSIDE: So Rob how much is the early success at least...
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