How I use my iPod Classics

I am always conscious about how I use my iPod Classics 80Gb in order to gain better understanding about how to build a better product. I know that I am not an extremely typical user, but at least by avoiding the issues that I hated or frustrated by, I can gain knowledge of what NOT to put in the product that I design.

So these are a few items that somehow surprised even myself:

• Form Factor over functionality: I always crave for better features on my media device. For instance, I like my Pocket PC because it does multiple things, and even allow me to play divx and xvid video without conversion. However, it turns out that I use Pocket PC much less than using the iPod Classics. Besides the fact that the user interface on all of the media players on Pocket PC are much inferior comparing with the one on iPod Classic, it's the form factor on iPod Classics that caused me to use it more than the Pocket PC. My iPod Classics is thiner, lighter, have much better battery life, and easier to use. In fact I am glad that I didn't buy the 160Gb one, because I will not like the size. I also may not like Archos 160Gb because it has twice the weight of iPod Classics and twice the thickness.
  
  
• Ease of use over Functionality: Again, what good is a device if I have to work on it in order to get it do stuff that I want it to do. I usually use media on consumption while driving as a test to see if a device works for me: if I can't choose and play the content I want to consume while I am in a traffic jam, then the device is just complicate to use. My iRiver i140 passed the test, and so was the iPod Classic 80Gb. Pocket PC, on the other hand, failed miserably.
  
  
• Prefer bundle than individual: If music industry wants to get my money, they really need to push subscription service like NOW. Even though I am not young, I am the type of music listener who love to experiment various kind of music. I don't mind new music, but I hate commercialize mainstream junk released by music industry these days. 2 months earlier, I started to listen to music from a very well package torrent. That torrent, which released monthly, basically packaged the best 100 indie music. I found rock, pop, experiment, dance, hip hop and so on in that torrent. It was so well made and really made me want to pay for those artist. But instead of paying song by song, I want to pay it as bundle, knowing that when the new month comes, I will ignore the batch in last month as I only have so much time to enjoy new music. So the iTune model is definitely not for me. The Zune subscription model is more for my taste, but I don't have a Zune, and probably won't until they reach the ease of use and prettiness level the same or above iPod line.
  
  
• New way of consuming movie: now this is something strange and probably only happens to me, but I found that I enjoy watching movie WITHOUT sound while I have a little bit time here and there, like waiting in line for paying grocery, sitting on a john in the restroom, or anything that involves a few minutes of waiting. Usually under those situations I don't have time to put on and take off headphone. I also need to pay a little attention to the environment, like moving forward in a line, for instance. At the same time, though, I want something to entertain me so that I don't have to suffer from boredom. A Classics loaded with a few movies with subtitle helped me to have a bit enjoyment during that kind of moments. I finished Perfect Blue the animation that way, and I am working on Run Lora Run now. I know it will be even better if I could have a iPod Touch, but I rather wait for a while and buy it when Apple finally wake up and release a iPod Touch with a 80Gb harddisk and then sell it at around US$349.