Apple iPod Nano

Introduction

Everyday we interact with different interfaces such as mobile phones, computers, cash machines and game concludes. This is a growing market and businesses need to make sure the interface is not only attractive to the eye but also easy to use.

Interface Design

The interface that I have decided to talk about is the Apple iPod Nano The reason I have decided to do this product is because I have so far spoken about mobile phones, and cash machines, which are too well used products, but Apple is one company who does use a lot of different features when it comes to there interface designs.

The Interaction takes place in the same user interface, everything that the user needs to access is on one screen using one control. The screen is of a good size so everything can be seen clearly and then the interaction control is the patented Apple iPod Click-Wheel. This one control allows the user to perform all functions on the software (switching on/off, selecting music, music control, creating play list, changing settings, playing games etc.). Another control worth mentioning is the “Hold” switch on the top of the iPod which locks all controls down so that nothing can be accidentally pushed when the iPod is in the users pocket etc.

The interaction takes place because it is the only way for the device to work, no matter how you set up the iPod it requires user interaction to be able to use any of the functions, from turning it on to actually playing the music. This is a good feature because it means that the user knows that they are activating some function meaning they won’t accidentally have it switched on wasting battery. The majority of the interaction would be the user deciding which music to play / creating a play list.

The target user group because of its lightweight design and simple to use features this MP3 player would be aimed towards anyone that wanted a light portable device to play music files while on the go in the day to day world. There is nothing complex about the usage of the iPod and Apple has put in a lot of effort to make sure that everything is automated i.e. when you plug the iPod into the computer to update music it will automatically transfer all music from your Library to the iPod’s memory while the user sits back and watches, the only interaction is plugging the iPod into the computer.

The Apple though simple to use isn’t completely self explanatory, because of the one control to use the entire software of the MP3 player Apple needs to supply a user manual to explain how to work the device, compared to other iPod’s and MP3 players it is fairly simple to use and people would pick it up easily, for novices the User Manual supplied is very descriptive and will help anyone use the iPod to it’s full functionality.

The feedback you receive is simple, what you see is what you get. If you click on the “Music” section you will then receive a list of different music categories until you find your music, everything on the iPod itself is well described and the layout is perfect for all users.

The main difficulty would be figuring the different functions on the one control i.e. if you hold the “Play” button it will switch the iPod On/Off where as if you just click it, it will Play/Pause the music currently in your playlist, if there’s nothing in your playlist then nothing will happen. The majority of these issues can be solved reading the User Manual supplied with the iPod and other parts are learnt with experience of using the MP3 player.

The rewards of being able to interact with this device is a nice easy to use interface that maximises customization ability of an MP3 player which a lot of MP3 players don’t offer (i.e. creating custom playlists through an easy to view list of files on the MP3 player). The iPod is often referred to being one of the best MP3 players on the market because of its interface which would be a big reward to any user.

The iPod on the whole was a satisfying experience, Setup and use was simple enough and the quality of the device was sound. Apple did a good job of squeezing a lot of technology into a tiny device while keeping all of its functionality of larger devices.

It would be hard to call it engaging because as stated before the biggest part of the interaction was selecting the music where as the rest is automated, the ability of just being able to click one button to play/pause etc. When it is easily accessible has to be one of the best features of this device.

Reference

http://www.ipresents.co.uk/i/stuff/ipod-nano-1gb-review.jpg - Image of the Ipod Nano