Pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black and silver-Apple’s brand-new “nano-chromatic” spectrum of iPods released on Sept. 9 not only come in a palette of new colors, but also with a variety of new features. The new Nanos will evaluate music selections and create playlists that it thinks the listener might enjoy. They will also shuffle songs when the owner physically shakes the sleek device.
The iPod Touch is thinner, too, and it allows the user to play games by shifting the device instead of touching the screen. Apple calls it “The Funnest iPod ever,” clearly appealing to the type of consumers who buy every new upgrade to increase their social status.
THE SMALLER,
THE BETTER?
Nick Knutson, an employee of Apple specialist store Tech Superpowers, said many students purchase new models, but only those with “a disposable income.” As technology improves, however, prices actually decrease because smaller products are easier and cheaper to produce.
“A lot of people like to get the newest cool thing,” Knutson said. “MacBook Air is not practical, but it’s a cool thing.”
At the same price as the old iPod Nano ($149), consumers can now purchase the new features with eight or 16 gigabytes of storage space. But for music fans who just bought the square-shaped, dully shaded models last year, the small changes are not enough to draw their interest or their paychecks.
“I’m not going to spend money on that,” Dana Hentoff, a College of Communication junior, said.
Hentoff said her peers buy upgraded products like Apple’s iPhone “because it’s cool,” and she only upgrades electronics, such as her cell phone, when she loses them or renews her contract.
With computers, Mac and PC users often have no choice but to upgrade, Knutson said. For example, when companies create new operating systems, such as Leopard or Windows Vista, certain programs will only run on the new systems. In addition, old hard drives run out of storage capacity needed to efficiently operate.
“There’s a music editing program Berklee students need to upgrade to use,” Knutson said.
He admitted, however, that trends often drive purchases. “Apple prides itself on being hip.
People who have Macs like to have the newest thing, like operating systems,” he said.
Jim Stone, Director of Consulting Services for the Boston University Office of Information Technology, said new models of laptops, cell phones and other devices often offer advanced features, but many people, especially students, will just purchase the upgrades to be “on the bleeding edge.
“Why do car companies come out with a new car every year? Is this year’s car really better than last year’s car?” Stone asked. “It is fun to show people something you know they don’t have, and you know they can’t get it, at least right away.”
Mike Luca, a student in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, said he thinks companies withhold technology to introduce products more often, which they sell to undergraduates and teenagers, who have more available funds than graduate students.
“Everything I walk around with is outdated,” Luca said. “[Undergrads] want the latest and newest, regardless of function. It’s social status.”
WORMS OF THE
APPLE
IT director Stone said Apple also sells many upgrades because the company has such a loyal
following and a reputation for excellent design. In fact, the second iPhone experienced several problems immediately following its release, yet owners forgave instances, such as the network shutting down, and said they still love the product.
“You should remember being first may be cool, but the thing you buy is not always going to work well,” Stone said. “If you have this coolness factor, then you are also a guinea pig.”
John Parks-Papadopoulous, a College of Arts and Sciences junior, said he bought a 3G iPhone two days ago, and his device has already frozen. Some of the applications he downloaded didn’t work, and the battery only lasts one day.
Still, he doesn’t regret his purchase.
“Just the ease of getting to email makes it worth it, let alone the aesthetic qualities and all the applications,” Parks-Papadopoulous said. “I would have gotten the BlackBerry, but it’s ugly.”
Another example of Mac enthusiasts paying a price to be trendy is seen in the MacBook Air – the thinnest laptop ever created. Stone said the purpose of the notebook is its lightweight design, but this feat is achieved by removing components such as a CD drive, which must be purchased separately and attached to the computer.
“If you’re going to get that kind of lightweight out of it, you have to give up something,” Stone said. “Some people just say, ‘That doesn’t work for me because I would have to carry an additional bag of junk; I might as well carry a standard laptop.'”
Mackenzie Lachey, a College of Arts and Sciences sophomore, said she bought her MacBook Air because it’s more convenient to carry around campus than a regular notebook. She had a Dell laptop for five years and purchased her Mac after her Dell screen broke. Lachey also bought the iPod Nano she currently owns after her iPod Mini died.
“I was forced to get a new one,” Lachey
said. “But I think more young professionals just like to upgrade to keep up in the work force. I have a feeling a lot of it is competition with peers.”
BE TECH SAVVY
With so many products out there, and new ones hitting the market constantly, people may have a difficult time knowing when to upgrade or which electronics to buy. Cell phone companies said
their customers know when the network offers an upgrade for a reduced price, but young consumers are more likely to try buying new phones more often.
Norris Smadi, an AT’T corporate sales department manager, said customers can receive a discounted phone a year and a half after their last upgrade or when they renew their contracts, but the service is unaffected by upgrades. Still, younger customers want to try new features like the iPhone’s 3G high-speed Internet.
“Some people have their phone for three to four years before upgrading,” Smadi said. “Depending on how you take care of the phone, some people need to upgrade after six months … they lose it, they break it or there’s physical damage. We don’t fix phones.”
T-Mobile sales representative Joshua Batista said students are often so eager to have the latest phone that they try upgrading before they are even eligible.
“We get new models every month or every other month,” Batista said. “AT’T is our rival right now with the iPhone. We always try to stay ahead of the game.”
IT director Stone said despite possible flaws like those that have occurred with the iPhone, customer satisfaction is more important today than ever before. With the advent of blogging, word-of-mouth advertising has become an effective form of marketing. Many companies monitor blogs to stay on top of what consumers are demanding.
“A lot of people will buy what their friends have,” Stone said. “The truth is, who has time to systematically go through all the literature and reviews to sort out the best phone?”
He said there are so many options today that even following the popular preferences may prove unhelpful.
“Until you actually buy the phone and use it, you really don’t know whether you’ve made a good or bad choice,” Stone said.
DEFENING THE COMPANIES
MacBU President Trevor Taylor, like some other consumers, thinks companies deliberately hold back technology from new products so they can sell the next version, but the new devices released each month still introduce great advancements.
“To me, upgrading is exciting. Electronics in general become faster and more efficient with each update,” Taylor, a COM junior, wrote in an email. ”New features make my life more convenient. Why wait to check my email on a computer when I can check it right now on my iPhone?”
Taylor is not planning to purchase the new iPod, but he is still interested in seeing what new features the product carries this time around. He tries to skip a generation before upgrading.
“I got a first-generation iPhone (not the 3G) and plan on upgrading next summer, two years later than the release of my own model,” he wrote. “All of your old technology becomes obsolete, and it is better placed in a museum.”
Stone said some companies have no choice but to offer certain products and stop selling old models. For example, the Federal Communications Commission mandates that cell phone carriers must sell phones with GPS capability.
He said when users dial 911 on devices with GPS, the phone’s location is transmitted to the emergency operator. Thousands of old cell phones that do not have GPS technology, like the once popular Star Tac model, cannot be repaired, replaced or put back on the network if they break, so there are almost none of these devices around today.
“The real issue is what’s next? How cool is it going to be?” Stone said. “Don’t underestimate the ‘coolness factor’ in today’s environment.”
Apple refused an interview when the reporter visited the Boylston Street store and failed to respond to several phone messages.
