My first Apple puchase
Well I finally bit the bullet and purchased an Apple product. I know it is hard to believe that someone who is such a technology geek and an interaction designer is just now getting around to purchasing an iPod.
In the short time I have owned the Apple iPod Touch I must admit that the user experience is unrivaled in its market. This isn’t to say that it is perfect, far from it. Apple does an extraordinary job of hand shaping the user experience from end to end. They seem to think of almost everything.
This extreme molding of the experience comes at a cost that most people never discuss. Apple controls every detail of every product they offer and they are not afraid of limiting the user’s ability to edit or modify the product to their taste.
In my opinion this is an ugly mark against against an exemplary user experience. As a user’s knowledge grows, so does their desire to “own” the product. By this I mean, that when a user becomes comfortable with how something works they often want to customize it to their taste. This can be something small like a theme or something larger like configuring obscure features or setting default behavior through out an application.
By limiting the user’s ability to personalize the product, Apple limits the user’s ability to grow to their fullest potential. It also limits their products ability to reach it’s maximum potential as user’s may not find the resolution to the problem their are seeking answers for.
Perhaps my view is a little biased because I like Linux’s Kool-Aid a little more than Apple’s. What do you think?