The Perfect Thing

1. What elements of the design process does this article illustrate?
The process for designing a product is a very long one. There is a continuous trial and error, and different versions are made until the final version is decided on. Many parties are involved with this process, and there are different organizations involved.
Products are continuously changing. For example with the iPod, there is always a new version being released that is faster, more reliable, and sleeker looking. Creating the next best thing is a continuous process.

2. What factors would you use to evaluate a "perfect thing"?
I like products that are simple and compact and aesthetically pleasing. They should be easy to learn to use. The product should work fast and fluidly. There should be little to no problems with the functioning. It can be really frustrating when a product freezes or shuts down when you don't want it to. The product should also be durable and long lasting.

3. Whether you own an iPod or not, you probably have some opinions of this product. What do you feel are its strengths and weaknesses?
I have a 3rd generation mini iPod and a 1st generation iPhone. What I love about the iPod is how it holds thousands of songs in a small and portable device. The battery life is pretty long, and I can navigate through artists and songs with ease because of the wheel feature. I love the iPhone because it has everything I want in one device. It holds all of my music, my email accounts, networking applications, internet, and other cool and random applications. I love being able to look up a movie time at movie theatres near me just by touching an image on the iPhone screen. It's really helpful when I get lost driving and I can click on the map icon and get directions home.
The downfall of these products is that sometimes they freeze or shut down when I don't expect it. Sometimes the internet connection via 3G on the iPhone isn't always fast.
Another frustration is the process of transferring songs from my iPod to iTunes. I bought a new laptop for college, and had a lot of trouble doing this. I still haven't figured out how to transfer all of my songs to my new iTunes library, which also effects my ability to sync songs onto my iPhone so I can't update it with new songs.