ZOOM Page 2
Peace, Happiness, IPod?
When asked by polling institutions, Americans reveal that what
they wish for most in the holiday season 2005 is peace,
happiness and good health. Then, however, a much longer list
of purchasable items follows. Let's see what electronic tools and
gadgets are objects of desire by many Americans this season.
According to some surveys, every third American hopes to get
an item in the category of consumer electronics with the MP3
player being the hottest seller. Following the MP3 player, the
wish list for the respondents
included, in order of
preference: plasma television,
digital camera, laptop PC, big
screen TV, desktop PC, video
game system, high-definition
television, DVD recorder and
home theater speakers or
system.
The average lifespan of the
most popular and already
iconic MP3 player around the
world - the iPod - is about 1.5
years. Older models are most
often handed down to family
members or friends, but they
can also be sold or traded-for
a new one. Some people
actually hunt out-dated
models at Internet auctions
because they like their by
now "retro" look.
The IPod or other MP3 player
owners can use services such
as Apple's iTunes and
Napster for fee-based digital
downloading. They pay per
month for an unlimited
number of songs or for each
track. In 2004 consumers
purchased over 91 million
digital tracks, a 376%
increase from the year before!
Over 35% of Americans aged
12 and older have paid to
download music.
What's in the future for the
electronic gadgets?
According to an article in
Wired magazine, the gadgets of the future will be simpler, that is they will no
longer combine dozens of functions as most people look for just a few in one
product. This applies not only to portable devices but also to computer
software. Moreover, mobile phones are likely to influence our social lives to
an even greater extent. We can expect mapping programs that show us
whether any of our friends are nearby, reference software to look up the
restaurant where we might have a meal, and better functioning voice-
recognition applications.
The RipFlash Pro, left, a flash memory
based combination MP3 player/recorder
and voice recording device, and the
Flipster, a multimedia player from PoGo!
Products, are shown. The Flipster allows
users to watch full motion videos on a full
color display, store and listen to MP3 audio,
view high resolution still mages, record
voice memos and play games. (AP Photo/
Richard Drew)
A player tries ActiVisions Tony Hawks Pro Skater video game
release on the "N-Gage," Nokia's hybrid phone. The Tri-band
EGSM 900/GSM1800/GSM 1900 phone included features:
Bluetooth, digital music player and recorder, stereo FM radio,
MP3, AAC, Midi, WAV ringing tones, and WAP over GPRS.
(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
The Creative Zen Portable Media Center sports 20 gigabytes
of memory and plays loads of multimedia file types, including
WMV, ASF, MPG, AVI, MP3, JPG and a host of others.
(AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
Workers at the Samsung booth of the Consumer Electronics
Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center adjust the world's
largest plasma television, a 102-inch screen prototype, Jan.
5, 2005. The trade show, which attracts 120,000 attendees,
began with a keynote address by Microsoft's Bill Gates.
(AP Photo/Joe Cavaretta)
Kodak's prototype digital camera built in
1975 by Eastman Kodak engineer Steven
J. Sasson, is shown next to Kodak's latest
digital camera, the EasyShare One, at
Kodak headquarters in Rochester, N.Y.,
Aug. 17, 2005. Soon after joining Eastman
Kodak Co. out of college, engineer Steven
J. Sasson spent 10 largely uninterrupted
months in a research lab creating the
world's first digital camera. (AP Photo/David
Duprey)