What happens when a secondary function of a product is so good that
it becomes the primary reason for purchase among a customer
demographic? Tim is joined by special guests Mike and Keith for a
discussion of iRiver's IFP-800 (top of photo) and IFP-700 series
(bottom) of digital audio players/recorders. iRiver designed the
MP3 recording for these units so well that many people use them
purely as portable MP3 recorders, not players.
iRiver also created two form factors for one product with the IFP
series, so we discuss each industrial designs' relative merits. As
always, you can find pictures of the designs discussed at www.designcritique.net
(Note: the wide angle lens made the 700 look wider than the 800. It
isn't.)