Questão 3377

(PUC-Rio - 2008)

IPOD'S GROOVY FACTOR

            With more than 90 million players sold ⁹worldwide since its introduction in 2001, the iPod has given rise to a lucrative accessories industry. ¹At least 3,000 types of iPod extras have received Apple's blessing - mostly ²no-nonsense options like cases, earbuds and amplified speaker systems, including the $300 SoundDock line made by Bose.

            But another trend is developing, ³one more ¹⁰playful and not always with Apple's consent or knowledge, Call ⁴it iSilly, a growing number of products in which fun is emphasized over function. All of these items, some costing as little as $10, have been created to plug into an iPod - or, in many cases, any audio source ⁵that has a standard 3.5-millimeter headphone jack.

            Last fall, KNG America released an animated robotic D.J. complete with spinning turntables and stereo speakers that flash with blue L.E.D. lights. Called FUNKit, the ¹¹device, ⁶which costs about $100, is designed specifically for the iPod. When a player is attached, it becomes the head and upper body of the D.J. that rocks to the music, shouting phrases like "drop the beat," as ⁷its right arm scratches a faux record.

            ⁸"People looked and saw the popularity of the iPod and tried to figure out how to capitalize on it, like those scavenger fish that swim under sharks," said Shelly Hirsch, a toy industry marketing specialist and chief executive of the Beacon Media Group.

            Greg Joswiak, vice president of iPod product marketing for Apple, said the ¹²growing number of products designed to plug into an iPod helps prove that the iPod has become "a cultural phenomenon." "If you look at it from the consumers' standpoint, they have a consumer electronic product that becomes more valuable over time. We're adding these accessories, adding capabilities", he said.   

            Any speaker accessory that attaches to the iPod by way of the proprietary 30-pin connector in the player's base must be licensed by Apple, he noted. Those that do, including the FUNKit, can usually also permit full control of the iPod through the speaker systems and charge iPods' batteries.

            Those that do not, and are not counted as official iPod accessories, are "less interesting," Mr. Joswiak said. ¹⁴That judgment has not ¹³dissuaded toymakers like Lee Schneider, president of the Commonwealth Toy & Novelty Company, a major maker of plush animals and dolls.

            "We look at not only the toy business, but what's happening in the world, and the trends in the marketplace, from a fashion standpoint, from a technological standpoint," said Mr. Schneider, surrounded by shelves of ¹⁵battery-powered flora and fauna in his company's Manhattan showroom. "We then take and see how we can interpret these trends into fun trends that children and young adults would love to have." [...]

By Michel Marriott The New York Times, February 2007

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