3, The Magic Number

3 is the magic number designating the generation of each Apple devices that i own.  why is this so special?  it’s probably more coincidental than anything else, but when i look deeply into it waiting for the 3rd generation of Apple products have benefited me with the most feature rich products, and future-proofing - that is to say the longest lasting, most used devices.

i have outlined three particular Apples products that i own.  my thinking behind waiting for the 3rd gen, and how proceeding generations in my mind wasn’t worth the immediate upgrade.

MY FIRST IPOD IS 3RD GEN

when Apple released their first MP3 player, the iPod, i drooled over it thinking this was the best thing ever.  compact design, simple, clean controls, intuitive menu navigation, and firewire connectivity.  of all the digital players on the market to get this was holy grail of them all. however, i never bought it, because the highest storage capacity available was 10GB.  i wanted to carry my entire music library - which was 20BG in size.  plus i couldn’t afford one at the time.

a year later Apple released the second gen iPod which appeared the same as the fist except the control wheel was touch sensitive, and an increase of storage capacity of 20GB.  my library had increased i little so i figured i sit this one out.

it wasn’t until the 3rd gen iPod came out that i decided to get it.  the storage capacity was 30GB.  the design was so cleaner, and simpler than before.  the bonus: complete touch sensitive controls.  nothing was mechanical except for the hard drive.  the front panel glowed once touched.  scrolling through the library was quick and effortless.  the first true iPod Touch.  this - by far - was the best iPod ever! i kept it with me so many years.  to this day i still have it.  it’s been retired from it’s normal use, but i have yet to loose it, or sell it, and i hope to never do.

the proceeding generation iPods were nicely designed, with increasing storage, color screen, and additional features including video play back & photo viewing.  but the major flaw i felt was the introduction of the click-wheel.  i didn’t care much for it.  i understand why Apple went with it; it was an effort to achieve minimalism by incorporating the buttons into the wheel. esthetically sound, but functionally ungraceful.  no thanks, i’ll stick to my 3rd gen.

MY FIRST IPHONE IS 3RD GEN

when Apple released their first iPhone i was very impressed. the design, simplicity, and cool factor would have been enough to get me to ditch my carrier and buy one.  except for one problem - the storage was just not enough.  the most you could get was 8GB - i needed more than that - and Apple wanted too much for it.

the 2nd gen iPhone was redesigned, given some spec bump with support for 3G.  the only problem that kept me from jumping this was - again - storage capacity.  the most one could get with this model was 16GB.  for some reason it just wasn’t enough for me.  so i skipped this one as well.

it wasn’t until the 3GS model came out that i felt good about.  with the highest storage capacity of 32GB (plenty of storage to capably handle all my apps, music, photos, and videos), a 3MP camera, and a digital compass - among other things - this was the iPhone to buy, so i did.  and to this day i still have it and use it heavily.  also i have managed to upgrade iOS from the original v3 to the current version (v5.01) without any issues, and with negligible loss of functionality from the OS itself (no Siri, who cares).

the iPhone 4 is a thing of beauty, but with issues surrounding the dropped signals, shattered glass, and no increase of storage from 32GB to satisfy large media files from 5MP photos & 720p videos, it just didn’t appeal to me.

the iPhone 4S feels more like Apple’s attempt to correct their mistakes from the iPhone 4 (much like Microsoft’s 7 from Vista).  some of the corrections include a redesigned antenna, and increased storage to 64GB. the 4S would be an ideal upgrade for me if Apple weren’t so close to releasing their iPhone 5 (6th gen).

MY FIRST IPOD NANO IS 3RD GEN

when Apple released the first iPod nano i - as always - was very impressed how they managed to design an MP3 player so small and slim.  but i never bought one cause it looked too delicate.  if i took it to the gym it could snap in half.  plus with the armbands available for it, i didn’t feel that it would very comfortable to wear at the gym.  but the main issue that stopped me from getting it was - again - storage.  maximun capacity was 2GB.  i mean, come on!

the second gen had a solid build design, but wasn’t really anything to jump for joy over. not gonna bother writing anything else about it.

when Apple released the 3rd gen nano, i went out and bought one without hesitation.  i love this little iPod. it’s small, thin, square’ish, and fits comfortably with an armband even with the Nike+ dongle attached. i bought the 8GB model and filled it with all my upbeat music.  it was my little gym buddy for over two years.

what the F..K did Apple do to the nano with the 4th/5th gen?!!!  it’s so F’ing stupid.  why?!!!  Apple included a widescreen format diplay with the 4th, and video recording to the 5th - which was horrible at recording videos.

the 6th gen the nano got back to being square and small.  i actually like it, and would consider getting one if i needed one.  still, it’s no 3rd gen.  especially when Apple added useless features such as photo viewing with a tiny screen.  just make it a music player with Nike+.  nothing more.

so there i have it;

my first iPod is 3rd gen.
my first iPhone is 3rd gen.
my first iPod nano is 3rd gen.

do you see the pattern here?


peace,
@riel


continue with "3rd Gen, More Coincidental Than A Rule"