Students- Sony Walkmen MP3 Player or The Apple I-pod

The Sustainable Technology I will be discussing about in this report is the Sony Entertainment System; Sony Walkmen. I will be talking about how much of an impact it has on society today and will continue to do so in the future, I will also be talking about the political and finical side of this technology. In addition to this I will give a small prediction of what the Sony Walkmen would be like in the future.

The name Walkmen was invented by Sony from a man known as Nobutoshi Kihara from Japan in the year 1979. Sony Walkmen invented the MP3 player. This is a small portable audio device which can be used by everyone everywhere. The reason why I chose this topic is because music is a big factor in the world today, being a student my target are other students. After doing a presentation on this and asking other students questions it came to my attention that at least 80% of students own an MP3 player. What I wish to find out is what makes an MP3 player better than an I-Pod. At first my personal conclusion was that students have more I-pods than MP3 players, however when it came to do my presentation my conclusion was incorrect, in being so my research continued to why students have an MP3 player than an I-pod. Looking at the features on an I-pod it has more than a Sony Walkmen MP3 player.

I-Pod Features:
 Plays both audio and video
 Holds a lot more than an MP3 player
 Comes in different colours and sizes
 Play list can be made
 The scroll to move from song to song
 Stores image files
 Battery life last for more than a day
All these features are important in both an MP3 player and an I-pod. An I-pod has all these features yet students still prefer to purchase the Sony Walkmen.

This brings me to my next point, being a student there are certain responsibilities that I and other students have, one of these is the financial side. Super stores such as Currys, Argos and Comet sell these two products however both at different prices.

Apple I Pod Sony MP3 player

Argos £99.00 £49.99
Currys £99.00 £44.99
Comet £99.00 £44.99
I had to undertake research and above shows the results. As it shows all the superstores sell the I-pod at one price and the Sony MP3 player at a different price. Price is very important, me personally an MP3 player does everything I need it to do. Play music and store it. This is what most students need.
In addition to this research with the Sony Walkmen, the music is stored via a memory stick. All the user needs to do is plug the MP3 player into the computer or laptop and synchronize the music to the device. Whereas with the I-pod, I-tunes software is needed. The disadvantage to this is the fact this can only work when a computer or laptop has I-tunes.

Knowing what the disadvantage is with the I-pod and how much it cost in superstores, clearly students would buy the cheapest option which is the Sony Walkmen. However it is known that all technology there is something wrong with it, this is why new technology is made, a prime example for this would be Battery Life. If customers complain that the technology cannot last long than a new model would be developed. Between these two technologies there is competition with each other, this means new technology will be made constantly each one trying to keep up with one another. Sony MP3 players has n impact politically, its all a society matter. Whether students choose to purchase the product, it becomes an option.

Sony Walkmen in the future, from what it is today in the next 20 or 30 years it will be completely different. My opinion the name will change, size shape and colour. Students then wouldn’t look at what the cheaper option is, they would look at what it can do. This means that prices change and more importantly personal opinions could change. The audio sector has many competitions, for example the Sony MP3 player and the Apple I-pod. Additionally to this, almost every student has a mobile phone which holds audio formats which acts like an MP3 player. Looking into the future technology will change rapidly and so would the price. Once a new MP3 player is brought out and ready to be sold then the price of the current Walkmen would have dropped down. In doing this report I asked a couple of students what they would do if Sony had launched a new MP3 player, whether they would go out and buy it. There response was No. There reasons were both the same, as new technology is introduced to the retail market the price of that product is high. This is why they would not consider to buy it. Now I asked them if they did not carry an MP3 player, would they go out and purchase the latest one. The answer I got was Yes. Despite the price and how expensive it may be.
The Apple I-pod in the next 20-30 years, a personal opinion it will not exist, however if it still does then I would have to say it would be in some what like a small computer. Similar to a PDA however the difference would be the fact that it will have more memory and it shall be handheld. Looking at technology today, the best technologies are the smallest technology, for example:
 Laptops
 I-pods
 MP3 player
 Mobile phones
 Digital camera
And many more.
The Sony MP3 player is on more of a global scale than a national scale, simply because it can be used all around the world. On a national scale two major countries stand out in particular, America and England. Recently Sony has launched a new MP3 player model, this product has been shipped in through Japan to The United States and will be launched in England in summer 2008. This new model is an MP3 player with a digital memory stick. This technology can hold up to over 2000 songs, images and video clips. Despite launching a new technology, the Sony MP3 player has a good response both nationally but more importantly globally. America and England are two countries which has a large population meaning a lot of people would purchase the technology. Having a set target like students, most students hold an MP3 player of some sort so it shows that launching new technology benefits both company and society.
In the long run this sustainable technology will carry on until a new source of portable audio device is made.

Everything on this report does not give me the answer in which I want. Why do students prefer to have an MP3 player than an I-pod?
Unfortunately all the research I done to get me this far, I am still clueless about it. However the conclusion I drew up from this report is the fact that Students prefer the cheaper option because of the responsibility they carry financially.
Portable audio devices will continue to grow in the future. Used by everyone not only for a social purpose but also for a business use. Business in the sense that I-pod’s could be used for a video conference from branch to branch.

We are all yet to see what both companies have in store for the future. This continues to be a waiting game.

Reference List

www.sony.co.uk/mp3
www.apple.com
http://www.zdnet.co.uk/search/index.htm?ss=relv&c=&q=sony+mp3+player&submit.x=0&submit.y=0
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony