Quote:
Originally Posted by Trollheart
What is it with ipods and headphones? They're the only ones in my experience that have the headphone jack at the BOTTOM of the player, so that no matter how you do it, your ipod is going in upside down. Why? Most mp3 players, even the old walkmans, have slots at the top or at least the side. What genius in Apple thought putting the jack underneath would be a good idea???
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This confuses me.
I will explain why:
Assuming by "going in" you mean a pocket or some other holding mechanism that is covered and not being held, why would it matter that it's upside down? iPods are symmetrical, therefore it cannot be a comfort issue.
So are we talking about the position of the iPod when it is being pulled out? The only scenario I can think of that would benefit from a device having the headphone connection being on top is a breast pocket of a shirt. Which would mean that you're probably pulling it out via the cord itself, which is not advisable in the long term, as those cords are typically very thin and very sensitive to tension. Simply placing the hands around the device in a natural fashion to remove it from any pockets other than a breast pocket facilitates a relatively optimal position of the device at the end of its trajectory to the desired readable position, assuming the other hand is free to assist. Whether more people store iPods in their shirt's top pocket than lower pockets, pants pockets, carry bags and the rare fanny pack is a statistic I would assume Apple ended up basing their design decision on if we are to assume that the headphone jack placement was not simply an arbitrary decision.
Assuredly, Apple did not assume that the majority of their target demographic had wardrobes that consisted solely of shirts with top pockets.
Also, since we cannot see the device while it's in a pocket, readability cannot be the issue. So I'm assuming it's not that. Moving on.
Are we talking about the iPod being placed on a flat surface in front of you? If so, it seems to me that the headphone jack placement being on the bottom is the most optimal position if your head happens to be also attached right-side-up. Regardless of angle parallel to your face, a headphone jack positioned on the bottom is preferable. Unless you pick up your iPod via the cable. Which, again, is not a habit I would pick up.
Are you the percentage of people that Apple has regarded as the ones that will simply have to suffer the hardship of using a semi-unnatural positioning scheme in order to extract their iDevice from their pocketed shirts, in order to appeal to the larger likelihood of being more convenient to those who may not find themselves in the same predicament?
Or is there something I'm not thinking of?