iPod dreams

I wish Apple still made iPods. I regret not buying one when they started to discontinued these amazing devices. In my opinion it was a bad business move. I’m sure there is a market for people who still would buy a iPod device to keep in their car or in their gym bag to use solo at the gym or on a walk or a for a hike to escape the everyday hustle of life and its over connectivity.

I still have my matt black square iPod 8 GB nano third generation with the square screen and the click wheel navigation. I think it was the best Apple iPod device ever made. It is a work horse cuz for its entire life it has been use a minimum of 3hrs a day up to 8 hrs or 16hrs easy since day one. My daily gym routine of 2-3 hrs daily, getting me through 1 hr of stair climber and my motivation through my 1-2 hr lifting routines. It lived with me in architecture school and was working at all hrs of the day and night into the early morning hours. Music was my life line for the weeks going into mid terms and finals where all us students were rigorously trying to grow our ideas into fruition on little to no sleep and creating physically models of our building designs to present to a group of architects that would critique our work. My ipod playing for hours while trying to learn new computer programs and practicing them and creating new designs. Playing for hours in my studios as I created art and fashion and building design. Years of playing music for hours and still working stronger then ever.

I love my old Nano 3rd gen more than my iPhone. You can’t get lost in your work or loose yourself in your creativity with your iPhone while it can get calls and notifications. Disturbing your rhythm and distracting you. It really messes up my freedom. I really don’t think Steve Jobs intended his tech to become so invasive in our lives. I feel a complete different workflow with going into my art studio using my nano disconnected from the world then I do with my iPhone constantly breaking up the flow of music with notifications unless I turn my iPhone on airplane mode. But then if there’s and emergency during that time no one can get a hold of me. That’s a problem that doesn’t need to exist. My solution is bring back the iPod.

I have hit a new zone of being overwhelmed with to much time distracted by our smartphones and their apps. It came to my realization that I was being plugged in too long I have gone on a social media detox and after a few months I find myself wanting less. Like Mies Van der Rohe stated “less is more” an architect of the modern moment. I want separation the way people cellphones and music were separated before Apple and the iPhone married them together. I want choice again. The choice to have both devices. I want to have the choice to feel a little more freedom.

Bring back the iPod like the :

iPod nano (3rd generation) with the

* Navigation: Click Wheel

* Capacity: 256 GB, 512 GBor 1 TB

* Headphone jack: To use wired headphones

I am one who loves music and I buy Apple Music. I connect to my car and play music. I connect to my speakers in my art studio and in my house to play music. I plug in my head phones and go for a walk. I plug in when I workout. What really disappoints me about my iPhone having my music is when I try a disconnect at the gym or on a walk or on a hike or on a bike ride; my music gets interrupted and breaks my zen. Especially if there is a group text thread that gets active messaging at the time. It breaks my “ME” time. In a world were we are being pulled in ever direction in an attention economy my “ME” time is super valuable. Especially when I am riding my bicycle and my phone is in my pocket or in my backpack and a call is coming in or a notification. So I learned to put my phone in airplane mode when I use it in those moments where I want no distractions. But sometimes I forget and I have to stop what I am doing and pull the phone out and set it on airplane mode. I rather take my old iPod nano rather than my current iPhone. I never get distracted or disturbed for that time period while I use it. Another great thing the Nano is smaller and lighter and works like new.

We been sold that this idea that our lives are easier if everything is on one device. It is and It’s not. It’s more opportunity to distract and procrastinate and trigger my ADD tendencies. Then there are the stresses over data and storage. I’m sure many people max out their data while they are trying to get that photo but there is no more room on their phone. I’m sure you tried to make an apple purchase of a new song but there is no more room for adding it to your library of music on your device. In that moment your scrolling through things looking for something to delete and make room.

I need some separation these days. I want to take music on a run without worries of the song being interrupted from a notification of an app or a text or a phone call breaking my “ME” time in a world where we are all over loaded and overwhelmed with too much trying to steel our attention. I need 30mins to 2 hrs of no disturbance and definitely no notifications.

I think that’s why we are seeing trends of people moving to old flip phones or giving up social media or doing digital detoxes and why people are picking up old digital cameras or looking at old music devices like tapes and vinyl records. People have been so over whelmed by over connectivity they are reaching for things that are helping them unpluged or ways to disconnect themselves for an hour or two.

I personally hope the iPod makes a comeback. I honestly think it would be in the interest of Apple and their shareholders to stop concentrating on putting their devices on a diet and recreating newer slimmer versions. Get back to innovated ideas of Steve Jobs where he message about holding a device holding 100000 song in your pockets and comparing it to a walkman moment. There is something about that thought after years of the iPhone used that has a possible similar idea about tech that is old after years of its conception. Bring back the music players as its own entity. The option of music is now being sold as part of an existing product. Like A/C in a car an option that comes with it anyway. Make it its own special thing that it was when it was reinvented by Steve Jobs and presented to the world in California. its the car not its options. Sell it a an escape to solitude from an overwhelming competitive world that is fighting for your attention. I have always been a diehard apple supporter and their products since art school. I just love their designs and how the products work intuitively with the way I think. There innovation like the Vision Pro. Absolutely amazing and waiting for a ‘Ready Player One’ world. But I really would love to see a new iPod like the nano 3rd generation without all the features in the iPhone or iPad they put in later generations. I think the world is yearning for a little old school simplicity. Like the man said “less is more”-Mies Van der Rohe.