Verbalism Personified

Excuse me lady, is that an iPod?

Posted Sunday 2 May 2004

Three weeks ago, on an MRT train to somewhere, I spied four guys with iPods. Total strangers to each other, they were much absorbed in their music. One was standing with his eyes closed as we sped through the underground tunnel. For a moment, it seemed that our carriage was twisting and rocking in tune to whatever he was listening to. While the others concealed their iPods in their bags, this guy clipped his to his jeans. The signature design of his iPod and the white of his in-ear headphones made him stand out from the other MP3 trotting dudes out there.

But what about the dudettes? Where are the chic female Mac Users trotting chic gear?

Have you ever looked around and wondered where they are? From most of the Macintosh Meet Up photos, there is nary a gal in sight. Just boys with their toys. Sure, you may spy envious looks from the ladies sitting at wireless joints with their boyfriends when you walk in with an iBook or PowerBook. However that doesn’t seem to translate into market share.

It can be argued that this is predominantly a guy and geek thing. Even worse, given Apple’s product pricing and market share in Singapore, the proportion of gals trotting Macintoshes and iPods would be significantly less.

On a bus a couple of days ago, I spied a gal with an iPod. A business-looking type dressed in executive garb. With white headphones plugged into her ears as she stared out the window, her music had obviously taken her far away from the crowded bus we were on. Her glazed-over eyes blinked when I asked if she was using an iPod. Half expecting her to frown at me for interrupting her sojourn, she pulled the left side of her ear free and we spoke for a while.

Working as an event manager, she was well aware that her choice of platform would stand out from her PC trotting colleagues. But it has never been an inconvenience as her company is predominantly a Microsoft shop. All her appointments and such were stored and synced between MS Entourage on her 15 inch Aluminum PowerBook, iPod and Sony Ericsson T630. She did not elaborate much but she seemed like a power user. So why did she switch?

Was it Apple’s branding? Partly. She said that Apple’s brand recognition has increased over the years. Whenever she whips out her PowerBook, the light bulbs go on in her PC clients’ heads. “Ah! You use Apple!” she’d be complimented. “Wah! I know about Mac. Can use meh?” they’d ask sometimes. So branding is not the issue. But if Apple’s products are instantly recognized, what was stopping people from switching? Cost is not an issue either, as her colleagues and clients are definitely above means. It was simple, she told me. Convenience, as everyone else, their company, clients were all on MS Windows. Peer pressure from family and friends. Yes, believe it! General fear of the unknown with issues like networking, cross-platform compatibility to a lack of informed choices, are major stumbling blocks to the increased Macintosh uptake. Games were not an issue for her.

Was it Apple’s looks? She admitted that Apple wasn’t her first choice. She had wanted a Sony Vaio. But however chic looking a Sony Vaio was, it was still running on MS Windows. That was something that she, being a Windows User for most of her life, wanted to move away from. Virus infestation, bug and security patches galore were the well-worn push factors. Apple’s pull factor, to her at least, was the sexiness of OS X, iTunes integration with her cool iPod and design of its products. Things that you and I already know about.

Was it that hard? She got herself educated with repeated visits to her Apple dealer and by asking a lot of the right questions. It must have been her charm and looks that prompted an immediate response. And as she learned, she had fun. As a result, she knows about formatting, partitioning, installing, disk and file maintenance and so on. Well actually, the idea to partition is a carry-over from her PC days. Not that she is a closet geek but when her life is run from her PowerBook, she runs a tight ship.

Other than that, she goes out, has fun with her family and friends. She did entertain the idea of attending Meet Ups but decided that she was doing just fine for now. More than being the main thing in her life, her Mac is a part of it. And she likes the way it helps her organize. So if she ever wanted to attend any of our Meet Ups, she’ll be the one finding us instead.

As we parted company, I knew that I should have asked for her number.

posted by Teutoburg @ 1:25 AM