« Knowing Which Way the Wind Blows | Main | Headsets and Earpieces »

Surprise, Delight

Picked up a iRiver U10 on last trip to Korea. The purchasing experience in the iRiver shop was pretty good and included a demonstration by a knowledgeable member of staff. The device plays video (along with about a dozen other features), which is relatively easy proposition for consumers to understand. It is presented in an optional stand which for me had considerable 'come play with me' emotional pull, followed by delight in the way that the device ejected from the stand, and the puckered mammal face, above.

A few downsides on the out-of-the-box-experience. Everything in the package - cables, device, individual straps and even an 8 page manual came in a separate box within the box which was complete overkill. The boxes were desiged so it wasn't clear what was inside each one. The install CD design (just the design, not the software on it) was a complete rip of Apple iPod installer CD. And the box included a sticker informing the purchaser not to throw away the box without checking the bottom of the box packaging for a hidden pouch. Adding the pouch was clearly an afterthought followed by badly corrective design.

Writing from Seoul | November 1, 2005 | Permalink