Do you know the recent case of Apple iPod nano causing fire in Japan? What do you think about it? Obviously one cannot say that a company like Apple can produce a cheap iPod. Then what was the root cause of it? Well, the answer is related to another most obvious case of “Sony’s exploding laptop batteries” that occurred in 2006. Yes, batteries are the key concern. It is not outside appearance that matters every time. The arrangement of chips and layout in portable devices are subject to increasing destruction.
Howard Nuk, the creative director of design consultant Frog Design, says that the challenge for designers isn’t simply to make smaller products. There is more risk when it comes to design more innovative product. However he says that designers put effort into testing new products before it is launched. This means that a person cannot blame the company for making a cheap iPod.
However Marijana Vukicevic, senior analyst of power management at iSuppli, contradicts the same statement. She states that Apple when tries to innovate a new form they detach themselves from tried-and-true methods that are known to be reliable. She is particularly concerned with how portable devices handle heat. She doesn’t say that Apple makes cheap iPod but she explains that when a company makes constant change in a device it leaves less possibility to prove that design to be safe. It seems Nuk does not agree with her as he added, “if designers spend too much time testing a product for safety, technology would be at a standstill. Anything new definitely opens itself up to more risk, but without risk there's no reward,” but Nuk, does that mean inviting fire and blasts everywhere?
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