What makes devices like the mini and the TiVo so exceptional? The New York Times takes a stab at why people are so enamored by these "simple" devices.
While each are arguably not the leader of their respective markets when it comes to features or price points, they've both created cult followings that marketing departments drool over. Why is it that Apple is consistently successful with products like the nano and the mini? Simplicity and ease of use is apparently the key:
Less than five minutes after I had taken the mini out of its box, I was sitting at my desk typing on my usual keyboard, looking at the usual flat-panel display, automatically connected to the Internet through the usual Wi-Fi link, with pages coming out of the usual printer - but now I was using Mac software, under the Apple operating system OSX. No configuration was required for anything. With more serious jiggering, you can set up a system that, with the turn of a switch, lets you go back and forth between displaying what's on your PC and what's on your Mac.
James Fallows goes on to explain why the TiVo and a two pieces of software, BrainStorm and ResultsManager fit the same mold. The reasons are the same, their designers and publishers took the time to make their products work logically from a customer's point of view. Do our readers share the same thoughts? Is the mini popular because Apple made it easy to adopt, or is it simply because it's priced below a particular threshold?