Core77

B&O goes Apple?

By Aart van Bezooijen - December 30, 2005

in Object Culture

A fair question considering the PowerMac G5 like perforated brushed aluminium case and the iPod-style clickwheel at the top of the radio. Agree or not, take a look yourself at Bang&Olufsen presenting the new BeoSound 3 (with my poor Japanese I just clicked 'Beosound3' top-left).

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Thomas Rohr Pedersen

19 years ago

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I'm pleased to see all these people acknowledge and defend the fine design & ideas produced by B&O for generations. And as mentioned by others, I've also see Apples clear inspiration from B&O, like e.g. the clickwheel from BeoCom 6000 (I bought mine in 98). Since Steve Jobs is a man of extremely good taste and vision, I do understand his admiration of the B&O products. No shame in that. Actually this inspiration is exactly why I've switched all PC and MP3 equipment into Apple.
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Jesper Fagerlund

19 years ago

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Actually, B&O had some sort of clickwheel on their phone BeoCom6000, that was out before the iPod saw daylight. Inspiration is everywhere, right? See www.bang-olufsen.com
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Thomas Mach

19 years ago

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This kind of clickwheel was actually seen on B&o's products long before Apple used it.
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Byte

19 years ago

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Frankly - don't you think it's the other way round - Apple goes B&O ??

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Sam

19 years ago

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Perhaps we should stop and consider: maybe Apple is going B&O? Via FastCompany: "Indeed, Bang & Olufsen's problem isn't that Lewis is too demanding or Sorensen too yielding. No, it's that other electronics manufacturers are starting to think like they do. Apple's iPod is a case in point. Bang & Olufsen had already deployed touch-wheel technology in a CD player, and it already had an MP3 player--just not the two together--when Apple unleashed Jonathan Ive's masterwork in 2001." Also the perforated front of the BeoSound 3 is an evolution of the BeoSound 1 grill, which also has a display behind it. Everyone loves Apple design, and maybe someday they will have a patent on the rounded rectangle, but lets not forget companies like B&O have understood the power of design well before the iPod blew our minds.
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Jiri

19 years ago

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but then again ofcourse we know B&O are the originators of both the clickwheel and the perforated grille(in different colours anodized aluminium, as followed by the mini, and with backmounted display, as followed by many casemodders), not apple...
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Nick

19 years ago

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more here: http://www.bang-olufsen.com/web2/beosound3prelaunch/
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