Take Apple’s decision to make iPod headphones white. When Apple first introduced the iPod, there was lots of competition in the digital music player space. Diamond Multimedia, Creative, Compaq, and Archos all offered players, and music on one company’s device couldn’t easily be transferred to another. Further, it wasn’t clear which, if any, of these competing standards would stick around, and whether it was worth switching from a portable CD player or Walkman to buy this new, expensive device. But because most devices came with black headphones, Apple’s white headphone cords stood out.
