Past Concept

MP3-PLAYER

The past concept I will discuss is the MP3-Player. This is a device that is able to save and play music. The MP3-Player first appeared in 1987. It was invented in Germany by a company called Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, that started a research for coding music with high quality and low bit rate. (Verma) Only in 1998 was the introduction of the MP3-Player on the market. The company Seahan, located in southern Korea was responsible for this. The device had a space for 32 Megabytes. (Wikipedia)

It was a significant invention for the company, because it made them able to sell music files easier and in bigger amounts. The company was able to sell the
MP3-player, because there was a need of consumers to bring their music with them in a smaller device and with a high quality. No disk or cassettes were
necessary anymore, which resulted in even more convenience. This was a significant development for the consumer, but which need of Maslow's pyramid was satisfied by the MP3-Player?

Having an MP3-Player caused people to get respect from others and to feel a sense of confidence about themselves. Therefore, I believe the esteem-need was satisfied with the MP3-Player. However, as I mentioned above it was also the needs for a portable music playing device that did not need any cassettes or disks that were satisfied with this concept. In the trend pyramid I will focus on the needs of Maslow. At the bottom of the trend pyramid digitalization is stated. Without this trend it would not be possible to have made a MP3-Player. The mega-trend, digitalization,  focusses on the society.