Apple's New Snowboard iPod Jacket Builds On Sony MiniDisk Jacket

by , 11:00 AM EST, January 8th, 2003

If you look at the index page of Burton.com, the front page shows sponsored rider Keir Dillon sporting the new collaboration between Burton and Apple. The Amp jacket is a very cool piece of outerwear. Featuring GORE-TEX waterproof breathable fabric with fully taped seams, in addition to functional snowboarding features and the iPod functions, the Amp jacket isn't just sexy, it's functional.

Fantastic, you say? We would have to agree. Except that Steve Jobs, in his keynote, seemed to indicate that this jacket was the first of its kind. Is it? Burton created the Analog Clone MD Jacket (Analog is a division of Burton Snowboards). In what appears to be a partnership with both Sony and SOFTswitch, the Analog Clone MD jacket includes the actual Sony Net MZ-N1 MD Walkman Player/Recorder, integrated into the jacket itself (US$999). The Amp is sold without the iPod (US$499).

Headphones and an MD player are just as essential to some riders as their snowboard and season pass. With the introduction of Burton's breakthrough Analog Clone MD jacket, riders will get two things they want in one – a killer jacket and MD player integrated into a single system. Burton Snowboards is the first and only company to introduce a jacket with a built-in sound system.

Both jackets utilize the SOFTswitch technology, which integrates the controls for the music player into the fabric of the jacket. The Analog Clone MD definitely came first in this contest of chicken and egg. Heading over to SOFTswitch Electronic Fabrics, one can find the Burton press release for the Analog Clone MD jacket is available, dated 10 July 2002. Later, in the 18 November 2002 issue of Time Magazine, the Analog Clone MD is named one of Time's best inventions of 2002.

The Mac Observer Spin:

In this case, the Clone came first, which we find entertaining.