An iPod For The Queen? A Perfect Gift, Mr. President

Posted by: Arik Hesseldahl on April 01, 2009

Wags in Britain are up in arms about the gift that President Obama, in London for the G20 summit, has given to Queen Elizabeth II: An iPod loaded with video and photographs of her 2007 visit to Richmond, Virginia.

The Drudge Report is giving the gift its typical snarky treatment: “Gift to the Queen: An iPod [And She Already Has One]” reads its headline, implying somehow that perhaps this wasn’t a gift worthy of a queen. It’s not clear from the stories I’ve read so far exactly which model of iPod was given. It would seem that either an iPod classic or an iPod touch would seem the most likely candidates. Her Majesty already has a 2005-vintage iPod Mini.

There will be much thought given to what this gift actually symbolizes. Stodgy Brits have harrumphed that an iPod is unsuitable for a queen, while Americans, many who probably didn’t vote for Obama in the first place, are embarrassed, thinking perhaps he’s made something of a diplomatic faux pas by running out to Best Buy at the last minute to grab an iPod like you would do for a teenager graduating high school. (He also gave her a rare songbook signed by Richard Rodgers. Nothing common about that, as Rodgers is considered musical royalty the world over.) Her gift to the President: A framed photograph of herself and the Duke of Edinburgh, the standard gift for these visits.

This of course comes on the heels of another mild fiasco involving a gift from Obama to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown: A batch of classic American movies on DVD, which, it was revealed, were coded to Region 1 — North America — and therefore unplayable on unmodified DVD players in the UK, aka DVD Region 2. Brown’s gift to Obama, as the Boston Globe notes, was an ornamental pen holder made from the timbers of the Victorian anti-slave ship HMS Gannett, and which was for a time known as HMS President. A fine symbolic gift, indeed.

In light of that, let’s reconsider Obama’s gift to the Queen in the context of the times in which we’re living. First, let’s not forget that the iPod wasn’t handed over empty as if it were fresh from the store. It was loaded with content related to The Queen’s visit to Richmond and Jamestown in 2007. The Queen’s visit to Richmond was a rather momentous one. She came to honor the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Jamestown Colony, which was the first permanent English settlement in what was to become the United States. And Virginia, you’ll remember, was so named by Sir Walter Raleigh in honor of Queen Elizabeth I, who was supposedly a “virgin queen”. All of this is clearly rife with symbolic coincidences.

As ABC White House Correspondent Jake Tapper reported, Among the items loaded onto the iPod are photos and video footage from the Queen’s visits to Richmond, Jamestown and to The White House in 2007 as well as film footage from her visit to Jamestown in 1957. It’s also loaded with some terrific American musical recordings, most of them classic recordings of show tunes: “Tonight” from “West Side Story”; “I Could Have Danced All Night” from “My Fair Lady” and “Seasons of Love” from “Rent.” Between demonstrating to the Queen the importance of her visit in the minds of the American people and how much it was appreciated, coupled with some of the best examples of the American songbook, I think what has been put on this iPod is a perfectly acceptable gift, even for royalty.

Had the President presented the Queen with a handsome book of photographs and writings documenting her visit, and a DVD of video footage (this one, ahem, properly region-coded), this too would have been a perfectly suitable gift, a way of saying “Your visit really meant something to us.” However it would have garnered no headlines or comment whatsoever. The fact that the same content is being conveyed in an iPod is what’s getting the attention.

So now let’s tackle the iPod. What is it, exactly? A uniquely American item, a symbol of the country’s tradition of innovation, ingenuity, creativity, design sensibilities and also of American culture in the early 21st Century. It should be noted here that the iPod itself was designed by Jonathan Ive, a native of Britain whom the queen awarded with the title Commander of the Most Excellent of the British Empire, making it also symbolic of US-UK relations, and of the global economy. Yet, I challenge you to point to one thing other than the Internet itself that has had so broad-sweeping a cultural and economic impact in the US in so short a time. TV, radio and the personal computer all took longer to have their respect impacts. (Last year I argued for the iPod’s long-term cultural impact here.)

Thanks to the iPod, we consume music, video and, more recently, written words in a manner differently than ever before. Practically no form of media has been untouched by its existence. In fact, the queen started making her annual Christmas address on YouTube before our current president started making his weekly addresses to the nation in the same place. Her speeches have also been available as podcasts, though it now appears that the podcast format has been supplanted in favor of YouTube video. And while the queen may not be so savvy on new media’s bleeding edge — she doesn’t yet have a Twitter account, while British Gordon Brown and the UK Parliament do — she and the institution of the monarchy are not exactly behind the times, either.

This week I changed my morning routine and first read not the three newspapers that arrive at my door each day, but the content from those newspapers on Web browser of an iPod touch. I then used it to listen to a radio news broadcast, and then to check my email. The night before, I used it to watch a TV program before falling asleep. My life, and that of millions of others, is different now with an iPod. For this I think the iPod in its various incarnations will be remembered as a defining artifact of the first decade of the 21st century, in a way that radio represents the 1930s and 40s, TV the 50s and 60s, powered flight the 1910s and 20s, and so on. No object more perfectly represents everything that’s good about America at this moment in history.

Moreover, this president loves technology and sees it as a part of the solution to the various difficulties in which we find ourselves. Among the qualities that will help us solve our problems as a nation and a world are ingenuity, creativity, innovative thinking, and no small amount of creative destruction. The iPod is emblematic of all these things and more. It was, after all, during the early stages of another recession that the first iPod emerged. Technology — a lot of it American-invented technology — properly and thoughtfully applied will play a central role in helping the entire world solve a lot of important problems. While the iPod may not save the world, American innovation, which Apple’s iPod so eloquently represents, most certainly will.

With so simple a gift as this iPod he’s expressed America’s appreciation for the queen, for the United Kingdom, and made an important statement of his philosophy as president: That technology isn’t just about entertainment but about solving real problems. The president has, I think, given the Queen the perfect gift.

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Reader Comments

Laurel

April 1, 2009 08:55 PM

you might want to re-read this and check for punctuation, spelling, and capitalization errors.

Robert Brown

April 1, 2009 10:56 PM

It should also be noted that the iPods are primarily designed by Jonathon Ive, Apple Sr. Vice President, and Commander of the British Empire.

Arik Hesseldahl

April 1, 2009 11:36 PM

@Laurel: Thanks

Steven

April 2, 2009 05:47 AM

A very thoughtful piece.

ducdebrabant

April 2, 2009 10:39 AM

It couldn’t have been more appropriate, because the Queen loves showtunes, and in private the royals are said to have little sing-alongs at the piano. The Obamas also gave her a music book signed by Richard Rodgers, the composer of her favorite musical “Oklahoma.” During WWII, the music from “Oklahoma” was played on the radio in Britain, and when the Queen and Prince Charles were courting they would whistle or him “People Will Say We’re in Love” around others as their private signal. The first show from America the British asked the Americans to bring over after the war was “Oklahoma.” The Americans did their homework this time. The Queen bought an Ipod in 2005, but it wasn’t a video Ipod and it didn’t have a touch screen. This one is more high tech. The Gordon Brown gift was a gaffe, but this isn't. I see a lot of the criticism of the gift as politically motivated Republican snark. Can you imagine how they'd huff and puff if he'd given the royal couple signed photographs of himself and the First Lady?

Scott Bauman

April 2, 2009 10:44 AM

Nice piece, but I can't help but thinking that at this point in history - with the current scepter that Mr. Obama wields coming off a truly global celebration (his historic presidency and hope for change) - perhaps it's time for the world to start asking what she gave to him. If we're going to walk around saying that this is a watershed time for us with radical change across our planet, to global economics and the overall human condition, then I'd say we should expect to see something different here too.

Ruth Mott

April 2, 2009 11:47 AM

The job of a good journalist is to help us see the depth and meaning of events in ways we many not have thought of ourselves. I did (and do) think the iPod was a great gift as was the song-book. This piece helps me see just what a great "call" it was! My 2-cents - It isn't just the American/Anglo tie-in, or a highlight of American technology. It also shows some humor and whimsy. A win all around, I'd say.

Alistair Pander

April 2, 2009 11:30 PM

Forget Barack's iPod for the queen - how about Michelle's iTouch for her majesty: http://is.gd/qqvF (woot!)

Michael Barrick

April 3, 2009 12:42 AM

What both the British and American press are completely missing here is that Queen Elizabeth is also the Queen of Canada. The CBC had a national call out to listeners in November and December to suggest songs representative of Canada to load on an iPod to be given to President Obama at his inauguration. It seems pretty clear to me, as a Canadian, that this is very much a gift-in-kind for *Canada's* official head of state.

ATL-9

April 3, 2009 11:07 AM

When I think of gifts to be given to heads of state or in this case the Queen of England, I think of unique things that will be remembered for generations to come.

These items are typically passed down and talked about long after the recipient and the giver of the gift are gone. After all, we still talk about and use the Resolute desk given to President Hayes by Queen Victoria and I've seen the gifts from foreign heads-of-state given to Jack and Jackie during his Presidency on display at the Kennedy Library for all to admire.

These gifts are not only things that endure the test of time but typically are custom-made with a great deal of thought and symbolism put into their selection.

In my opinion, this gift and the DVD given to Gordon Brown are thoughtless and tacky. While an iPod may epitomize this "moment" in consumer electronics history, it hardy seems a thoughful gift or one that will endure. It is an embarassment to all Americans that our new President didn't put more effort into gifts for the Queen and Prime Minister of the Nation that is our closest political ally. After all, anybody can pick up an iPod at the airport. Anything that can be acquired so easily isn't unique or special and shouldn't be considered appropriate for the occasion.

Eric Corrington

April 3, 2009 01:37 PM

iPods are run on ARM chips, and ARM is the only British tech company in the world today (as a former employee, ARM really does love holding that distinction). An iPod for the Queen then becomes a gift with a more subtle hint of British-American ties beyond the Ivie-Apple connection.

Arik Hesseldahl

April 3, 2009 05:23 PM

@ATL-9: Fair enough. But the Queen's gift to Obama....A framed picture of herself and Prince Phillip, no different than that given anyone else. Nothing memorable about that. The content /on/ the iPod makes a big statement I think.

@Eric Corrington: Good point. I had forgotten about the ARM cores in so many of the chips inside the iPod and iPhone. Good memory!

Patrick Ryan

April 3, 2009 05:28 PM

I still think the media (as well as President Obama) is overlooking a very important technical limitation of this gift; that is, long-term, without the computer and software that was used to create it,the gift fails.

If, as reported, she already uses an iPod, she obviously uses iTunes to download, save, or backup content. The fact that she now has an iPod created with another instance of iTunes makes the gift almost worthless (regardless of the content) unless she decides to either overwrite her iTunes library or, overwrite the "new" iPod.

She may elect never to sync the iPod in order to back up the content. However, if this is the case, she better hope that this particular iPod does not suffer any technical glitches other iPods the world over tend to do once in awhile.

I suppose she could send it back to the White House for syncing and/or software updates...

Jobs Save the Queen?

mi mom

April 4, 2009 08:51 PM

A Video iPod for a reigning monarch who has enough money to buy anything she wants? $249 US. A video iPod pre loaded with vintage videos and favorite music from a self proclaimed techno geek and ruler of the free world? Priceless!!!!!

Boobal Shawlands

April 7, 2009 06:11 PM

Change is what we need, to adapt and survive in an ever changing world. It is neccessary and usually good. If we stick in the mud about everything we'll rot. Also, it is nice that something recently making an impact the world over has been honoured and celebrated in such a way, by such important people. Wonderful. More please! :o)

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