Obama gives queen an iPod (she already has two)
"Her majesty is far more down with technology than other ones might think."
(Credit: CC TF Duesing/Flickr)Imagine the Queen of England hitching up her tartan skirt and twirling around one of the large, but I'm guessing cold, drawing rooms at Buckingham Palace with U2's "In the Name of Love" transmitted down her earholes via characteristic white earphones.
Yes, President Obama has just gifted the queen an iPod.
Now we can all delight in the mere thought that the Her Majesty, or Liz, as some in her native land call her, will be perched over a MacBook and downloading a little Celine Dion or some early Snoop.
Four years ago, when she was conferring an honorary knighthood upon the burdened shoulders of Bill Gates, the queen admitted she had never used a computer. But these days she is no tech-illiterate. She has her own BlackBerry, just like the president's.
And I have very bad news for the president. The queen already has an iPod. At least two, it seems.
CNET's Ina Fried reported in June 2005 that the queen sent one of her retinue down to the Apple Store to get her in the iPod groove.
Then she was reported to have received one from her grandson, Prince William. He gave it to her in 2006, and on this one she stores her favorite British classical concert--the so-called Last Night of the Proms--at which the British all stand and sing "Rule Britannia," "Land of Hope and Glory," and the Sex Pistols' "God Save the Queen."
Well, perhaps it isn't the Sex Pistols' version.
It is, therefore, a little unfortunate that the president, who clearly tried very hard after he was criticized for giving British Prime Minister Gordon Brown some DVDs that were, allegedly, in the NTSC format and not the European system, PAL, has given her another iPod. Even though this one enjoys footage of her visit to the U.S. in 2007.
I know you'll be wondering what the queen gave him in return. Well, um, a silver-framed photograph of her and Prince Philip (sometimes known on those shores as Phil the Greek).
While it seems the president's entourage has made another gifting goof, I am disappointed that the queen didn't try to technologically one-up President Obama by, I don't know, giving him a Palm Pre. Or a robot that can sort out Wall Street and pays its taxes on time.
Chris Matyszczyk is an award-winning creative director who advises major corporations on content creation and marketing. He brings an irreverent, sarcastic, and sometimes ironic voice to the tech world. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. 
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Hah. That's why I love techies. You guys always think of something that just didn't cross my mind.
thank you,
Chris
Does anyone know what kind of iPod it was? If it was a Nano or a Classic, I'll agree that's a little...well thoughtless, but if it was a Touch I'll say it was a very nice gift.
The thing about giving gifts to people who can have whatever they want (which the Queen undoubtably can purchase as many iPods as she wants) is making it unique. It sounds like Obama went to the trouble to do that and therefore, it probably was a great gift. Also, how good a gift is depends not on what the media thinks, but how the receiver receives it. Ask the Queen her opinion on the matter, since she's the only one who's opinion matters, and then come back.
Guys, guys. This is surely about giving people commercial objects as gifts when they can really just get it by themselves. You always risk giving them something they already have.
Whereas the Queen, in her slightly old-fashioned way, makes sure she gives something no one else could possibly have.
Chris
Only if you read Private Eye, right? My Brummagem friends call her Liz.
Chris
- by Mr. Dee April 4, 2009 6:10 PM PDT
- Actually, what President Obama gave her is an iPod Touch. The Touch came out in 2007, so the two older iPods she owns are the older classic models.
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