Photos of the iPod suggest it uses Chicago as its font of choice. Why? This may seem minor to you, but on such a slick-looking device, why did Apple choose a system font that will remind users of System 6?
The best reason for sticking with an old font is readability. But if Chicago is more readable than other fonts — and I’m not convinced it is — then why did Apple switch Mac OS over to Charcoal? (OS X’s anti-aliasing makes it somewhat of a different beast.) And if Charcoal is as readable, why not be consistent and use it on the iPod as well?
Palm OS uses something resembling Geneva, another Mac mainstay. Why not use that? Probably no one else cares, but as a UI designer I tend to sweat the small stuff like this.
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