Why are US and UK iPod Images Different?

While writing my post on the outrageous price differences us UKers have been subjected to for the honour of buying the new iPods, I noticed something peculiar. The images used in the UK and US versions of the Apple online store different. And when I say different, I really mean different. While it’s common place to use more recognisable content in different stores (i.e. the sample images they show on the screens) in this case, the pictures of the iPods themselves are different. Compare the two images below. Top is from the US store, bottom from the UK store (after the break).

US iPod Nanos

UK iPod Nanos

If you look closely you can tell that the images are subtly different. The UK ones appear to have darker highlights and screens with slightly different proportions. You can really notice the differences by opening the UK store in one browser tab, the US store in another and flicking between the two.

The Black NanosEven more bizzarely is the content displayed on the screens. As you can see the last two Nanos have images from Zoolander and The Italian Job (rubbish remake) respectively. However, the images have been enlarged on the UK Nanos.

The other odd thing is the choice of content on the UK Nanos. While the US Nanos have music videos, one including the very British Chris Martin of Coldplay, the UK Nanos have The Office and House. House never really made it big in the UK, despite having a a very British actor in the lead and the Office, originally done very successfully by Ricky Gervais was even less successfull. The Office as displayed on the iPod Nano.In fact, The Office is particularly strange as it seems Apple have gone out of their way to promote the Nano using content that the British public would find confusing. After all, it’s got The Office’s logo on the screen, but 99.9% of British people will look at Steve Carell and wonder who the hell he is and what he’s got to do with the Office. Surely an image of Ricky Gervais dancing would be much more appropriate (Music + TV = Profit?).

I can see how maybe, if market research confirms it, Apple may want to tailor the look of the devices to each territory, but the choice of content displayed in the UK store is nothing short of baffling.

Can anyone out there shed any light on why these differences exist?

UPDATE:   You can read a follow up to this article here:   Answering the iPod Nano screenshot question.