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Apple Updates iPod
TheRaven64 writes "Apple seems to have quietly updated the iPod Photo and iPod Mini lines. The Mini now comes in 4GB and 6GB flavours, priced at $199 and $249 respectively. The iPod Photo now comes in a 30GB flavour for $349 - only $50 more than the 20GB iPod with a mono screen and shorter battery life."
$100 to $350 in $50 increments. Once you start, you can't stop. "But for $50 more I can get this"
I still have no idea what the purpose of the iPod Photo is. Sure, the better battery life and color screen are nice, but who really cares about carrying their photos around with them for viewing on a 1.5-inch screen? Hell, they could just lug their digital camera with them, and get mostly the same functionality...plus a camera!
Anyone know what the sales figures are like?
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He's paraphrasing our illustrious founder and leader, Taco, who called the iPod lame a while back... How soon we forget. Oh well, back to TV.
Mostly random stuff.
iPod minis no longer include an AC charger, and the iPod photos no longer include a dock, carrying case, or AV cable. Apparently they'll have USB host support with an accessory though, and you'll be able to download and view photos right from your camera.
But most shocking of all to the "faithful" is the lack of a firewire cable with any iPod. It's optional across the board. Apple sold Macs with USB 1 and Firewire very recently, so they're essentially screwing over their fans. There's already a petition to but the cable back in the box. And you don't want to piss of a Mac fanatic!
I'm kinda disappointed with the lack of Bluetooth, though. It'd be nice to have the music pause when a call comes in on my T616, and maybe allow the headphones to double as a headset. iTunes already pauses the music for me courtesy of Salling Clicker.
In years of watching Apple make moves, this one seems to be one of the most insightful in terms of keeping marketshare. Although the competitors do not have the "cool" factor of the iPod, for once Apple seems fully aware that the competition is there, and they can not get by by merely producing superior technology.
This time, they have realized that in order to keep this technology at the center of the business model, they must continue to innovate.
With storage devices becoming smaller and smaller, they must continue to breakthrough with the bleeding edge technology. The iPod technology is simple enough that staying on the bleeding edge makes perfect sense. I sense that they've got this one nailed and are not letting go.
befuddled (noun) 1. Unable to create a pithy sig
Sort of, except that Apple makes trendsetting hardware and many geeks do care about what apple is elling even if they eventually choose to buy something else.
Nobody cares about dell announcements because they just bolt together commodity hardware. You buy Apple cause you want to, you buy Dell when they give you the best deal on something you could get from a variety of sources.
I have solved the "crap articles" on slashdot problem.
/. crew can post what they like without us crossing paths.
Seeing as one mans meat is anothers poison, and whats good for peter isnt necessarily good for paul (enough cliches for now) i have developped a device called:
"Self controlled screening technique"
Basically I look at the conveniently provided summary and using my own personal interest as a guage, I decide whther or not to click on it and read further.
Miracualously I have no problems with articles that I don't like polluting my vision.
I have also adapted this for other entertainment and news media such as the television.
Like Slashdot, this technique is free so I can use it how I like, meaning the
If anyone wants more info on employing my methods in their own workplace you can get in touch with me at quit.whining@thepoweroftheobvious.com
bah!*@%!
I'm probably in the minority here but I think that the iPod photo is overkill. The iPod is an excellent, simply designed music player. Bolting on photo displaying is a bit pointless. Not only is the screen still too small to be practical, even for "quick viewing", I tend to keep my iPod in my pocket all the time. Colour screens are not necessary.
I'm hoping that eventually Apple will port Keynote to the iPod photo (yes, I know that you can make a slideshow and port that, but I mean native Keynote files with all effects). Every academic will want one, just to be able to to carry his lectures in his pocket, without lugging around a laptop or dealing with the potential complications of running a presentation on somebody else's computer.
It's interesting because for some of us, the ability to tinker offers possibilities that might be more compelling than the original capabilities of the device.
I have an ipod mini.. which I might like Linux on (not sure if it works on minis yet though). Why? I dunno, because then I can explore ideas about what I can do with a little device with 5 buttons and a scroll wheel. I can imagine little ways in which I can tweak it to suit MY tastes, and not apple's decision about common denominator tastes.
Not to knock Apple's UI for the ipod or anything: it's a very nice interface - but the idea of being able to tweak it for my own purposes is very exciting. It's a tinkerer thing. It doesn't have to be useful to the general population - it only has to be useful to me.
-Laxitive
The reason I got an iPod over the iRiver and the others you mentioned is because it doesn't have a voice recording feature. You see I can't have recording devices or cameras in my office and that is where I was planning on using my music player the most. So the iPod was (almost) the only choice I had. I love it though and have got my whole family hooked on the idea of getting one.
(But don't even ask how screwed I am when it comes to cell phones.)
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