Archive for September 5th, 2007

How many iPods can there be?

Posted in Apple Geekery, Computer Tech, Law And Order, Music Tech, Music in General on September 5th, 2007 by Ryan

Just because the iPod started with the Model T version doesn’t preclude the evolution of the species, I suppose. There are a hell of a lot of options now, though. We now have the Shuffle, the Nano (with video), the iPod Classic (with massive hard drive), the iPod Touch (with spiffy interface), and the iPhone (we’ve heard about the last one enough). I admit, I clicked a few times on websites for updates on the keynote speech, so I’ll cop to at least latent fanboy tendencies. There are some good points and weak spots in today’s announcement.

Good Points

  • Huge HD on “classic” iPod
  • At least one touch-screen option without the phone
  • Price breaks on the huge iPod
  • Video on Nano (although how much video are you going to want to fit on a small device like that?

Weak Spots

  • Only 16 GB on the iPod Touch?
  • A hybrid-drive iPod would have been nice
  • Can the Wi-Fi devices network together like the *shudder* Zune?

I do like the Wi-Fi store, though, and I think that could be very important very soon. They just removed the computer from the equation and made it easy for just about anybody to get in on legal downloading. And that’s key - legal downloading just became a lot cheaper. It’d be nice to have a computer to back it up to, but that’s the techie in me.

Also, a quick note - if TNT starts showing episodes of “Law And Order” at 6pm, runs it for a few hours, but only calls the shows from 8pm the “Law And Order Mini-Marathon,” what does that make the two episodes between 6 and 8pm? A mini-marathon preview? An exhibition match? Also, I’m quite surprised they JUST NOW got around to playing the dogfighting episode. They need to rip stuff from the headlines a little more quickly.

EDIT: I forgot about the Starbucks deal.

Ick.

I don’t go to Starbucks ’cause I think the coffee tastes not-so-good, so this feature really means nothing to me as a consumer. It does extend the culture-branding power of Starbucks, which will result in a huge rise in Putamayo and Paul McCartney sales. The tech is interesting (it allows people to see what’s playing in the shop, as well as the pat 10 tracks), and when it’s eventually implemented, it’ll be interesting to watch. Link it to WOXY.com and the funk shows from KCRW, though, and I’m sold.

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