How many iPods can there be?
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.
September 5th, 2007 at 9:40 PM
Yay. I can access the Apple Music STORE for free at Starbucks.
zzzzzz
September 6th, 2007 at 8:36 AM
honestly, i’ve grown to hate my ipod. i know you can use other mp3 managers than itunes… but i hate the way it kinda tries to reailroad you into itunes (which i think works great on a mac and sucks on everything else). i hate the way you have to use 3rd party software to copy songs OFF the ipod.
i have a cheapo usb thumbdrive-slash-mp3 player that attaches to my keychain. i think it’s a phillips brand. it is awesome… it plays music, records voice, gets radio, works like a portable hard drive, and lets me just copy mp3 files onto it like any other usb drive. basically every computer in the universe with USB port supports it and i don’t need any third-party software installed to use it.
it won’t play songs from the Apple Music Store… but i really don’t much use that anyway. most of my mp3s get ripped straight from my cd collection, and my OS of choice doesn’t have a version of iTunes anyway.
September 6th, 2007 at 8:49 AM
Re: CW – AND pay for crappy coffee at the same time!
Re: Kitchen – I guess I don’t see the problem with copying songs off the iPod, but that’s because I keep the songs backed up on the computer anyway. A quick viewing of hidden files and folders would reveal the songs and allow them to be copied back and forth without iTunes, anyway. I hear you on the software – I like it, but it’s a personal preference matter.
September 6th, 2007 at 9:04 AM
as of my ipod, an admittedly older one, all the files get their filenames stripped (and replaced with random alphanumeric names) on the ipod’s hard drive. the id3 tags remain, but the folder and file names get munged up. perhaps this has changed recently?
September 6th, 2007 at 9:17 AM
I think it does the same thing on mine, but re-importing them into your software of choice should handle the issue, as it takes the info from the ID3 tags. The munging of the filenames does suck, but it’s manageable.