I Should Be Sleeping: Tempted by the Apple, but No Thanks...

Fulfilling my obligation under the law that all blogs must post about Apple's new product line announcements:

Ringtones on the iPhone
I've never understood why ringtones are so popular. Maybe if they were free. But people pay real cash money to change how their phone rings. Go figure. I don't have an iPod, and I'll never pay a single penny to make my phone ring differently. I guess I'm just weird that way.

My Rating: Meh...

iPod Shuffle in New Colors
$79 for an iPod that's missing most of the cool features of an iPod. Again, I don't get it. But they sell like hotcakes, so once again, I'm the weird one. And now, you can get one to match all your different outfits.

My Rating: <Headsmack>

Redesigned Nano
The postage stamp is dead! I haven't seen it in person yet, but it looks like the screen's dimensions are much more watchable. Still a little tiny to watch more than a few minutes of video comfortably, I'm guessing, but this sounds like the reasonable low-cost alternative in the iPod line.

My Rating: Nicely done...

iPod Classic
Yeah, because "Classic" worked so well for Coca Cola. Actually, it did. I'm just bitter because my super-cool Video iPod is now called "Classic," and my 30GB is smaller than anything they currently sell. But, it does what I need and that hasn't changed with this announcement. I think this upgrade is a "check the box" move. I can't imagine anyone who has a Video iPod upgrading to a Classic. It's only for folks who don't have one yet.

My Rating: Meh...

iPod Touch
Oh, the pictures looked so good. The screen looks super cool, the touch screen interface is awesome. It's got OS X, so it can do more than an iPod does - multiple windows on the screen at once, WiFi, that YouTube app, etc. And now I don't need to pay exorbitant monthly fees for a phone that I don't really want in the first place! But wait, what's this? 8GB and 16GB? Aw, crap - it's just a big Nano! Call me when you put a real iPod inside one of these cool devices, OK?

My Rating: So close, and yet so far...

WiFi on iTunes
A step in the right direction. If my friend is playing a song I really like, I can browse over to ITMS, tap a few times, spend my $0.99 and have the song on my iPod. They're starting to tap into the impulse-buy market. Good for them. Next stop - digital radio, where I can listen to music for free, and then click when I hear a song I like and buy it for a dollar. I've always considered this the killer iPod app.

My Rating: Good progress toward nirvana

iPhone Changes
Cheaper 8GB model. Good for most folks. Really sucky for people who shelled out the higher price just a couple of months ago. Also, the 4GB is dead?!? That's gotta be the shortest lifespan for a successful product in technology history, right?

My Rating: Wow...

4 Comments:

I basically agree with you. If there had been an iPod Touch with at least 60 GB, I would have been in line right now waiting for one.

The interface on the new iPod Classic is very nice, but not nice enough for me to replace the perfectly-working 4G iPod that I have now.

By Michael Weinmayr, at 6:43 AM, September 06, 2007
Also, I was looking forward to not carrying my Palm TX anymore, and using the iPod Touch for my contacts/calendar/todo/memos.

Perhaps in another 6 months they'll release what I want.

By Michael Weinmayr, at 9:29 AM, September 06, 2007
Porten's perspective:

Ringtones: in agreement until last week. Then I hung with two buddies who used theirs creatively. Phone call from the family: Allan Sherman's "Hello Muddah." Phone call without caller ID: "Who can it be now?" Regular phone call: Barenaked Ladies, "if you call, I will answer."

Shuffle: I have an older model -- they're very good for what they do. Main downside is that it's old enough that the battery dies in a few hours. I'm about to repurpose it as a retail sound system.

Nano: returned mine yesterday on the last day of the 14-day remorse period. Apple guy asked, "What's wrong with it?" I said, "It doesn't do video like the one you'll have in tomorrow." Planning on getting a new one this weekend to see if the video screen drives me crazy; if so, I'll replace it for an iPod touch in 14 days.

Classic: had one earlier this year -- my opinion is that anyone who can fill one up *without* also using it for HD backup seriously needs therapy. Not looking at you, Weinmayr.... ;-)

Touch: *very* tempted. Big question: do I blow the extra 100 dollars on the 16 gigs, or do I blow the 100 dollars on an iPhone and the off chance I'll be able to hack it for T-Mobile use shortly? The 100 dollars is definitely getting blown, regardless.

WiFi: meh. I'd be much more impressed if their deal with Starbucks gave an open hotspot for *all* Internet use, not just shopping.

So basically, the only question for me is whether I want the new Nano, the new Touch, or an iPhone. And if so -- Nano *and* a Touch? Have to kick the tires on the Nano first. If the Apple Store has them in stock today, I'll be picking one up on the way home from here.

By Jeff Porten, at 5:25 PM, September 06, 2007
"Not looking at you, Weinmayr.... ;-)"

I'm only at 31.62 GB right now. When I purchased my first iPod about 5 years ago, I was at about 20 GB, and that's before podcasts. So, even if I added all of my photos and a bunch of movies and rigged my TiVo to push shows to my iPod, I'd have trouble reaching 80 GB, let alone 160 GB.

But I'd love an 80 GB Touch. An 80 GB Classic looks a bit spiffier, but not for me to spend $250 (which is a great price).

By Michael Weinmayr, at 9:03 AM, September 07, 2007


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