Is it just me, or is the new iPod really not that exciting? Apple are trying to make it sound exciting, yes, but a large part of me (the part that would usually be reaching for the credit card about now) really couldn't care less. Are the magic reserves starting to run a little dry at Apple?
For a start, the drive sizes aren't anything terribly excited. I've got a 40gig 4th generation iPod at the moment, and moving from 40 to 60 isn't a terribly compelling reason to upgrade. Where's the 80gig drive that we know Toshiba have in production?
Then, there's the video. Is that supposed to make me want to upgrade? So I can watch a handful of pretty crappy short films from Pixar? If you live outside of the US, there's no "Desperate Housewives" episodes, or "Lost" to download, so your (increasingly inaccurately named) "iTunes Music Store" video content boils down to some low res music videos and some Pixar cartoons. Yeah, I could encode my own video from various sources, but I can already do that, and in a far higher resolution I might add, and on a far superior screen with my £179 PSP. Apple are supposed to be about elegant solutions.
So let's see if any of the other features can convince me – the size: not interested, a bigger, more colourful screen: nope, TV output: still nothing. I really don't care. I don't even care about the "me too" media centre application (Front Row), or the new, slimline iMac.
After all the hype, this is a big let down for me. A nice 80gig iPod, with that shiny new screen and video playback, which supported wma, wmv, and ogg vorbis, would have set me back £300; I'd have been powerless to resist. As it is, I think I'll wait for the next "one more thing".
(Besides, I've just checked iTunes, and my mp3 collection currently stands at 62gb so I'm going to have to wait for that 80gig device!)
I’ll take your points, and offer counterpoints for a good debate:
1. “The drive size bump isn’t all that exciting.”
Well, yes it is if you consider that the prices didn’t go up. Sure, you may not need 60 gigs if you have a 40, but to someone who’s considering his first MP3 player since my Rio500… the more the merier.
2. “Video is unimpressive”
I’ll give you half credit here: Yes, there is not much content yet. Yes, the resolution on the screen is less than stellar. But consider what has to be done by Apple here: Apple has to convince the entire movie industry to allow them to sell their video. That’s not going to be an easy sell. They have a foot in the door now with 5 shows from Disney, and can use this to pull in other content from other sources. More will come, just you wait and see.
3. “Bah, I’ll wait for the next ‘one more thing’…”
Good for you. It pains me to see people waste their money. If you’re happy with what you’ve got, feel free to consider other options to spend your money on. You’re not Apple’s target audience with this product. The target is the holliday season, and these will sell well as gifts.
–Pathway
Posted by Pathway | 13. Oct, 2005, 8:06 am… ok… apple are, apple are… i should listen to someone who cant even do grammar right? apple is, apple is…
Posted by gMax | 13. Oct, 2005, 8:24 amgMax, you’re clearly not English, so before launching into some grammatical offensive, please allow for the fact that the inhabitants of America use our language differently from its originators.
It may surprise you to learn that we use group nouns as plurals in England. We say “the government _are_”, rather than “the government _is_”, and band names that are singular (e.g. The Fall) will be referred to in the plural: The Fall are going on stage, rather than The Fall _is_ going on stage.
If you don’t want to listen to someone who knows how to use the English language as it is spoken in its native country, then I suggest filling your trousers with warm custard, shaving your head, and setting fire to your feet.
That is all.
P.S. Do please try and get the hang of using apostrophes. And capitalisation.
Posted by Stuart E | 13. Oct, 2005, 9:51 amAre you kidding me? Dissapointed? Has anyone else even come close to what Apple has done yet? Look at the potential for the these new features! This is something that is essential for me and many other people who work in the multimedia field. Let’s not forget that you can plug your iPodV into your television set if you would like a larger screen or you can just view them on your computer. How can you not like this feature? Is it perfected yet? No it could have wireless integration but, come on it opens up alot of doors.
P.S. I thought it funny that negative comments on Apple were from a direct link from Microsoft MSN.
Posted by podlover | 13. Oct, 2005, 4:54 pmPodlover, just a quick one, yes you can watch the video on your PC/Mac, but I can already do that I don’t need an iPod? 2-Plug your 320×240 res iPod into a TV? no thanks we’ve only just got rid of 352 line VHS, I don’t want that sort of quality back, just download/convert the show to xvid/divx and watch it on an XBox or a hardware divx encoder; not only are they cheaper than an iPod but better quality.
I will however give the iPod gen 5 it’s due, the battery life is much improved, and being able to have media presentations on your iPod and play them back will be usefully.
So like Dan, I love the iPod (have 2) and Apple product’s in general,I just don’t think the gen 5 deserved all the who ha it got.
Posted by Ashleigh | 13. Oct, 2005, 7:05 pm“iPod, … which supported wma, wmv, and ogg vorbis…
Sorry, but that is NEVER going to happen. At least not as long as Apple remains an independent competitor to Microsoft.
Posted by Steven | 13. Oct, 2005, 8:44 pmI have the 60 gig Video iPod, nice but moving to the 80 isn’t really a big bump. Now watching video on the road and using my iPod as a DVR is great, and there is ways of burning your movies so you can take them on the go. Try this item, comes in handy on planes and looks good too boot!
http://icuiti.com/
Apple needs to come out with a similar device like the PSP, but lighter a tad bigger screen and better resolution for the screen and output and it will win back anyone who is fadding. Plus include a FM tuner and have a flash drive/hardrive combo…
Posted by Gar | 31. Oct, 2006, 11:02 pm