Apple's New Thing (iPod)

[jaime]

revolutionary?

There are already two products similar to this on the market. The Nomad Jukebox and the Archos Jukebox which can come with a 20 gig HD. The iPod is obviously alot cooler and has firewire, but it is far from revolutionary. I for one am disappointed and think that apple is making a mistake by trying to get into this market.

 

[fragiledreams]

trully revolutionary MY ASSSS!


http://www.americas.creative.com/products/product.asp?Product=126&MainCategory=2

Creative NOMAD® Jukebox player
Capacity: 20GB hard drive (up to 340 hours at 128kbps MP3 encoding)

GO APPLEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

 

[schmoe]

Wow! Great Job Apple!

This is not like any other MP3 player on the market, imagine being able to store several days worth of music at once! The iPod will be great for travelers, students, heck anyone who is really into music. I think this will be a

The price isn't that high, I think the Intel Pocket Concert costs the same or more and only has 128MB of ram, not upgradeable. Plus those little storage cards cost a fortune, like $200 for 128 megs, and there are a lot of incompatible types.

Firewire is fast! It must be a pain to transfer files to your player via USB or even a dedicated card reader.

I've seen one of the other HD music players and it probably weights double what the iPod weights, as well as being much thicker and bulkier, like a brick basically.

 

[TheSaint]

Well I want one, but...

$399!

I think it's just that bit too pricey. (Cube anyone...).

$299. Then Apple would be in business...

 

[tablebeast]

iPod could be better... hackable?

OK, I'll admit this thing is a very cool MP3 player, but it seems like it could be so much more. Why doesn't it have the ability to record audio (compressed as an MP3 or uncompressed as well) directly to it? The Archos and Jukebox HD Mp3 players can do this, why not this one? Also, it looks like this thing may be hackable if you look at what it is made of. With 20 minute skip protection thats enough RAM to work with and a 5 gig hard drive, firewire connectivity... Why isn't it a PDA as well. It sure looks and acts like one. Maybe it could be. Anyone know what is going to be lurking under the hood?

 

[Normal Guy]

underlying hints...

I agree somewhat with most of your unhappiness over iPod. It only looks like being worth $200 to myself. Something I don't think most of you are looking at. This is Apple's "Newest" attempt at entering the consumer electronics market. PDAs are also considered consumer electronics. This player is about the size of a size of a deck of cards and still boast 5Gb and new faster charging longer holding lithum-ion battery. Wouldn't these elements work well in a PDA? Hmmm. It's easy to see where Apple is headed.

 

[JereIC]

I want one right the hell NOW!

This thing's too cool. It makes my Rio 500 (recently upgraded to hold 128 MB of songs) look pathetic. It's beautiful. It looks too easy to use. It has all sorts of cool features that I will never live without again. This is a home run, and y'all who keep complaining its not a $200 Newton device, buy a Visor. They can play MP3s, by the way, but they're still stuck in the 21st century compared to the iPod.

Now where did I put that credit card...

 

[Bassman]

any EQ?

I'm wondering if those earbud headphones will make your audio sound "tinny", as I'm assuming there's no on-board EQ or bass enhancement.

 

[idoru1135]

Too pricey

Not exactly "revolutionary". With the economy in its current state, You'll be able to pick up MP3 players for peanuts soon. The Archos Jukebox does the same thing and it's not blowing off the shelves either. $399 is just too much for an MP3 jukebox. Sorry Steve, this isn't it...

 

[Nicobosss]

Re: any EQ?



are they going to make it accessible to PC along with Itunes 2 ?
This would be a sweet revenge from apple:
PC people bying apple products ......

Then it would be a Breakthrough in the digital era.....

I hope so ....

 

[fragiledreams]

JereIC thank god (for apple) there are stupid like you that would buy even a **** whith the Apple logo on it.

 

[blakespot]

Originally posted by fragiledreams
trully revolutionary MY ASSSS!


http://www.americas.creative.com/products/product.asp?Product=126&MainCategory=2

Creative NOMAD® Jukebox player
Capacity: 20GB hard drive (up to 340 hours at 128kbps MP3 encoding)

GO APPLEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

That's so much larger than the iPod (as are portable CD-based MP3 players) that it's in a whole other class of functionality. The iPod will fit into a very small pocket. That large thing will not.

Tag-based iTunes 2 integration is a plus as well.


bp

 

[mikedman]

oh man

bummer

http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/electronics/5784.shtml

20 gig drive and its only $349

sorry apple, yer cool styling and faster transfer rate only count for so much

btw... for $100 bucks more you can buy an imac. Better bring that price down or you wont sell any of these babies

 

[matthodgson]

Come on......it's really not that great

this really isn't that revolutionary of a product. I have a Nomad Jukebox with a 6gig hardrive and it only cost me $250. It works great and syncs fine with the computer and the transfer is relativley fast. I don't know what the big deal is. So...it works well with apple's software....big deal, anyone can do that. There is nothing there of interest. It's just a little but smaller, has a little better battery, and is $150 dollars more. Whatever.......this thing would be cool.....for $200.
Regards,
Matt Hodgson

 

[SPG]

Uhh, has anyone mentioned anything about sound quality? Most MP3 players sound well, pretty much like crap. MP3's off my G4 only sound okay because I run them through a ridiculously bass heavy subwoofer.
Now that we're dealing with an audio only component sound quality is the most important thing.

 

[Beholder of Truth]

Re: Re: any EQ?

You are all a bunch of imbecile crybabies. I bet you haven't even gone over the specs and all you can do is whine and cry because you didn't get a Newton. Get a life! I bet all you do is troll Mac bbs' critizicing Apple and how they can NEVER meet your stupid way out of this world expectations.

THIS THING IS AMAZING!!!

It's not jus ANOTHER mp3 player. It's a BREAKTROUGH mp3 player!

Let's go over this:

- 5 GB ULTRA-SLIM hard drive, all in a tiny and beautiful enclosure the size of a deck of cards. Does ANY mp3 player out there have anything like it? Didn't think so. Only HUGE CRAP ASS ONES like the Nomad Jukebox. This fits in your palm or in your pocket!

- FIREWIRE! Steve transmitted 1Gb of data onto the device in about 2 minutes. 1Gb!!! Does ANY mp3 player out there do this? Didn't think so. You have to wait 5 hours for your Nomad Jukebox to load up.

- 20 minute anti-skip protection. 20 minutes! Does ANY mp3 player out there have this? Didn't think so.

- Powered OFF THE FIREWIRE BUS. Hook it up to your firewire port and it not only downloads songs. IT CHARGES! Does ANY mp3 player out there have this? Didn't think so.

- DOUBLES AS A STORAGE DEVICE! You can not only carry your music on it, BUT YOUR DATA!!! Does ANY mp3 player out there do this? Didn't think so.

- 10 Hour battery! Recharges in just 1 hour!!! Does any mp3 player out there have such an advanced battery made out of lithium polymer? Didn't think so.

- Auto-sync! Hook up the player, and it downloads your mp3 collection. You don't even have to push or click anything! Does ANY mp3 player out there have this? Didn't think so.

- Apple's beautiful and intuitive interface! The interface in this thing reminds me of the first macs. This is the macintosh revolution of mp3 players! It is so amazing. You can browse your songs by artist, album, playlist, genre, anything! All with a few buttons and an awesome scrollwheel. Wait 'till you use one and you will see how amazing it is. Does ANY mp3 player out there provide this easy of use and make mp3 listening so practical? NO!

Apple hit a HOME RUN with this thing, and just as always proved that there's no one that can make products like them. Way to go Apple!

 

[schmoe]

iPod vs Archos Jukebox Comparison

Lets see now:

Firewire 400MB/s, iPod
USB 1.2MB/s, Archos

10 hour battery, iPod
8 hour battery, Archos

4.02" x 2.43" x 0.78", iPod
4.5" x 3.2" x 1.3", Archos

6.5oz, iPod
12oz, Archos

MP3 to 360 Kbps, MP3 VBR, WAV, AIFF, iPod
MP3, Archos

 

[greatm31]

not to get off subject or anything, but...

hey, guys, remember how we would argue for hours about Apple introducing the iMac 2, and it didn't happen, Apple only mildly refreshed the line? Why did all speculation stop then? Yeah, so apple introduced an Mp3 player. I think it's pretty cool, and will sell well if there's a kick-ass marketing campaign. But shouldn't we be talking about the future? I still think apple will introduce a new iMac, and perhaps they'll do it just in time for Christmas. What do you guys think?

 

[Purdue CS]

not bad at all

with all the hype surrounding it, the iPod still came out looking quite good. i wont lie - the 399 price is a lot for some people. but obviously not everyone. i really think if it was 299 it would be more aggresive...

im worried about this - say i get the iPod, isnt my battery life on my Ti550 short enough as it is - superdrain trying to charge my iPod on the road... but then again - im smarter than that....


--
ja

myself,
i was looking for a PDA, one for the rest of us, personally the palms and PocketPCS are getting irrititing... im putting all my money on that being the next digital device. and for sure...

 

[monolith]

No reason to complain...

I guess the negative reactions indicate that people expect miracles from Apple.

I don't think it would have been possible for Apple to hype this product any less... they didn't do anything but invite the press to the announcement (of course they used the word "revolutionary", but that's standard marketing jargon). However, everyone feels cheated because the rumor mill blew the thing out of proportion.

I think it looks like a great toy. The price is steep for 5 GB, but everything else about it is great. I own a 6 GB jukebox that I paid $360 for, but I'm tempted to switch just for the Firewire (USB is slowwww... also, the Jukebox drains batteries like mad and has somewhat flakey firmware).

 

[Meetoo]

Beholder, are you on drugs?

Any way you spin this it is:
1. Not revolutionary. Big capacity mp3 players already exist. With Creative Labs' entrance into the firewire arena, future nomads will have similar specs and better prices.
2. A bad fit. This product is outside Apple's core competancy - computing devices. When many are calling for a pda, they release an MP3 player.
3. Without a future. This Christmas you will see mp3 players be commoditized. Meaning that the players from Korea will be way less expensive tha iPod. The real money is in DRM and distribution (ala Real Musicnet). If Apple were smart they would be focusing on high gross revenue from services rather than a playback device.

 

[Fat Tony]

evolutionary not revolutionary

This is a nice product. A firewire MP3 player/HD with 5 GB capacity in such a small package. It is a little overpriced for such a device, though.

However, it is by no means revolutionary or groundbreaking. It is an MP3 player. BFD. It is just a step in the evolution of an MP3 player. A little smaller, a little lighter, a little better battery.

With OS X, FireWire, AirPort, the G4 and AltiVec, iDVD, iMovie, iTunes and iTools, Apple has an enormous amount of technology that can be leveraged to create something new and groundbreaking. Their invitation promised a groundbreaking digital device and they did not deliver. I wonder how many reportes from outside the Mac press will show up next time they release a "groundbreacking digital device?"

Think Different is dead.

 

[Xistor]

iPod is neat.

Quit yer whinin! This list looks like Cry babies incorporated! Apple said they aren't in the market to make PDAs, so quit anticipating every new product is a rebirth of the very dead Newton.

iPod is a great idea. It has huge capacity for MP3s (5GB is much more than any other similarly sized mp3 toy), syncs with iTunes, and a nicely sized backlit LCD screen with good battery life (10hours). Recharges by FireWIre is also a neat thing. The only thing that isn't neat about it is the price, but those in the market for the smallest large-capacity music player will pay for it I'm sure. Also doubles as a way to back-up files from your Mac or to transport large files from one Mac to another without having to waste time burning a CD or further money by buying a dedicated Firewire hard drive.

It's slick and expensive.. like any good toy.. now, can we get back to more pressing matters like refining the iMac??

 

[ajs]

Gee, where can I get a 5 gig MP3 player?

How about 20 gigs. AND it works with Macs.

http://www.nomadworld.com/products/jukebox_20gb/

 

[oldschoolmacfan]

Goofy Idea!!!

OK. For $300 I can get an in-dash MP3 player for my car, which is where I spend most of my travel time. For walking, etc., a Rio is fine. At home, it's right off the MAc or my stereo. Where oh where does a $400 (!!!!!) player fit into the scheme of things? Seems like Steve just wanted the coolest toy, regardless of its practicality.
Besides, has anyone brought up the recent statements by the RIAA about competely blocking ripping of new CDs?
Here's to another bullet in the foot...