Does iPOD have legs?

[eclipse525]

At the moment the iPOD is referred to as the 'crown jewel' of MP3 players but I'm starting to wonder as to how long it can actually hold that crown as just an MP3 player. With cell phones evolving into multi-funtional devices, people talk about PDA's eventually fazing out. Many of these devices also include MP3 capabilities and do quite well and can only get better. Now I ask, where does this leave the iPOD? What will become of the iPOD? Will it evolve or will it merge with the much rumored Sony or another company? What do you guys think?


~e

 

[Flowbee]

If you're asking will the iPod continue to change along with advances in technology, I think the answer is yes. Will the iPod ever be a phone? I doubt it. Even though it is possible to merge the two, I personally don't find it a very useful idea. I like to have my iPod playing through my home or car stereo, and still have the phone available to make and receive calls.

 

[tazo]

Sometimes its a good idea when a product does just what it is designed for, same goes for a company. Once you branch out into other fields you often lose sight of the original idea, and end up ruining the product.

Take for instance gateway. use to build ok computers, now they are selling plasma displays and now dont care at all about their computers.

if the ipod branches out, it may lose its position as the best mp3 player

 

[rainman::|:|]

A computer can do anything (usually better) than a TV/DVD/VCR can do. Have they merged? Consumers like separate products in certain areas, years after they could have combined. An MP3-phone would be a)imperfect, since it's trying to be two different things at once, both things suffer, and b)difficult to use, tho the features would seem to warrant that.

i think more likely the MP3 player will merge with palm computers, since they could benefit from the HD and control the player through software... Both products are benefited through that merger. But Apple doesn't seem to want a palmtop computer anytime soon, so we'll see... i trust apple on this one, who knows if palm computers will continue long in their current form...

pnw

 

[RobVanDam]

A cell phone with an iPod type mp3 player is many years away. First a solution needs to be found for the size, because there's an actual hard drive in an iPod, and to keep the 30 GB size, you can't get much smaller. And almost everyone I know doesn't want a cell phone as big as an iPod. Then on the cell phone size, it needs to have a provider, a plan, and all this other stuff.

Apple is not that stupid, the iPod will be the iPod. No extra bs. It will do what the entire market is trying to do, and it will be the best in almost everything for years to come.

If Apple is purchashed or whatever by Sony, it would be the worst marketing move since New Coke if they were to change anything with the direction Apple is taking everything. For many years, that's been the standard, stand back and let Apple lead the way. The 3% of the market also helps because it's the largest focus group you could ever dream of.

 

[Xero]

well, what the iPod "wont" become has been covered well, and i agree that a phone tie-in would be rather pointless at this point.

i think the iPod will evolve into the [almost] perfect portable high quality recording device (or at least there will be a version of the iPod in the future for this purpose). this seems like the most logical and usefull direction for the iPod to go, and weve already seen some evidence of this evolution (e.g. the partly implemented record function in service mode, and the suspected audio in/out leads on the dock connector thing). i think the iPod will finally put an end to minidisc players, and their main use as a portable recording device. also, i feel that somewhere down the line this recording iPod could have some useful built in functions in terms of recording; like possible low voltage phantom power from the internal battery, mic level checks, line/mic level switchable decibel settings, and some simple, useful, live waveform processing (like noise reduction, etc...). i would buy something like this in a heartbeat!

EDIT: obviously these functions would have a potentially limited user/buyer base, but i think apple could really win over a ton of minidisc and other audio pros / not-so-pros with something like this as a branch off of a more consumer targeted iPod like the ones we have now.

 

[plinkoman]

the iPod will probably gain recording features, a dock that has optical ports and a remote for home stereo use, maybe a hookup for an iSight with a better display, radio, perhaps satelite radio, and since it already has contacts, calendars, and notes, perhaps it will gain a way to input those on the go rather then having to do it on a computer then sync, and heck, maybe even bluetooth for syncing contacts or 1 or 2 songs quickly. maybe farther down the road, wireless internet so you can download from itms right onto the iPod from anywhere, but i wouldn't expect that one for quite some time.

aside from that, i don't know what else they could do that wouldn't ruin what it already is now.

 

[vanillamike]

that would be cool if iPods had legs

Mike

it's late ok!

 

[Mac til death]

In my college cafeteria they have MTV2 playing during lunch/dinner and I swear everytime I look up at a rap/R&B video there is the artist holding an iPod... The 50 Cent video has him holding one... There's a video with "P.Diddy" where somebody has one... and a video with some girl holding one... It seems like the iPod is mark of "coolness", which is good, because I have one too..