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Notes and Observations about Apple's iPod and Apple TV Announcements

thorbenh said:
Steve said: "...and HDR will be available for all iOS devices, iPhone & iPad ..."
Something similar to that at least.

iPad and HDR? So we get a camera with the software update? neat.
Click to expand...

Steve said a lot of things calling the shuffle a nano, and iPod Touch an iPhone various time. Probably he ment iPhone and iPod Touch.
 
Just another sparkling array of interesting new devices that people will buy millions of.

New and better software, updates and fixes.

A sales presentation that people line up to watch.

Jobs looked ok, not sickly.

Stores that make every other store of any kind look like s***.

Makes me want to buy something...

And, on tv, there is an ad for droids with robot arms and robot noises and red droid eyes. So compelling to adults....!

Ain't dumping my stock yet!
 
BRLawyer said:
As I said before, this event can be summarized as follows:

1 - nice new iPods, especially the Touch and the Shuffle - the Classic is in the backburner, while the Nano seems like a downgrade because of videos;

2 - nice news about the iOS updates, especially for iPad;

3 - iTunes 10 is IRRELEVANT if it's all about social networking - I don't want more of that, thanks - for a major update like this Apple should have offered a LOT more, including interface tweaks and improved sorting/data management options;

4 - HORRIBLE ATV announcement, and absolutely useless for anyone (the majority) living outside the US. And NO, I don't want to keep my Mac awake just to stream content...a minimum of storage is always nice to have. This means my REAL Apple TV will continue to serve me well, probably with the ATV Flash add-on in the near future.

APPLE IS DEAD.
Click to expand...

iTunes 10 updates is ok. I wouldn't say ATV is horrible, and has no meaning of having a storage with the new solutions. If you follow the logic with they have played with you would understand that the storage is not needed, and by taking off the storage they reach a really nice price point. I personally I find it more interesting now. The comment about the US is only regarding netflix as the other feature are available worldwide.
The "majority" is a concept that don't even exist with ATV as doesn't have a substantial market. I think sales will increase.
 
Don't be behind!

BJB Productions said:
You still buying? I've also been waiting 3 years for this.. I've finally come to the sad reality that the iPod Touch will always be slightly behind the iPhone. (go figure lol) :rolleyes:

So.. I could wait another two years, and maybe it will get a camera that the current iPhone 4 has, along with flash... But by then... That would already be behind the iPhone. It would be an endless cycle of waiting.. haha
Click to expand...

Dude, don't wait for the iPod touch to catch up with the iPhone, when I update to the iPhone 5, I'll totally sell you my iPhone 4 and you can use it just like an iPod Touch.
 
NebulaClash said:
Everyone saying Apple should have done this or that, remember that when it comes to movies and TV they have to partner with the content producers, and some of them are not being cooperative. Pricing is a compromise between what Apple would like to do and what their partners allow them to do contractually. Some of your complaints should be directed at the networks, not Apple.
Click to expand...

To be fair to the networks it isn't just them. It is also the cable/satellite companies who have rather lucrative contracts. A great example is blackout zones for things like MLB.tv. I'm not saying the networks are saints but they have their hands tied to some degree.

Edit: Oh and Jobs misspoke several times. He even once said the app store had way more apps than it actually does when he meant to say app downloads.
 
The point of the camera on the Touch is HD video recording and editing using iMovie. If it succeeds at that, then I think they accomplished their goal. That feature is to compete against a Flip cam.

I didn't get a new touch last year because it didn't have a camera. I got the 64GB model I wanted, but no camera. This year, I got the camera, a better display, and the same 64GB plus a much faster processor. Seems like a worthy upgrade from my 2nd gen iPod touch. But money is now the issue! :(

The nano looks good. Video playback on the last gen Nano was hard to watch. I bought my wife one. She has never used the camera. I loaded a movie on it and it was so small, wasn't worth trying to watch. Looks like the new Nano has a smaller screen. Video playback on something that small isn't really practical.

Besides last year... the complaints were: The nano got a camera and the touch didn't? Now, it's the nano lost it's camera and the touch camera isn't good enough.

The AppleTV is nice, I guess, but I like having local storage on the device. So, I will truck along with my current AppleTV.

It is strange, though, that there is so much overlap in the devices I have on my TV...
All 4 of them display photos
3 of them play music
2 of them play DVD's
3 of them play games
1 of them plays Blu-ray movies
3 of them can play music from my iTunes library (2 of them through the use of 3rd party software)
3 of them can play videos

Of these, the PS3 is the most complete. Games, Blu-ray movies, music, photos, music, videos... but like most non-computers, the codec selection is limited in scope. It can stream my pictures from iPhoto (via MediaLink) and from Facebook, can stream music from iTunes (via MediaLink), videos from video folder (via MediaLink), can stream videos in iTunes (via MediaLink) except iTunes DRM'd music/video.... plus rentals from Sony's store and Netflix.

MediaLink is supposed to transcode on the fly into a format that the PS3 can handle. Though sometimes, I still get a video I can't play...

PS3 + MediaLink can do as much or more than AppleTV. However, the interface can be a little intimidating to some. The AppleTV interface is the easiest to navigate of the 4...

There is still no 1 box that can do it all. Probably never will be. PS3 + [current] AppleTV seems to be my best bet even if there is significant overlap of functionality.

EDIT: A Mac Mini would be the perfect solution but lacks blu-ray... perhaps some sort of Windows-based HTPC would be a solution. Dell ZinoHD?
 
Beric said:
Love the complaints about the complaints about Apple, like Apple could do no wrong.

I'll be buying an iPod touch 4G. But that doesn't mean I'm not disappointed about 1 or more of the features.



I'll be buying because I want the display. A jailbreak may open up some cool stuff, too.
Click to expand...

Good luck with the jailbreak for that. They are shipping them with the patched os and as of now there is no jailbreak for that. Might be a while. :\
 
pamon said:
new tv was a FAIL. new ipod line is sexy but overall unimpressive other than the 64GB touch. the classic LIVES. :)
Click to expand...

The Classic will continue to live until flash memory prices drop significantly and I really can't see the day when that will happen. A basic 32GB USB flash stick costs more today than it did last year.

I like the new touch, but remain on the fence about upgrading because the still camera is limited to just 960x720. While any picture is better than none, that kind of resolution is going to make for some ugly scrap book pages.

The other reason I'm on the fence is the fact that 3.5" isn't enough space for web content. I really want a somewhat bigger, but still pocketable device with 3G data so it can truly go anywhere.

touch = too small WiFi only, iPad = too big. Guess I just saved $$$
 
iVoid said:
The shuffle and nano are so close in size, I wonder why they didn't drop the shuffle altogether.


Actually, unlike some comments, I DO want my computer hooked up to my TV (and it is). The new Apple TV doesn't interest me (not that the older one did either). Seems to be made for people who prefer to consume only.
Click to expand...

Shuffle = cheaper, simple.

You want your ATV hooked to your computer, why?

So that you can sync your movies?

So you need your computer regardless for storage. Than why wouldn't the new one be better by not managing any storage, you don't need to hook it because you can just stream over the air and you don't need to worry about the storage. Sorry but your thinking is a bit silly...
 
I'm just about to pop a Crystal HD card into my old (ATVflash'd) AppleTV. I guess my timing was pretty bad, part of me didn't believe this update was coming so soon.
Anyway, I guess the major new function on the new ATV is Airtime (Not hopeful for a software update with the new features :( ) - but at least my old one will now play 1080p video and has storage.
 
iRobertM said:
Love the constant negative attitudes, Apple could release a cure for cancer and people would bitch.
Click to expand...
Seriously… if apple found a cure to cancer they would make it a tiny pill that looked cool, came in several potencies/effectiveness at incremental increased prices, and charge a premium with control on where you could buy it.

For those people that needed to intake the medicine using alternative methods, such as liquid or by shot, they would be out of luck because apple only wants it available to consumers as a tiny cool looking pill.
 
BRLawyer said:
As I said before, this event can be summarized as follows:

1 - nice new iPods, especially the Touch and the Shuffle - the Classic is in the backburner, while the Nano seems like a downgrade because of videos;

2 - nice news about the iOS updates, especially for iPad;

3 - iTunes 10 is IRRELEVANT if it's all about social networking - I don't want more of that, thanks - for a major update like this Apple should have offered a LOT more, including interface tweaks and improved sorting/data management options;

4 - HORRIBLE ATV announcement, and absolutely useless for anyone (the majority) living outside the US. And NO, I don't want to keep my Mac awake just to stream content...a minimum of storage is always nice to have. This means my REAL Apple TV will continue to serve me well, probably with the ATV Flash add-on in the near future.

APPLE IS DEAD.
Click to expand...

You're not the market.
 
iRobertM said:
Love the constant negative attitudes, Apple could release a cure for cancer and people would bitch.
Click to expand...


Yeah, then someone else would post that the government should force Apple to provide the cancer cure to everyone living in the United States. Those who could not afford the Apple cancer cure would get it for free, subsidized by those who could afford the Apple cancer cure. But I digress....;)
 
I think apple should have went for the same iphone 4 look for the new ipod touches too bad its still the steel backing.. that thing scratches so easily..
 
mosx said:
Come on Apple. Not everyone wants anorexic electronics. Make the iPod touch thicker and give it the same camera sensor and LED flash as the iPhone 4.
Click to expand...

But that would cannibalize iPhone4 sales! :D (i.e. standard answer why Jobs fracks everything up these days; if it were nicer it would cannibalize some other product)
 
So with this all-streaming Apple TV, I guess Apple is heading away from the prospect of adding any type of DVR capabilities to Apple TV? Recording would require some serious hard disk. So prospect postponed, I suppose.

But if Apple ultimately wants to fully "replace" cable/satellite (just a long-term assumption), they'll eventually have to address the issue of live television channel tuning/recording/playback.
 
webpoet73 said:
The point of the camera on the Touch is HD video recording and editing using iMovie. If it succeeds at that, then I think they accomplished their goal. That feature is to compete against a Flip cam.

I didn't get a new touch last year because it didn't have a camera. I got the 64GB model I wanted, but no camera. This year, I got the camera, a better display, and the same 64GB plus a much faster processor. Seems like a worthy upgrade from my 2nd gen iPod touch. But money is now the issue! :(

The nano looks good. Video playback on the last gen Nano was hard to watch. I bought my wife one. She has never used the camera. I loaded a movie on it and it was so small, wasn't worth trying to watch. Looks like the new Nano has a smaller screen. Video playback on something that small isn't really practical.

Besides last year... the complaints were: The nano got a camera and the touch didn't? Now, it's the nano lost it's camera and the touch camera isn't good enough.

The AppleTV is nice, I guess, but I like having local storage on the device. So, I will truck along with my current AppleTV.

It is strange, though, that there is so much overlap in the devices I have on my TV...
All 4 of them display photos
3 of them play music
2 of them play DVD's
3 of them play games
1 of them plays Blu-ray movies
3 of them can play music from my iTunes library (2 of them through the use of 3rd party software)
3 of them can play videos

Of these, the PS3 is the most complete. Games, Blu-ray movies, music, photos, music, videos... but like most non-computers, the codec selection is limited in scope. It can stream my pictures from iPhoto (via MediaLink) and from Facebook, can stream music from iTunes (via MediaLink), videos from video folder (via MediaLink), can stream videos in iTunes (via MediaLink) except iTunes DRM'd music/video.... plus rentals from Sony's store and Netflix.

MediaLink is supposed to transcode on the fly into a format that the PS3 can handle. Though sometimes, I still get a video I can't play...

PS3 + MediaLink can do as much or more than AppleTV. However, the interface can be a little intimidating to some. The AppleTV interface is the easiest to navigate of the 4...

There is still no 1 box that can do it all. Probably never will be. PS3 + [current] AppleTV seems to be my best bet even if there is significant overlap of functionality.

EDIT: A Mac Mini would be the perfect solution but lacks blu-ray... perhaps some sort of Windows-based HTPC would be a solution. Dell ZinoHD?
Click to expand...

You should use PS3 Media server is free and can do a really nice work at least it does in my mac pro 2006 with a 12gb size movie streaming 80Mbps and more over a 1000 ethernet network ;P
 
Great updates, and probably enough to push me into updating my Gen 2 Touch. I wish Apple would keep the thickness the same and grow the battery (there's really no benefit to thickness reductions anymore) and I wish that camera on the back was worth something, but at least I don't have to worry about protecting it.

Oh, and more capacity would have been nice.

But I guess those are all compromises I'll need to accept, because the rest of the device is so darned appealing.

I also hope that the Live Nation deal is just a hold over until Apple gets their own system up and running-- similar to how they've handled ads, games and non-GPS positioning. LN really needs a viable competitor, and Apple has the potential to be just that company.

Apple TV is a win, I think. Considering getting one for my mom now that it's so much easier to use.
 
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