headhighguy said:
I was following the rumors about this for a while. I like the concept of the U2 branded iPod. However, what i don't like is the iPod Photo. To me this device is going to be the biggest dissappointment apple came up with since the 20th anniversary mac!
If I had to lay money, I'd say the U2-iPod is more likely to be a "Cool ... but why?" product like the TAM ... but to each his own. Others apparently are much happier with black/red than I am.
Where is the customers need for this? Did anyone requested this? or wish for? I seriously want to see their marketing plan for this! The iPod is a music player, for god's sake and it should stay that way. Adding photos to it is not making it a better music player.
I strongly disagree. The color screen compares to the 4G iPod screen approximately as OS X compares to OS 9 in terms of "sex appeal", and that's a vital component of the iPod's popularity. Also, the additional information from the color screen (both in terms of color and in terms of resolution) is a Very Good Thing for the music player. Being able to see album art allows quick identification of the artist/album at a glance instead of squinting to read the text title.
As for the photos themselves ... well, obviously *you* didn't want that, but *I* certainly would pay the iPod photo premium ($100) to get it with my next iPod (which, unfortunately, is a ways in the future...) And I know that's one feature that would get my dad to buy an iPod, which is saying quite a bit.
Apple is crossing the line here and obviously trying to make it a "media" device which in my opinion is completely wrong. To make a media device on top of the iPod which is designed for listening to music, would have required a substantial redesign of the device. A bigger display would be essential, since it now becomes the "stage" for the product. Headphones were the stage for the music, where is the stage for the photos? A screen of the size thats initially designed for displaying song information and battery status?? That can't be true. Also, if you consider the stage would be a TV set, you do require me to bring an AV cable? The iPod being a compact portable device, there shouldn't be any additional cables to be brought in order to utilize the products features. Headphones itself is enough to carry, and at least those you typically "use" when you're on the way. The AV cable would just be extra load that has no purpose on the road.
Also dissappointed is the Photo synching approach. Why can't I sync photos with iPhoto and Music with iTunes. Now, you're telling me to import/export my photos from iPhoto into iTunes and then sync to the iPod? Doesn't make sense to me. It also doesn't make sense to most Apple users, especially iLife target audience.
Sigh. No. iTunes can see your iPhoto libraries, just like most OS X apps which want to hook into the iLife apps can see the other app's libraries. For instance, how iPhoto can see your iTunes library to accompany a slideshow. There's no "export/import". It's a matter of clicking on which (if not all) of the iPhoto albums you want to have available on your iPod.
Since iTunes has been the primary sync-point for the iPod, especially on Windows, it makes sense to not have to open up yet another application to do the synching (note that in Tiger the non-music/non-photo syncing of the iPod will be handled in the OS itself, not in iSync).
Well, I was surprised about the increased battery lifetime. It's basically the new extended battery they put in it, I would imagine. However, I'll plan on upgrading my 40Gig Ipod with that aftermarket battery and bump it up to 22 hours. The missing 7 hours are due to the color LCD that sucks extra energy. I don't need color on a music player... I don't know why you would. Well, in the new day and age, everything turns color, even without purpose, I know, and I would be willing to pay the price of a reduced battery life with it if it would give me more information, such as a higher resolution to have longer text and description,
Ummm .... well, it does. About 89% more pixels than in the 4G iPod models. Not sure if that translates to more text on the screen, as the font has also changed; we'll have to look at them side-by-side to judge that.
As for the appeal of color ... I talked about that above. Sex appeal. Additional information (you sound like a DOS lover circa 1989!). Photo viewing. All really good features.
maybe even a screensaver with iTunes like graphics floating around on the little screen to the beat of the music. Why did apple have to put photos in the game? I don't understand the purpose for it at all. Nobody is gonna pull up with an Ipod to grandma's birthday fiddles around 10 minutes to hook it up to the (possibly outdated) TV set, accidentally changes a bunch of channel presets, and pull out a presentation on-screen... I don't know... seems far fetched. It doesn't sound like the average ipod customer to me.
No, sounds like a digital camera user. Most weekends I'm in at least one round of "look at these pictures on my 1.5" back-of-the-camera screen". Other than the fact that changing most cameras to output to the TV is a feat of thumb gymnastics, the TV-out option would get more use around my family. As for the TV set not supporting an RCA jack connection ... come on! Practically every TV built in the last decade has an RCA jack connection on it, especially since DVD players became commonplace! And how do you f. up your channel presets by plugging in an RCA jack? Granted, tv's generally don't have the best interfaces for switching to the RCA inputs, but it's not anywhere near as difficult as you seem to believe it is!
In any case, obviously this isn't a product for you. Personally, I'll be dancing in the streets when I can get my hands on one of these puppies, and I strongly suspect my extended family will have at least three new iPod owners as a result of this. While it may not be useful for you, I think Apple's hit the market square on its head here.
