Who Knew?![APPLE - “It’s Only Rock and Roll” [September 9th, 2009]
1. Really surprised that they put a camera on the Nano but neglected the Touch. (Jobs stated their intent was to compete with the Flip at its price point, for whatever that’s worth.) If Apple is worried about differentiating the iPod Touch from the iPhone, a Touch with a built-in camera would still lack GPS, a compass and that persistent 3G data connection which makes most apps actually useful.
2. On the other hand, the 64GB iPod Touch for $399 with the upgraded CPU is exactly what I was waiting to buy. As many have stated, the Classic is basically a stopgap product for people who want to carry their huge music libraries everywhere they go. How long till 128GB SSDs are cheap enough that Apple can slap them in an iPod touch for less than $500? Will they discontinue the Classic when that happens?
3. The iTunes LP announcement feels like the unwelcome return of the Enhanced CD, in the worst possible sense. And the social features introduced (you can share to Facebook or Twitter) should either be opened up or eliminated entirely. Why can’t you share to Myspace, Last.fm, Blogger or Ning, for example? I don’t use any of these services, but lots of people do - and by limiting their social choices to the websites currently most-adored by celebrities and corporations, Apple’s being short-sighted.
4. More than anything else, I lament how Apple’s design and innovations teams have ceded ground to the marketing department over the past few years. I miss when they would just discard their most successful product lines on a whim or blow people away with innovation that people didn’t even know they wanted until they held it in their hands. For the past few years, though, Apple’s introduced incremental changes to most of its products, seemingly driven by the demands of corporations (like the introduction of iTunes LP to create an extra incentive for purchasing RIAA-owned content) and analysts (holding a keynote merely to upgrade storage capacity and lower prices, and calling it a day). We need an incredibly rigorous company to produce crazily good products that constantly innovate while retaining excellent stability and build quality - if Apple’s decided it no longer needs to be that leader in mindshare, someone needs to step up to the plate.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kpq1kcYCj91qz5a9so1_500.jpg)
APPLE - “It’s Only Rock and Roll” [September 9th, 2009]
1. Really surprised that they put a camera on the Nano but neglected the Touch. (Jobs stated their intent was to compete with the Flip at its price point, for whatever that’s worth.) If Apple is worried about differentiating the iPod Touch from the iPhone, a Touch with a built-in camera would still lack GPS, a compass and that persistent 3G data connection which makes most apps actually useful.
2. On the other hand, the 64GB iPod Touch for $399 with the upgraded CPU is exactly what I was waiting to buy. As many have stated, the Classic is basically a stopgap product for people who want to carry their huge music libraries everywhere they go. How long till 128GB SSDs are cheap enough that Apple can slap them in an iPod touch for less than $500? Will they discontinue the Classic when that happens?
3. The iTunes LP announcement feels like the unwelcome return of the Enhanced CD, in the worst possible sense. And the social features introduced (you can share to Facebook or Twitter) should either be opened up or eliminated entirely. Why can’t you share to Myspace, Last.fm, Blogger or Ning, for example? I don’t use any of these services, but lots of people do - and by limiting their social choices to the websites currently most-adored by celebrities and corporations, Apple’s being short-sighted.
4. More than anything else, I lament how Apple’s design and innovations teams have ceded ground to the marketing department over the past few years. I miss when they would just discard their most successful product lines on a whim or blow people away with innovation that people didn’t even know they wanted until they held it in their hands. For the past few years, though, Apple’s introduced incremental changes to most of its products, seemingly driven by the demands of corporations (like the introduction of iTunes LP to create an extra incentive for purchasing RIAA-owned content) and analysts (holding a keynote merely to upgrade storage capacity and lower prices, and calling it a day). We need an incredibly rigorous company to produce crazily good products that constantly innovate while retaining excellent stability and build quality - if Apple’s decided it no longer needs to be that leader in mindshare, someone needs to step up to the plate.
