Damn you, Apple! Damn you. When the iPhone came out I wanted one like everyone else, but I knew I didn’t need it, couldn’t benefit from it, and didn’t want to afford it. Given all that, it was fine that I didn’t have one because at that point anyone that got one was an idiot. But now…now Apple release the iPod touch - otherwise known as an iPhone without the phone. In short, it’s Apple’s new PDA that will probably take on what their Newton couldn’t do years ago.
But back to my anger — damn you, Apple, for making products that I really, really want but don’t need, can’t justify, and can’t really afford. There are already two Apple iPod siblings in our household and neither get used enough to justify what we paid for them. Sure, iPods are great if you’re active and/or mobile, however we are really not. My iPod mini serves as a mode of transport for music from home to work, but in that sense it’s really just a hard drive.
Apple releases the iPhone and people bitch about the price and the network, but they’re crazy over the interface and product design. Alright. Fine. We’ll just take the phone and network out of the equation and there you go! Something that is half the price that people will actually buy. Why buy a old fullsize iPod when you can get the Touch? Exactly. None.
And thus marks the end of the iPod touchwheel. You had a great run and worked really well, but we’d rather just touch the screen. Screw you, wheel.
Apple needs to chill on their release timeline for iPods. It doesn’t seem that long ago that they released the Nano, of which there is now a newer version of that too. And the little, teeny, tiny Shuffle. The redid that too. The family tree of iPods is now crazy big. It’s almost at the point where people are going to stop buying them because in 9 months a new one will be out. At least that’s what should happen…
…but…
…wait, this is Apple. We’ll bow down and buy whatever Apple presents in front of us because they look cool, do cool things, seem to fill some sort of technological void we’re told we have, and make us look cool. I fear some of the more loyal Apple-ites that probably have seven different iPod siblings all docked on their desk.
Thank you, Apple, but damn you to hell.
I’m saying the same thing. When the iPhone came out, I said “man, if only they made that without the phone in it”. Well, they just did.
Now, the difference between you and me… I use my iPod daily, and usually spend a few hours listening to it at various times.
Damn. I want one.
If I remember right, it has been about a year since the last release of an iPod model, so I would hardly say that a yearly release cycle is too fast.
The touch wheel isn’t gone. They’ve revamped the older style iPod, given it bigger disk drives, and called it the “iPod Classic”.
I’d also like to mention that the iPod touch does still have wifi built into it, as well as a browser. From what I read, you can even buy tracks from the ITMS directly to your iPod. They’re even partnering with Starbucks so that if you happen to be at a Starbucks and like the song that is playing, you can buy it on the spot.
Damn. I want one.
G+
Oh yeah, the touch only has 8 or 16 gigs of storage, since it’s based on a flash drive.
The iPod classic is still based on a hard drive, and now comes with 80 and 160 gigs of storage.
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What seems missed is that they cut the price of the 8GB iPhone by $200, from $599 to $399. So if the an iPod is $250, the internet function is worth $100, the phone value is only costs you $49.
I can’t believe how many people are crying foul for the iPhone price drop.
I see that price drop as being the tax on people who wanted bragging rights. It was common knowledge how much money the early adopters dropped on their pretty little iPhones. If you had one, you had spent the money.
The $200 amounts to $100/month to be the envy of everybody on the street. Lots of people pay a lot more than an extra $100/month for a flashy car, so all in all, the premium on the iPhone as an impressive toy was pretty cheap.
G+
Can you tell I wrote the above after a long day?
“So if the an iPod”
“the phone value is only costs”
Maybe I’m really from South Carolina?
The iPhone does end up NOT costing only $50 more because you have tack on the AT&T charge to the iPhone, which brings the total phone bill probably close to $500+ even with the price slash.
Even with the price drop I’d wager the touch iPod will sell more because people don’t want to deal with switching phone carriers - they just want the cool touch organizer. Might as well save $50 and not deal with phone hassle.
But what you fail to account for is the being able to use the Internet while not in a Wi-Fi area and the fact you only have to carry 1 device. A phone & a ‘touch’ or just an iPhone.
So is it worth $50 for a phone and an extra $35/month for the ability to surf the internet anywhere (sporting events, concerts, driving, during walks, etc.) all with 1 device.
The ‘touch’ is really cool, but if you need directions on your way to someplace it can’t help you out, while the iPhone can.
Not sure it 100% worth it, but it is ALOT closer to making financial sense than it was before.
I would agree if the internetting on the iPhone didn’t suck. Or at least that seems to be the general concensus. Plus, I’m happy with my current cell phone, I wouldn’t want to go through the trouble of changing providers and all that. Not worth the potential headaches.
Mobile internet is overrated because most people aren’t that mobile. We think we are, but we’re not. Being mobile means more than a walk from the car to the office or a walk in the park with the dog. But anyway…
The internet access on the iPhone is on the AT&T EDGE network. The EDGE technology is comparable to the old Sprint Vision. It maxes out at a theoretical 144k/s. In real world use, it ends up being about 2x the speed of a 56k modem (~12K/s).
When the iPhone supports the newer HSDPA network, which is comparable to the Sprint Power Vision, or Verizon vCast (EVDO services), then it might be worth it. In the mean time, I think it’s simply a token feature. Most folks will use it on a wifi network if they can help it.
I was incredibly disappointed that Apple/AT&T didn’t go with the new faster HSDPA support. As far as I’m concerned, internet access on an iPhone without wifi available, while it is still available, is not all that compelling of a feature.
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I’d be all over that thing… If it had a hard drive. As is, 16G is smaller than my music collection. I don’t want anything called “iPod” if it can’t glorp down my entire music collection.
Here’s hoping that’s coming in second gen!
I agree. I was really hoping to see the iPod Touch with a hard drive.
I suppose power consumption would have caused battery life to be on par with my 2+ year old iPod mini.
Between the screen, CPU to run the more advanced software, and a HDD, I think most folks would have been pretty disappointed with the battery life.
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