The iPod
from the thinking-different dept
So, Apple finally came out with their super secret announcement, and it's a portable MP3 player, called the iPod. I just got to play around one briefly about half an hour ago, and it's pretty cool. It certainly has some neat features. My complaint with MP3 players in the past has always been that they don't hold nearly enough songs - but this solves that with a 5 gig drive. The interface is nice, clear and easy to use. The size is a little big, but very nice when you realize what you're getting. The firewire connection is nice if you happen to have firewire, and the iTunes connection is cool if you have a Mac. Analysts, of course, aren't so sure about it. They're not sure that Apple can compete effectively in the consumer electronics space, or that they'll make enough margin. They think the device is a little pricey ($399). However, some say that it may help to convince some people to buy a Mac instead of a PC, so that could make it worth while (though, I'd guess the number who are swayed just because of the iPod will be small). Of course, I'd bet that within 6 months they'll be plenty of copycat devices that work well with Windows (and which will probably be cheaper). Many Apple fans are not happy. They expected something a bit more revolutionary, and a bit more exciting. Perhaps they shouldn't have hyped it so much.
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iPod is aPud
Add to the small market a fairly unattractive design...though it is a (design) improvement over the PJBOX (http://www.pjbox.com). Remember that pjbox spun out of Compaq's research lab a *couple* (yes, started in 1998, shipped in 1999) years ago (http://www.research.compaq.com/SRC/pjb/). PJBox was the first to build a portable MP3 player that used a 6 GB 2.5" hard drive.
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Jobs said:
'computers' - answered the developers
"What do computers have?"
'keyboards' - answered the boot licking developers who knew where Jobs was going.
"Then what is is" as Jobs held up a Newton
(and the Newton developers in the room new that they were doomed.)
So Jobs, a change of heart, or is this 'insanely great' cuz YOU thought of it?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]