Uhh… don’t they call those iPod Touch?

And what’s going on with the “grip of death” problem and possible recall from Apple with the iPhone 4?  Has Apple lost its way?

Would Apple ever do a recall of any of its products?  No.  They are way too arrogant for that.  Heck, they should just give out the “bumper” with every phone and call it good.

One thing’s for sure, someone’s in big trouble in the industrial design department.

Why is Apple compromising product functionality in the name of design?  Oh wait.  It’s Apple.  Dr Ive and the Design Gods rule.

Come to think of it, Jony Ive resembles another evil doctor we are all familiar with…

Not a good month for Apple (except for that whole selling somewhere around 10 million units and making billions of $).

After four years of loving my old, 15″ MacBook Pro, one of the first Intel machines to roll out of Apple’s headquarters in January 2006, my well-used friend is going the way of all computers – to the recycle bin – to make way for a new era in WhiteEyebrows computing…

…My shiny new 15″ MacBook Pro!

While the computers share the same name, don’t let them fool you.  This is a great advancement in both hardware and software!

Here is my initial design review after using this computer a week.

Unibody: The biggest design advancement in this machine is the fact that the base is carved out of a single, solid block of aluminum.  Its biggest advancement is also it’s best.  This manufacturing process gives the computer an incredible rigidity not found in any other laptop I’ve ever used.  The case will definitely not suffer from the same fate that my four-year-old Mac did, with the various adhesives and fasteners coming loose and with various parts of the case starting to come apart from the others.

Keyboard: Initially, I didn’t think I’d like the new keyboard.  I liked the look and feel of the old one and thought that the new design would prevent your fingers from as easily sliding from key to key.  However, I like the new keyboard.  It feels less mushy that the last one, and is very tightly sealed.  I’m not willing to spill a Diet Coke on it to test the seal, but my guess is I’d have less seep-through with this keyboard than with the last.  Apple has also updating the functions of the F Keys.  The old MacBook had several functions that were missing (music controls) and were poorly labeled.  It looks like they’ve re-prioritized the functions as well as refreshed the icon design on the keys.  Works for me.

Color Scheme: The introduction of black-on-grey give teh computer a slightly more serious look, and is a bit more dramatic than the old grey-on-grey approach.  Also, the black band around the display helps focus your eyes on the screen, rather than the boundaries around the screen.  Nice touch!

Screen: Speaking of the screen… I have a few gripes here.  Glass.  I hate the glass.  A great majority of Apple users will use this computer around a light source, probably a fluorescent one, which is gonna glare like MAD on the glass covered screen.  I know they offer a non-glare screen (which essentially removes the glass and puts a grey border around the screen), and I would have gotten it had my work offered the option.  Matte!  Matte, people!  I don’t want to be looking back at myself every time I look at this computer!

The glass does offer one or two advantages, though.  My old MacBook, over time, saw permanent imprints from the keyboard on the LCD.  It didn’t degrade the actual usage of the LCD, but was noticeable when the machine was turned off.  Also – fingerprints.  I hate when people come and touch their grubby, oily fingers on my LCD screen, and this glass will at least prevent them from poking their pointy little fingers through the backside of my LCD and permanently ruining the color in that particular spot.

Overall, the LED backlit display is brighter than its predecessor.  I like the power-savings from the LED backlight on this display, but Apple has traded off a lot of color accuracy for brightness in the default configuration.  You’d better believe that a graphics professional, such as myself, will have to calibrate the heck out of this thing so that blacks look black and not grey.  It’s a dirty trick to play on users, but one that makes them look awesome.

Ports Plugs and Drives: This one is easy.  I like the DVD drive’s move to the side of the computer, and the slot-load (as opposed to tray load) has always been one of my favorite Apple details.  With the DVD on the left, all of the ports have been moved to the right, which actually helps the user locate the correct port. No more picking up and rotating your computer looking for the location of a particular port!  Even people who own computers forever forget where their ports are when they are divided between sides like that.  The built in SD card reader is a great addition, but I’m no fan of the new MiniDisplay port.  I just don’t like the fact that it now requires me to carry around and keep track of yet another doohickey!  (A doohickey is the technical term for the adapter that allows you to convert MiniDisplay to VGA or DVI)  I love that Apple lives on the edge and is a leader in display technology adoption, but VGA is just not dying fast enough in today’s world!

Odds and Ends: I like the multi-touch mouse pad, but it has taken some getting used to.  I’m trying to master the art of one-handed drag and drop and other new gestures it has enabled.  Ninety percent of the time, though, I find myself clicking exactly where the the mouse button used to be on the old trackpad.  So, I guess it’s good that Apple left the size and proportion of the trackpad area alone so it wouldn’t be as error prone.

My coworker also pointed out the pointy edges near the trackpad (the part that is carved out so that you can lift the lid).  While I have yet to draw blood on this part of the computer, it seems like something Apple could have very easily refined in the aluminum milling process.

Lack of Removable Battery: This is my greatest point of contention with Apple.  Battery technology has NOT advanced to the point that a computer with a life of 3-4 years will not need a fresh battery sometime in there.  In fact, I changed the battery in my old computer 3 times during its lifespan.  Especially for the everyday user and mobile user, a new or extra battery is crucial!

Software: Snow Leopard is great, though it’s nothing to really write a long blog about.  It’s just better in every way, but not in any single way.  I like the inclusion of a native Cisco VPN.  I like the clean break from the PowerPC architecture.  I like the native Exchange support.

Well, I think that’s all.  Happy computing, everyone!

Me looking BAD with my new iPhone!

It has happened!

After three long years of planning, justifying, feature watching, and hoping for Apple to get it right, I am finally the proud owner of an iPhone.

Perhaps you’ll recall this post from a few years ago, when I originally decided why I didn’t want an iPhone… I’d like you to note that none of those reasons exist any longer, and now I am on my merry way…

1. Voice Dialing — works like a champ.  I LOVE it!  Love it love it love it.  I couldn’t own an iPhone w/o it.

2. GPS seems to work great with Google maps.  It does make me nervous though that so many apps are requesting to use my location with it.  I guess I’m still too much of a privacy nut (or still need the opening for creative embellishment of my true location) to allow a device in my pocket to constantly broadcast my current location. Although, I can’t seem to get the compass to turn the map the right direction… hmm…

3. The iPhone replaces so many devices!  It replaces my phone, my music player, my game boy and even my laptop (in certain situations).

I’m so tickled pink!

Let me say, though, that I think the Apple’s hoarding the iPhones in the Apple stores rather than selling them through the at&t stores is a mistake.  at&t sells wireless phones.  They are good at it.  The Apple store is NOT set up to be a mobile phone retailer, helping customers choose plans, manage discounts, switch around lines on family plans, etc etc etc.  Apple store employees are good at 2 things: 1) looking cool and beatnik and 2) ramming Apple products down people’s throats.

Long story short: I had to go across town to the Apple store to get my iPhone, even though there was an at&t store across the street.  Then when I got there, the guy messed up adding the phone plans to the account, and didn’t apply the correct discounts.  His response was that I have to call at&t to fix it.  Bah!  at&t has a 60 minute wait time to speak with a representative.  Boo.

I really appreciate and value people who can get things done right the first time.

Now… off to the apps store…

They’ve resorted to using children.  Check it out:

Now, in “showbiz” there’s one rule that everyone knows: Never work with children or animals! Why? Because they always steal the spotlight!  This might have been what Microsoft was going for.  I mean, who can deny the cuteness of the four and half year old on TV?  Will it make people want to buy Windows?  Probably not.

Really, I think they’ve finally hit the nail on the head with this latest metaphor.  Apple is wrong!  Microsoft is right!  A red letter day!  PC isn’t a nerdy, quirky guy with a bad haircut and no fashion.  No, PC (Windows) is a four year old child!

“I’m a PC and I am four and a half,” she says!

Why is this so fitting, you ask?  Well, the four year olds I know are known for:

• general instability
• never working when you need and doing a terrible job when you finally get them to work
• fits, tantrums, and illogical behavior
• insistence on doing a task THEIR WAY
• inability to understanding or comprehend simple instructions
• takes forever to get going on some mornings
• and takes forever to shut down at nights

Hmm… the only thing worse would be to  make Windows a TEENAGER instead!

Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me!

I suggest a corollary:

Charge me once, shame on you.  Charge me twice, shame on me!

Well, Apple and iTunes have done it!

Apple recently announced at MacWorld that the iTunes store is going to start selling only DRM free music.  And – of course – for those who had already bought music – there is an upgrade option!

So I logged into my iTunes account today and this is what I found:

Yes.  This looks like a great deal – for only $15.30 I can upgrade 87 of my songs to DRM free!  No more entering usernames and passwords, and no more Apple big brother tracking my music. (well, except for the signatures they embed in the file still…)

But hey… wait a second… I ALREADY bought this content!  Why do I have to buy it again?  I’m not getting hardly anything different – but somehow they’ve found a way to justify charging me again for the same stuff.

I have written about this before – I think the world and internet should move toward a pay for content approach: any content, any device, any network.  Who’s with me?  Why should I buy the same content over and over again?  (This is for you Disney film lovers who keep buying the xxth Anniversary Edition of each film when it comes out, and who’ll do it again when they release them on BluRay.)

Today’s post is to extol and expound my love for something that I use every day.

The Macintosh trash can.

Yesterday night, I was doing some housekeeping on my home Mac and after deleting a grundle of stuff, I decided to open my trash can to see what was in there.

I had 28,000 items.

I pushed the button to empty my trash “securely,” meaning that the head of the disk goes over the data and scrambles it.  I started the operation last night at midnight and now, 12 hours later, it is about 2/3 of the way through the operation.

I guess I should take out the trash more often.

Thankfully, this trash can never overflows on you like the regular trash can does.  I forgot to take my regular trash can out to the curb for 3 weeks in a row.  By doing that, I finally filled it up completely!  (I don’t generate much garbage)

At least the Mac trash never overflows, never stinks, never produces fruit flies, and doesn’t need to be taken out for years!

…So in the meantime, please enjoy this clip.

I realize I’m making fun of myself here… but I don’t care.

Best line:
Homer: “But it’s glowing…”
mApple guy: “That light confirms that it’s off.”

Barack/Hillary

Thank goodness it’s over. There will be no ‘dream’ ticket, because Hillary is a nightmare. I’m not sure why everyone has to hate Hillary so much. I’ll be glad now that I can stop getting the Hillary hate mail in my inbox. Let’s be for reals, though… I respect her for such an historic candidacy. Hopefully the right woman (one with a little less baggage) will come along soon to become the first female president.

I will say that I’m not afraid of Barack. I’m slightly more afraid of McCain. But I don’t trust Barack, either. I’m afraid of a democrat president and a majority democrat congress, even though they will probably get even less done than the majority republican congress did with the republican president from 2000-2006. The only thing we seemed to get out of that was temporary tax cuts, the patriot act, and No Child Left Behind; all three being total wastes of paper.

Why does government have to be so useless?

I can tell you this: I am already sick of hearing from every Democrat in front of a microphone that McCain is George W Bush. I can appreciate this strategy for winning the election, but I’m going to get really tired of this line. While McCain does toe the party line at times, he is clearly different in so many ways that really matter.

iPhone 3g Announced

Steve Jobs just got done announcing the “iPhone 3G” with surprisingly little detail and no actual demo. The only facts we got was that this model is thinner, the back is black, it has 3g chip as well as a GPS chip, and that it would be $199 for the 8gb model and $299 for the 16gb model. It’s going to be available on July 11.

That’s it. That’s all we got.

I’m a little cheesed off that I have to wait until July 11. I have been planning this purchase for 1 year now, and I’m planning on using my economic stimulus money (thanks Dubbya) to put toward this crucial item!

Oh yeah, and Jobs announced that the worthless .mac service would be renamed “mobileme”. Don’t worry, I’m still not interested.

Vacations

It’s that time of year again where people are leaving for vacations and doing all sorts of fun things. I like vacations. I like fresh air. I like getting out of the office and forgetting about work and life for a while. There’s something refreshing and invigorating, even though you inevitably return from a vacation more exhausted than when you left (and significantly broke-er too).

I don’t have any incredibly exciting vacations planned yet for this year, though, despite my new year’s resolution to take a vacation somewhere I’ve never been before. I’m hoping it will still come to fruition, although this whole economic bagel isn’t helping.

We now store gigabytes of music, movies, and television shows on our home computers. We can micro-target the content we enjoy, while filtering out that which we don’t. This is a far cry from the ‘olden days’ of buying a whole CD, cassette, or LP just to hear the one good song on the album.

We now ‘time-shift’ all our TV programming, watching what we want when we want. We can now download movies on demand through our cable providers or online services.

Leading the monetization and rights management control of this new digital content delivery world is Apple, with iTunes. Apple was the first to figure out how to partner with the content companies and produce a high quality, platform agnostic application that would be fun and easy for the user. iTunes has become the world’s leading digital media application because of these factors.

We have come far… but now consider this:

When I was in high school I had a small, modest collection of music. They were mostly hard to come by musical theater albums. These albums were expensive for a poor high school student, but they were important to me. Some even had sentimental value tied to the circumstances under which they were purchased. As the years passed, my CDs got lost, borrowed, scratched, or stolen. I had already paid and purchased the content, and yet I find myself now re-purchasing the same content!

Similar things happen in digitally acquired music. People who don’t backup their music can lose everything when their iPods are stolen. If you switch an iTunes account, you can lose access rights to the music you already purchased. If your computer gets lost, stolen, or if it crashes, you can lose a lot of money.

Also, what of the thousands of DVDs that people have purchased, which are now inferior to the new high definition formats?

The future of media, is not in content ownership. You won’t have to build a datacenter in your house to digitally store all those songs and movies you want to own. In fact, you already don’t ‘own’ the content you purchase outright. You are actually buying a license to listen to that music or watch that DVD for ‘private home use.’ You really don’t own the content at all.

So why do most of us buy and re-buy the same content OVER AND OVER during our lives if we have already bought their license for ‘private home use’ once?

Consumers need to demand that content owners honor their licensing of their content to us. Content providers (like iTunes) should track what you’ve purchased, but make that purchase available to you throughout your life – in upgraded formats as they’re available – in every format you want or need.

In my utopia, my iLibrary of DVDs would be available to me on demand over the network. It will know what content I have license to, and provide that content in the best possible format. It will track my content so it can never be lost, stolen, or erased.

Imagine… Entire bookcases and closets in America can be reclaimed from holding massive numbers of CDs and DVDs, and our media can be available to us on any device, any time.

I should also be able to buy and sell my licenses whenever I want, just as I could my CDs. If I want to get rid of an album or movie on eBay, I should be able to transfer that license to any other user on the fair market.

The content generation industry (we used to call these studios, as if it were art) will resist this, because it will ultimately mean less money for them. They also worried that digital distribution of music would make music piracy go up, when the exact opposite has happened.

iTunes has shown the incredible potential for digital media. Now they just need to close the loop and do the right thing for the consumer in providing digital rights management for all content, and having those licenses persist throughout my entire life.

Microsoft unleashed its Vista operating system to the public, to find it very poorly received. In the past, hoards clamored to upgrade every OS. Corporate IT departments worked around the clock to prepare for the new challenges and bugs that each new OS would bring, and pushed for early adoption due to the desirable new features. Vista adoption in Corporate America has been slow… very slow, and it’s apparent that Microsoft is losing steam.

What do they do next? They no longer have a ubiquitous platform. Their user base is fragmenting into those who really likes XP, those whose machines won’t support Vista, new users who are stuck with Vista, and then those ardent Vista HATERS who will stop at nothing to point out its failures and shortcomings.

So if you are Microsoft, having recently lost your founder and visionary, what do you do next?

If Apple/OSX or any Linux desktop OS is going to emerge to compete with Microsoft, now is the time.

I, on the other hand, have come up with a totally new solution to the problem. What we need is a new, modern Iran, full of fresh new ideas and leadership.

First, I propose we rename “Iran” to “iRan.” We can create a NEW Iran just by lower casing the i on Iran and giving it a brand new industrial design. This will modernize, pluralize, and make iRan cool, hip, and “now”. Let’s face it, mp3 players and cell phones existed before the iPod and iPhone, but look what the new capitalization has done for them!!

Second, I propose we make Steve Jobs the new CEO of iRan. There, he can give long winded, disconnected Keynote presentations to his heart’s content. He will have a totally captive audience. Also, having Steve in iRan will open the way for a new “mecca” for Mac-Philes. The tourism industry of iRan will grown 800% in the first year, with people making their annual pilgrimage to the center of Apple-dom.

Third, (and most important of all) we have learned that the ‘hearts and minds’ campaign is the most difficult one to win, and to succeed in this, we will introduce a revolutionary new device called the iRan.

This device will be based on the iPhone and iPod touch. Except it will come pre-loaded with all sorts of incredible content (cause as far as we know, the internet probably hasn’t been invented yet in Iran).

The iRan will include all the 60′s protest music we can find, the entire Beatles anthology (the rights to which will be taken from Michael Jackson as part of his current legal proceedings), videos of people getting smacked in the junk, and of course W’s last 6 “State of the Union” addresses.

We should also throw in lots of Hip Hop music, because I really feel like the suppression and objectification of women embodied therein will resonate in that culture. Also, it wouldn’t hurt them to learn the F word and repeat it at leisure every time they see an American, even if they don’t really understand how offensive it is.

We also need to put in every Tom Cruise film, for the pure capitalistic presentational melodramatic action packed nature of them. We should include the complete works of Meg Ryan as well, to show America’s cutesie, optimistic, love struck side.

I welcome your suggestions on other content you think might be appropriate for the iRan. It will be forwarded to the appropriate congressional subcommittee and is guaranteed to go absolutely nowhere.

This revolutionary device will change the way we fight wars and win hearts and minds the world over! A new era has begun.

State Department, are you listening???

On/Off Button.

The Experience

I needed a printer. In today’s printer world there are a PLETHORA of options. You can get inkjet, laser, or solid ink technology printers in black only or full color. Each has their pros and cons. Then, to make the decision even more difficult, there are all these multifunction printers as well, which combine scanning, faxing, and copying in many different configurations. Then there is the question of connectivity. USB? Network? Memory card readers? Legacy parallel connections? The list goes on.

I have been putting off the new printer purchase for some time now. I’ve been waiting for the color laser multi-functions to come down in price and mature in quality. I could wait no longer, so I decided to go to Fry’s Electronics and get (at least for now) some simple black laser printer that would get me by for the short term, until I decided on a color-laser-network-scanner-copier-faxer-with-auto-document-feeder-and-network-connectivity-which-is-fully-mac-compatible bohemuth to spend my money on.

Now, I am all about having a premium retail experience. For example, I enjoy shopping at Target instead of Wal-Mart for one reason alone: in Target, they don’t come blaring over the loudspeaker every 2 minutes bellering for so-and-so to pick up the blue line. These small things make all the difference.

When I walk into Fry’s the place reeks of hierarchical struggles. There is a “Person in Charge” podium at the entrance, as well as “Person in Charge” podiums around the store. Usually someone dressed in a suit is standing behind the podium watching the many minions mill about.

Each of the employees at Fry’s acts as though they have some gun pointed at their head; like they might be fired at any minute for any reason. Even stockers and cashiers, who have very simple, limited jobs walk around with a cloud hanging over their heads. I’m not sure why this is, but it is a tense, uncomfortable energy that pervades throughout the store, which puts consumers on edge.

So after perusing the printers for a while, a salesman came over and asked if he could help, and after answering a simple question about where I can find the printers (they weren’t clearly sectioned off into Laser and Non-laser or clearly labeled on their tags as Laser, Inkjet, or other), he left me alone to peruse. After he showed up again, I started telling him what I was looking for in a printer. I only wanted to spend $3-400 if I could get a good multi-function package, otherwise I just wanted a cheap black and white. It was also very important that the printer be Mac compatible, as ALL my systems are Macs. I knew I was in trouble when he responded to my compatibility query by saying, “yeah, well they all should be [compatible].” I know for a fact that most printers are Mac compatible, but multi-functions are basically a coin toss. When I pointed this out to him, especially that scanning software wasn’t always compatible, he offered to get the boxes for the printers I was interested in so he could check specifically.

As I was about to give up and go back to researching online, just by chance I glanced underneath at the boxes that were in stock (rather than the display units), and saw a Color Laser with scanner and network connectivity for $500. It was the CM1017 by HP. “OK this will work,” I thought. When we still couldn’t tell if it was Mac compatible, he invited me to go to a nearby computer to look up the details on it.

When I looked up the printer on HP’s website, I found they were listing the same printer (CM1017) for $474. So I asked if they would match the price ($25 less… come on!), and he looked as though I had just called his mom a four letter word. “No we just can’t match websites… that doesn’t include shipping… we just can’t match websites.” I laughed a bit and was being understanding until he said, “Yeah… we can’t even match our OWN website.” Then I realize, Oh my crap… this corporation is totally backwards!

I showed him that with shipping and taxes from HP.com it still was only $508, as opposed to the $540 I would spend at the store. He held his no website matching ground though.

After thinking about it I thought, “you know, I can spend $30 extra, have it in my hand today, and this guy has been helpful to me despite having absolutely no knowledge about sales, mac compatibility, or finding the right product to fit my needs.” So I said I would take it.

The gentleman got a cart for me and loaded it up, then did a “ticket” (the way he gets his commission on the sale). I walk through the aisles toward the register weighing my choice… did I really want this printer? Was it worth the $30 savings to ditch the cart and go order it online? Somehow, I made it to the register with the cart still in hand.

The lady at the register scanned the “ticket” the guy gave me, then scanned the product itself. Then she muttered something to herself, then went to go call the salesman. I looked down on the box, the printed price label said $699. She had muttered that he had gotten the wrong box, and that he’d be back to replace it. I said, “No. This is the right model. This is the printer I want. The sales tag underneath it said $499, the HP website lists it for $474, and now you’re trying to sell it to me for $699??? This is crap. I’m just going to buy it off their website, you guys need to get your act together.” When the manager lady saw I was losing my grip, her reaction wasn’t to try to explain, she just said, “Okeey.. Dank you. Goo bie.”

I ran into the salesman on my way to the exit who was running back to fix whatever problem he had created. I said, “I don’t know what’s going on here, but all I know is I can get that same printer for $40 cheaper online, and you guys need to get your program together.” And I walked off.

It turns out, yes, the salesman HAD gotten the wrong printer. They were not going to let me out the door with the CM1017 without selling it to me for $699. It was the CM1015 that was $499 (the only difference being the network connectivity).

So I went home, and in less than 30 minutes of searching, I found the same printer (CM1015) for $280, and the CM1017 for $360. I bought the CM1015 online.

Why Retail Stores Suck

So… this retail store lost because:

• Total lack of knowledge about the products you sell.
• Lack of ability to match needs of customer with product you sell (this is what salesmanship is, BTW)
• Lack of competitive pricing and website matching (even matching your own company’s website… hello!)
• Relying on impulse buyers and people who don’t know better to buy their over priced products.
• A generally uncomfortable atmosphere set by uncomfortable employees and supervisors.
• Lack of good communication with the customer.

I don’t just want to end by picking on Fry’s. Here are my other big box retail store #1 complaint summaries:

• Best Buy: Prices are not competitive, but sales staff are generally knowledgeable and less pushy than Fry’s.
• Wal-Mart/Target: Stock is typically out of date.. as much as a year. And they still sell them for MSRP, when much newer better models are already available. Also, there is NO sales knowledge or customer service.
• CompUSA, Staples, Office Supply Stores: High prices, but there is a better chance that sales staff are professional and knowledgeable.

So what do you do? What is the answer? Go to best buy if you want to play with the product, go to an office supply store to ask a question about it, then go home and buy it online.

The Exception (the Not)

Now, there is one exception to this rule. (And I swear I don’t work for these guys) But Apple has saved retail! They really have rethought it.

• You will always pay the same in an Apple store as you will on Apple’s Online store
• Apple’s employees are INCREDIBLY knowledgeable (about mac products), and if they can’t answer your questions, they will show you to the “genius bar” where the really smart guys are.
• I can get my corporate discount at any Apple store or online at apple’s store.
• I don’t have to wait for clearance sales, collect discount coupons, or find redemption codes. None of these exist for Apple. They do not discount merchandise until a replacement product comes out.
• You can receive Apple support in the Apple stores. Rather than calling India for help, you make an appointment (they respect your time), and you take your Mac, iPod, or iPhone in and they fix it for you on the spot.
• Apple’s stores are modern, well stocked, easy to visually parse (not too many products, aisles, or shelves), and accessible (if you’re in a major metro area)
• The staff totally love their jobs, are encouraged to be individuals (not uncommon to see piercings or tats), and genuinely believe in what they’re pushing.

This is a store I can spend my money and time in.

Whatever…

The longer you make me wait for iPhone 2.0, the more I’ll be tempted to buy this ugly, unusable, cheap, windoze phone:

• iPod Shuffle
  • Just new colors. Yawn.
• iPod Nano
  • New, fatter, round cornered industrial design
  • It can play videos now!
  • A few small UI enhancement
• iPod
  • Renamed to iPod “Classic
  • New industrial design.. same rounded corners as iPod Nano
  • Bigger hard disks… up to 160gb
• iPod Touch
  • New iPod based on the iPhone form factor
  • Large multi-touch display with similar OS X interface as the iPhone
  • Integrated wi-fi
  • Safari web browser, as in iPhone.
  • iTunes wi-fi store now allows users to purchase music directly to the iPod itself, later syncing with the host computer.

The shocker, though, was that the 8gb iPhone, previously listed at $599, will now be sold at $399. The official reasons were that they wanted “an iPhone in every stocking this Christmas,” but I have my own ideas:

1. The iPhone was overpriced to begin with, targeted at early adopters who would pay any price for the much-hyped system.
2. The iPhone must come down at some point so new, higher-end iPhones can be introduced at the premium price.
3. Sales for September and October were likely to slump since all the early adopters had already purchased their iPhone, and all the wait-and-see people were likely to wait for a iPhone v2.0
4. The number one barrier to most people buying an iPhone was that it’s too expensive. This will start to solve that problem.

Things that weren’t announced that have been in the rumor mill for a long time:

1. iPhone nano: this one might be a reality, might not. Wait for the next iPhone event in January or February.
2. Beatles albums now on iTunes. Nope. Not yet. Go buy the CDs if you like the Beatles that much.

Here are my summaries/predictions/conclusions:

• The new iPod will feature a widescreen, multi-touch display, and will play video.
• The new iPod will be based on a OS X, like the iPhone. This is a no brainer for Apple. Now they have put the work in to make iPhone an iPod, just leverage all that work in an iPod only form factor.
• The new iPod will look very similar to an iPhone. Same widescreen, multi-touch technology. Same singular home button. However, there will be some kind of design change or color difference. iPhone users will want to maintain their outward iPhone superiority to the less expensive, iPhone looking iPods.
• Many have speculated that the new iPod will be based on NAND flash (the type of memory that is in the iPod nano) rather than a 2.5″ mobile hard disk. The hard disks are the single greatest point of failure in the old iPods, and the NAND flash in iPod nanos is practically indestructible. HOWEVER… I’m not 100% sold on that. NAND flash is much more expensive per gigabyte, and packing enough NAND flash into the iPhone form factor to equate the current largest iPod (80gb) would do it in. Apple can’t make the margins it needs at that price. I don’t see them shrinking the capacity of the largest iPod either. With every iPod release up until this point, they have expanded the storage capacity at the high end. Will we suddenly go crashing back down to 32gb after we have enjoyed 80gb? I doubt it.
• They will certainly refresh the iPod, and likely refresh the iPod Nano (although it will mostly just be the new OS), but i’m not confident they will refresh the iPod Shuffle.

My prediction is that the new iPod will be a HUGE financial success for Apple (much bigger than iPhone), and will drive their holiday sales and 3rd to 4th quarter profits. Apple’s timing and strategy have been perfect.

iPhones were a perfect product for the summer, because a cell phone is not a product that we can all just go grab and use. Most of us have contracts we can’t break and can’t justify over $1000 to switch carriers and handsets. The hype was good. But the MONEY will come now with the new iPod.

Everyone and anyone can use a new iPod. Teens, old people, even babes in arms. It has been almost 2 years since the last iPod refresh, so we’ve all been waiting for this one for a very long time!