Whenever I pay heed an Apple Cartesian product launch , I screw the drill : By the end of the day , I ’ll have a head full of random thoughts and doubt regarding the stuff that was unveiled .
First , though , a few plugs for other iPod - have-to doe with message on PC World — all of it courtesy of Melissa Perenson , our senior mathematical product editor . Here ’s Melissa’svideo reporton the fresh ’ pod . Here ’s aslideshowshe put together . And here areher thoughts on last workweek ’s news .
Now for my iPod - bear on brain dump :
•They really are beautiful . You wo n’t see this until you see the novel iPod lineup in individual , but the industrial intention is probably the good that Apple or anyone else in consumer electronics has ever done — they just look swell . peculiarly the Nano : The alteration in dimensions not only accommodates the larger screen , but somehow bring in the player positively endearing . suspicious but true : There ’s one model call the iPod pinch , but the metal wind up on the classic and nano are the ones that make those two players feel as honest as they look .
•I’m reserving judgment on the new user interface . I’ve always liked the sleek minimalism of the iPod UI . The raw one as seen on the nano and classic is a going , with a average amount of graphic bagatelle — like pass over prowess floating behind menus – that serves no smashing purpose . I ’m not saying it ’s a mistake , but I ’d want to live with it for a while before declaring it an advance on the old one .
•Bye Bye , classic?Finally , the iPod that we think of when we think of iPods has a name — it ’s the Classic . That does n’t seem like a name you ’d give a Cartesian product you expected to deal forever — Coca - Cola Classic still . I kinda inquire if Apple now thinks of the touch as the flagship iPod , and if it wo n’t be long until the classic gives way to a touch with a big honkin ’ hard drive or , conceivably , a ton of flash RAM .
•A hundred and sixty gigs!For now , though , the high - ending classic ’s 160 GB of blank is pretty darn startling . ( Normally at Apple events , I experience like I ’m ring by people who’lloohandaahat the most everyday of spec bumps ; when Jobs unleashed this one , I was oohing and ooh with the best of ’em . ) I wonder how many people will purchase this simulation , and what portion of them will directly fill up them up ?
•Rotating storage lives!The 160 GB classic certainly shows there ’s still a spot for laborious disks inside iPod — if Apple were to put 160 GB of instant storage inside an iPod , it would have to file several thousand dollar bill for it . I suspect , though , that by downfall 2008 , most iPods will be hearty - body politic , with one or two disk - establish example left in the lineup .
•Will the touch succeed?Until now , there ’s been a logical onward motion of iPod models , from modest , small - capacity , and tinny ( shuffling ) to liberal , high - capacity , and comparatively high-priced ( full - sized iPod ) . The touch ends that clarity by being large , depleted - capability , and comparatively pricey . Will multitude spend $ 399 for an iPod that wo n’t take for all their medicine ? I ’m not sure .
•Is the touch really a computer?I mean Apple ’s being pretty savvy selling it as a spiritualist player and downplaying the fact it contains Safari — which intend it can do just about anything you may do on the Web . ( I ’m thinking of the fact that devices likeSony ’s Mylo , which are in some way alike to the Touch but deal on the effectiveness of their calculation and communications lineament , never seem to go anywhere . ) However it ’s commercialize , the tactile sensation is the first phone - less iPod that can do a heckuva lot of things that have nothing to do with enjoying entertainment , and you got ta think that Apple is restfully but advisedly expound the iPod ’s commission with this twist .
•What , no multi - touch iPod I can put all my music on?The most important product Apple did n’t announce today — and the iPod I and a tidy sum of other multitude require — is a model equipped with a big touchscreen and at least 80 GB of storage apace . I ’m not entirely sure why one did n’t show up — perchance it ’s voiceless to make one as fragile as Mr. Jobs like his music player — but it seems a dependable bet that we&38217;ll get one within the next class , if not a lot rather .
•Will anyone turn the touch into a Wi - Fi VoIP iPhone?Technically , it ’s probably doable without a huge amount of effort — you’re able to make Skype call on an iPhone , and there areplug - in microphonesfor other iPods . I ’m sure someone will try , but I ca n’t picture out whether Apple will consider it a laudable purpose of its machine or a nefarious threat to iPhone sales agreement .
•When will we be able-bodied to download video on an iPod?The iTunes store you may get to from the Touch and iPhone is the iTunes Music Store . Movies and TV would exhaust up a bunch more Wi - Fi bandwidth , but we ’ll presumptively see them at some dot .
•Why no medicine sharing a la the Zune?iPod touches ( or is that iPod touch ? ) ostensibly ca n’t use their Wi - Fi link to talk to each other . I ’ll calculate Apple would never introduce a sharing feature as ridden by DRM - related gotchas as the Zune ’s “ eject , ” but I ’m still rum whether it ’s trying to figure out a way to make share-out make horse sense .
•Starbucks ’ cup runneth over . I’m not a great hearing for an extended discourse of the Wonders of Starbucks — I drink maybe one cup of coffee every two years — but I ’ll look I ’m not the only mortal in the audience who thought that Chairman Howard Schultz ’s display was endless . ( Especially given that Mr. Jobs himself kinda rushed through some pretty interesting stuff , like the newfangled iPod user port . ) On the bright side , Schultz was a refined enough giver to hold his own during a Jobs tonic , which you ca n’t say about most of the other execs who manage to get on stage at these events — cue flashback to the introduction of Motorola ’s Rokr phone . )
•What ’s really behind the Starbucks - Apple partnership?The coffee berry kingpins are move to spend years — and , presumably , millions and millions of dollars — setting up the technology they need to allow customers pass 99 cents to download the vocal they ’re listening to . You got ta conceive that there ’s a master scheme behind it all that ’s not apparent yet . ( More than one person I talked to wonder why you wo n’t be able to use an iPod to pay off for your latte : perhaps you will someday . )
•No John , No Paul , No George , No Ringo . This was around the 6,172nd Apple result precede by learned person confidently predict it would necessitate the announcement that Beatles euphony would be uncommitted for download . Jobs seemed to tantalise us , even — his demos require both solo Lennon and solo McCartney at various points . I was willing to consider that Paul was waiting in the wings at the Moscone Center up to the moment that Jobs conjure us all farewell . But the iTunes Store remains Fab Fourless .
