I’m sorry, I know this is technoblasphemy, but I just don’t get the point of the brand-spanking new iPod Photo.
I mean, I get it, from Apple’s standpoint….they can certainly sell their fair share of color-screened iPods to their devoted nation of Applephiles, who standby just aching for something to make their iPod hipper than all those on the heads of the friends and strangers they encounter in their daily routine.
I just wonder if Apple is moving quickly enough. If they shouldn’t have delivered more with the (drum roll) NEW iPod.
Plenty of folks are upping their game in the MP3 player market with more competitive offerings, stepping up big in the capacity and coolness departments. How long can the UI brilliance of iTunes, and the hipness factor of the iPod carry them, before Microsoft, Dell, and countless others start eating away at that Apple MP3 player portable digital lifestyle appliance market share?
Now, let me clarify–I am sure with the near-constant running of those iconic U2 commercials, Apple’s going to sell a trillion pods this holiday season. So it’s only natural that Apple would want to milk the cash cow for one more year. And why not? Get a lot more people on board with a music-only iPod, before expanding into video, rather than roll out a new iPod that actually takes a major step forward–like play video, or TAKE pictures.
And I know that it’s going to take a lot, both technologically and legally speaking, to make an iPod Movie Player and iMovie Store work like iPod+iTunes have.
All I’m saying….Apple better make haste.
There are already plenty of viable alternatives to the iPod emerging–devices that offer more for less. We shall see how they face of more formidable competition than they’ve seen in earlier challengers, but my bet–Apple’s over/under for a video iPod (or an iPhone) better be under a year. Otherwise the iPod runs the risk of falling prey to the NEXT big thing. Because in the end it is inevitable–at some point, something is going to be the New iPod.
UPDATE: Well, at least someone agrees with me. Namely, Marc Canter. And so does Russell Beattie.