uPod

Posted bydavin 7 Comments on uPod

here is a bit of tech bot crap:
U2 limited edition iPod
iPod Photo
uPod.jpg
U2 is my favorite band. But the uPod’s only unique new features are different color plastic (which i like the look of, but it’s just plastic) and reproduced autographs on the back.
$499 is quite a bit for a collectors item.
about the iPod photo..
beautyshot_ipodphoto_041026.jpg
this is a very good idea executed only half-way. you should be able to put all yer movies on the thing since they advertise that you can hook it up to a TV, and obviously the unit can handle audio. of course, how much would the movie industry like that? not so much. potential .. potential.
look at the size of the thumbnails. can you imagine scrolling through 20,000 or even 10,000 photos like that? the good thing is you can use albums that you put together in iPhoto on the computer. one thing is clear — iPod’s are not for input — they’re output only, unless you get a 3rd party accessory or somesuch.
to that end, apple still has not put the line-in port or the microphone-in port on the thing so i wont be buying one. almost better than a minidisc player, however still not quite.

Join the Conversation

7 Comments

  1. I think it looks super cool! What a catchy, distinct finish for it… But like you said, no ins. That’s always been my issue with ipod. And, add to that there isn’t a removable/replaceable battery… So once your li-ion battery dies down, the ipod dies with it.

  2. something else I was thinking of – why not make ipod wireless/bluetooth? Why not put an ipod-airport card inside, and give yourself the option of using imail and safari to a limited extent? Why not bluetooth the ipod so that you can send and receive files between your puter and ipod wirelessly? Bluetooth and airport extreme are just as fast as wired and usb.
    Hell, why not make an ipod phone component. I’ve heard that ip phones are going to make regular phones and phone lines obsolete in the next five years, putting companies like Telus out of business. IP is waaaay cheaper and convenient – phone use anywhere, talking by use of the internet.
    IPod, to me, has so much more potential than what they’re exercising. I’ll wait til they fully get with it, and then I’ll buy one.
    I want:
    60gig ipod for music
    for photos
    for file holding and transfer
    with bluetooth
    with wireless
    with a small browser
    with email
    with a plug-in phone component where by I dial on my pad (having put my addy book on my ipod via bluetooth) and talk through a mic and listen through a speaker bundle that plugs into my ipod that is by then back in my pocket.
    and of course I want the U2 color scheme.
    That’s it!

  4. “this is a very good idea executed only half-way. you should be able to put all yer movies on the thing since they advertise that you can hook it up to a TV, and obviously the unit can handle audio.”
    Steve Jobs addresses this very topic at the 12 minute mark of the stream.

  6. Personally I thought it was too small to view photos on too, when I first saw it. But when Cam pointed out the screen bigger than the one on my camera, I said, “Oh, yeah, maybe”.
    However, I’m betting one of the things preventing Apple from going the video route is technical, something Steve Jobs of course isn’t going to mention. I’m sure one of the things which makes the said portable video players too big to fit in your pocket is their battery. The iPod Photo gets 5 hours of playtime when it’s doing slideshows (vs 15 when doing music), so I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that playing a movie would reduce battery life to a single movie, making it pretty much useless as a portable device.
    Besides, I can guarantee you that the DVD industry isn’t going to be allowing those companies producing portable video players — even Microsoft — to rip their DVDs. So then where’s your content coming from? Unlike the music industry, the movie industry has had copy protection schemes in DVDs since day 1, and I highly doubt that’s going to change.
    Steve Jobs’ assertion that “Music + Photos” is the next big thing is pretty disingenuous — no-one cares about music + photos. But people certainly DO take a lot of pictures. I have a camera, you do, practically everyone I know does. I think the fact that I could take them all with me is a really nice bonus, but not a core selling feature, which is always going to be about music.
    Which, by the way, is one of the reasons I think the iPod is so successful — it’s highly focused. Apple lets the third parties handle the rest. If Apple ever does a video product, it’s not going to be in an iPod; there’s too much music-brand equity to start changing what it’s for.

Leave a comment