IT Tidbits: Apple love/hate

OK, my enthusiasm has been dampened. While the new Apple line of Mac products are indeed what I reported yesterday, it is not what I actually envisioned. The biggest disappointment for me is that the iPod Touch is more a supersized Nano/neutered iPhone than an updated iPod video (nee Classic). As such, the new must have iPod will only have capacities of 8GB and 16GB in NAND flash chips. The new iPod video, now called Classic, has been redesigned and price chopped BUT it has the same click wheel interface as the previous model and not the spiffy new touchscreen. This may not be a big deal for some but it is disappointing for those of us looking to have the go to item with the 160GB hard drive, sweet 3.5in screen and super wicked interface. I just know those bastards at Apple will bring this out next Christmas so they can megabyte me until then; I won't be spending my hard earned cash on this stepping stone of models.

Now, that said, for those of you currently without an iPod of any kind, you are going to have a field day. Why? Well, for starters, the retailers and first adopters are going to be trying to get rid of the old models so prices are going to drop and sales will be on often. They simply cannot sell the last generation flagship model at the same price as the new flagship since the consumer will not pay for a model that is half the size and larger than the new one. The Nanos have also changed radically so only those not interested in playing video (soon to be the minority player buyers) will want to try to snap up the phased out colourful players. The new Nanos are like mini iPod Classics sporting a larger screen and the ability to play videos. This was a necessary move by Apple as ALL their competitors in the same price range have offered more features like AM/FM radio, voice recording and video playback (albeit on 1.8 OLED screens) to battle the Nanos dominance. I guess the other players have cut into the profits enough to force Apple to make this change.

So, my advice to you is to do your research before you buy. Weigh the cost to the features and to your needs to make an informed decision. And, if you trust my judgment, by all means send me an email and I will try to help you wade through all of this.

Ciao.