“Wow! A video iPod. I can’t wait to get my hands on one. Bet you feel the same way. (Apple is betting on that, too.) I’m afraid, however, that after the initial coolness factor wears off, the video iPod will wind up in the same dresser drawer as the Zvue, the Zen and other portable video devices that have come and gone over the years,” Gary Krakow writes for MSNBC.
“TV is basically free already. Yes, people pay monthly fees for cable and satellite services, but for the most part, millions still watch network TV shows every night. Some record them on VCRs. Others record shows on DVRs (digital video recorder) like TiVo, etc. Still others are content to wait for a rerun to catch a show they’ve missed,” Krakow writes.
Krakow writes, “Apple and ABC are betting that you’re willing to pay. If you miss an ABC show you’ll be able to buy that episode for $1.99 the next day. I’m not saying that there isn’t some video people will pay for — the music fans who flock to iTunes may very well be willing to pay for special programming such as music videos, movie shorts and even movies, plus items they can’t watch anywhere else for any price. But the TV shows they could watch for free the day before?”
“Which brings me to what I think was Apple’s more interesting announcement: The new iMac comes with a remote control — and the ability to let you control what you’re listening or watching to from across the room. I think that’s the next step for home computers,” Krakow writes.
Full article here.
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I bought a TV episode that day to play on my computer.
I travel a lot and miss my favorite shows. Even though I have Tivo, I will gladly pay 2 bucks to watch the shows on my laptop the next day. It’s a price point where I could care less.
I have yet to see any iPods in the dresser drawer. The video iPod is just that, a fully functioning iPod that can now play videos. It can only get more use than any other previous Pod, not less.
Music was great to listen to, Podcasts increased the amount of interesting content, and now videos and TV shows will add to this. It’s all good.
wow, and if the coolness of playing videos is just a novelty, I’ll be stuck with….
a full funtioning iPod with 60 gigs, and a bigger display that’s thinner than the current 20 gig (let alone my 2G 20 gig) with better battery life and all the other goodies that have been made to the firmware since my 3 year old ipod.
Wow, for some reason, I don’t see that spending much time in my dresser drawer.
Podcasting, with and without video. That’s the future of content, or at least a major part of this. Porn will help fuel the industry as it did with video tape sales and rentals… now we truely have porable devices that can be ‘easily’ controlled with one hand (hmmm).
It may go in the dresser draw, next to your socks and underware – yup, an essential device to carry around your media, in all forms.
IMHO – Jb
This guy doesn’t have a clue. It’s the SAME IPOD that millions have been buying, only now there’s this extra feature that plays video. It’s not the “Video iPod”, it’s just the iPod, now with the ability to play video. It still does everything the prior iPods do, but just a little more. He’d have a point if Apple introduced a dedicated device soley for watching video, but it’s not. It’s still the best Digital Audio Player on the market.
Here’s a clue. It’s an iPod. It plays tunes. Oh yes, it also will play video.
The plan is to get a few million iPods out there with video capability in them also, then approach the content people with some major clout in your back pocket.
Sigh. Some writers just don’t get it. This is an iPod that ALSO does video. I have an iPod photo. Only 1% of the time do I use it to show vacation pictures to my family. Doesn’t mean it sits in the dresser drawer the other 99% of the time cos it also has my entire music collection and hours of Italian lessons, which I listen to every day during my two hour commute.
That said, I’m delighted it does photos, even though I seldom use it to bore my family.
Moron. It’s an iPod, just like the millions of other iPods people use to listen to music, only it also does video and costs the same. What’s not to like?
Personally, I have zero interest in the video thing, and if Apple were charging a premium for it, I wouldn’t buy one. But, since the functionality is essentially free and the new iPod’s still shirt-pocket-size, I’ll gladly pick one up when I outgrow my 10GB 2nd-gen iPod. And, who knows, maybe I’ll use the video thing after all. Kind of a no-risk try-before-you-buy situation.
As a professional photographer shooting digital, I do wish they’d make one with a CF card reader built-in. The bigger color screen would be really nice for viewing photos.
HOW STUPID ARE THESE PEOPLE!?! the iPod plays MUSIC and video. if i had one of these babies i’d still be bopping to my tunes at work and in my car. and yet the sites are rife with these morons saying that this little novelty will kill the iPod, or lose its charm, etc. no, it won’t, Krakow. it’s a music player that does video. if it did video exclusively, then you’d have a point. since that’s not the case, you have no valid point, and have no reason to publish this FUD except to keep the cash flowing from M$ and their affiliates into your pockets.
MDN: “free,” as in “hey Krakow, get a clue. they’re FREE.”
This guy has evidently forgotten DVD sales aren’t exactly zero, esp. those box sets of various series. You can watch those for free too, and we do, but we also buy them up on DVD too (I’m speaking generally here.)
People buy heaps more DVDs compared to VHS tapes, so we’re in that frame of mind now… and if you do miss a show for whatever reason, its now available the very next day – instead of months later when either the cable company decides to replay it, or it gets released on DVD (ignoring bittorrent for now).
I think it’s a brilliant idea. That said, the 320×240 resolution is more a hinderance than the actual concept.
He as also forgotten that this is basically media for the disposable generation…. those who have the ready cash for frivolous things like this.
This guy has no vision. He is confusing what he might/might not do with what millions of other people might/might not do.
How many iPods must be sold before people like this say, hey Apple may be on to something…
well, you could record series from TV in MPEG-4 and then put the series on your ipod… free and no need to buy a vcr… of course apple would loose out on some profit, but at least this way the theory of put it away in your drawer wont happen… and they would continue to sell sell sell
OK, now repeat after me…
It’s not a video iPod, it’s an iPod that can – amongst all its other capabilities – play video.
Is it me, or are people becoming more stupid by the year – maybe they put something in the water, or maybe as we drink more Starbucks we’re ingesting some drug that reduces your ability to comprehend simple facts.
Or then again, maybe in-breeding is becoming more fashionable…and a pre-requisite for anybody working for MSFT or one of its affiliate entities.
Maybe Apple should sell the EXACT iPod without the video functionality so it will stay out of the drawer. Huh, huh?
Idiot…The iPod has been evolving since it’s original release.
First: contacts and calendar
Second: Photos
Third: Podcast support
Now: Video
With each release, sales have INCREASED. I don’t think adding video support will relegate the iPod to a drawer.
(feel free to add to or correct my timeline)
OK. So I’m not watching a video. I can still listen to the music just like always. Why would I leave it in the drawer?
His views are without logic. But then he writes for MS-NBC. Case closed.
Consider the source. Did you honestly expect Microsoft TV to say “Go buy Apple stuff?”
Note to Krakow.
It is still an iPod Dummy! The same as the iPod photo it replaces, except it now has video capability. It is smaller, has a larger screen and is available in black. All at no increase in price. Now why do you think it would wind up in the dresser drawer? This has to be one of the dumber articles I have seen in a long time. I wonder if your only purpose is to create controversy.
MICRO SOFT NATIONAL BROADCASTING COMPANY
In other news, apple.com’s website writes disparaging things about Windows. Film at 11.
I’m sorry, Mr. Anonymous First Poster, the phrase is not: “I could care less.” The correct phrase is “I could not care less.” Unless of course, you meant that you could care less, in which case your post would be drivel.
MW: reason, as in there is a reason for grammar; it helps to make sense of that nonsense coming out of your mouth.
Yeah, agreed. It’s “MS”NBC. He would not be permitted to say anything positive about an iPod. Poor sap…
Bill: Hey Uncle Fester, tell some nutcrack at MSNBC to write FUD about that new iPod. We do own part of MSNBC don’t we?
And by the way, did anyone fix the $@#%$ remote control, I promess O’Brian I would get that Home Media thing working.
I am curious, though, about one effect. Are there a number of average consumers out there that will make the same mistake that this writer and others have made, that is, view the iPod now as the vPod, when it remains the iPod with a new functionality? If writers are getting confused, could the average joe think he’s buying the wrong thing?
That’s been my concern and the main reason I liked the Eminem ad… though I dislike the guy and his form of “music” it was a compelling piece of advertising and didn’t mention the video at all. Also, I like the slogan of “Watch your music,” to emphasize the music element. But is this enough?
Can Krakow really be as big an idiot as his column makes him out to be? More than half the posters here stated the obvious: it’s an iPod with video capabilities. Just like my iPod Photo, and similar to “Mac user since 1984,” I use it for music 98+% of the time, and once in a while, I use the photo capability. Still doesn’t sit in a dresser drawer.
Anybody get this guy’s email address yet?
I think apple will make out ok, especially if more networks sign on. I don’t watch TV that often, less than 7 hours a week, and my schedule constantly shifts especially during prime time. There are times that a program I wish to watch comes on at the same time slot as another program on another network that I wish to watch. Now I have a DVR and a VCR the DVR is a snap to program but the VCR is not as simple. My DVR is also first generation 20 hour low res capacity. I can’t set it over the internet like some of the newer ones. My point is many times I miss programs due to scheduling conflicts . I would gladly pay 2 bucks to have a chance to get a network program. Apple should also approach PBS many time I miss shows like Alan Alda’s science program and Nature and National Geographic. This would help boost PBS revenues so that maybe they can stop begging and put on better production values during their scheduled recruitment of funds.
What a dunce. Doesn’t he realize that 28 million iPods have already been sold on their music-playing merits alone, and so will millions of these? It’s not a “video iPod” — it’s an iPod. Oh, by the way, it plays video too. If Apple had radically redesigned the form factor to allow for a decent sized screen and charged a premium for it, then he’d have a point. But as many people have pointed out, the video is just a freebie. Don’t like it? Don’t use it.
Once more content comes out, the video aspect will be less of a novelty. Content providers can experiment with the medium because they know people will buy them to play music. Imagine, for instance, a Rick Steves travel video customized for iPod use. Rick walks you through the Louvre; follow along on screen and listen to his commentary on the headphones. I’d pay for something like that.
Um consider the source.
For those few of you who don’t know what MSNBC is, well, the MS stands for Microsoft. Actually I,ve never understood the abbreviation MS for Microsoft, since it’s one word. To me it’s like saying Saturday’s abbreviation is SD. But that just plain stupid, and yes, that what MS is too.
Well folks, there is a reason this guy just doesn’t get it. He works for MSNBC, and we all know what the “MS” stands for. He is being paid not to get it, and he never will get it. If he did he’d be fired in a heartbeat.
It is amazing how some people just don’t get the marketing idea… it’s an IPod music player with video (at no additional cost) not an IPod video player. The Apple mantra is keep it simple and nicely designed, thank you. The MS in MSNBC stands for MicroSoft in case anyone forgets.
Great minds think alike. Look how many of us posted virtually identical takes on this!
This guy buys crap, then put’s in his dresser drawer. Sell the garbage on eBay and keep the iPod. Some people are so lame.
I think MSNBC should figure out how to get their own viewers to watch MSNBC on television before they worry about Apple’s challenges with the video iPod.
Here’s one way to look at it – there are far more people who choose to PURCHASE a song on iTunes everyday than there are people who choose to watch MSNBC for FREE.
Apples & oranges you say? Not for long….
I didn’t read any other posts other than the one before mine; pardon any redundancy. Why does it take non-jounalists to point out journalist’s misconceptions and inferences? This is not a “video iPod” per se! If you watch the Broadcast with Mr. Jobs it is an iPod with the Bonus of playing video. This is the same as all the other iPods, with the BONUS OF PLAYING VIDEO. So if this is the same as all the other iPods, plus the *Bonus*, that has sold millions of units, why are people going to be putting their music players in their drawers?
Krakow should pull his head out of his drawers!
Why can’t I get paid that kind of money to write brainless stuff and misconceptions?
Just to clarify, for those who might not understand, Apple does not make a video iPod, a vPod or an iPod video. Their iPod line is iPod shuffle, iPod nano, and iPod.
This might also be an appropriate time to remind folks that there is no iTunes phone. Motorola does, however, make a ROKR phone with iTunes capabilities.
I doubt the iPod would sit in a dresser drawer only because it does more than video. And it’s main purpose is still a music player. So if you don’t use it to play movies or your favorite TV show or music video it still does one thing the best and that’s play your music. So to assume that if a user would get tired of watching a video that he would just toss it away is nonsense.
arent the other players he mentioned mainly video players? doesnt he know that the ipod is still the ipod that plays music? yes it plays video too…but that’s not it’s focus…
mw “main”-video is not the main feature, like all the other video players out there
What the FSCK is a Zvue? Is he trying to compare the iPod’s functions to whatever the hell a Zvue does? Geez, just shows he’s a little out of touch with the real world that the rest of us live in.
Last time I checked, a “video iPod” plays music (and all of the other things) just like a 1G, 2G, 3G or 4G iPod did. Are there many of those lying around in dresser drawers? I think not…
Please, please, please!
Somebody – anybody! Tell me how to get a job writing misguided shit for fun and profit.
I’m grow very weary of actually working for a living.
Don’t forget about the 60gig music player bit.
ditto to the above
Notice how he LOVES the Archos device? Check out their website. Does “Plays for sure” ring a bell. Nothing like dissing the competition and promoting your own product
in a “news” article.
Of course they dis the ipod, they’re like joined at the hip with MSN.
ah.. an iPod full of 10,000 songs and 1 video?
You put the iPod in the attic after you get sick of the 1 video, right?
Makes sense..
(?!?)
MSNBC readers will laugh at this guy. What a doofus.
Once again the Media Guru’s are missing the fact that the new iPod is an iPod first, and a video player a distant second.
For no extra money, you get a great new screen, more memory, and a pod that is thinner and lighter. What’s not to love?
By the way – what about those ‘podcast videos’? Only a few are up and running right now, but they are a great new avenue for artists and actors to get their messages out without corporate America dictating terms.
Check out ‘The Mary and Karla Show’ and ‘Rocketbloom.’
there are TWO things that morons like these forget
1) The iPod with video isno just limited to watching music, hearing music, or viewing photos ON THE SCREEN of it, it can ALSO be an easy way to effortlessly carry your music, pics, videos, and whatever else (it IS still a hard drive) and perhaps display it on a BIGGER screen! Like watching the videos/slideshow you have on your iPod on your TV, PowerBook, etc.
2) The reason WHY this iPod will not “end up the same dresser drawer as the Zvue, the Zen and other portable video devices that have come and gone over the years” (despite the fact that it looks a hell of a lot better) is because it has what everyone else in the portable video industy lacks- CONTENT! They have the shows from actual networks, and people are speculating that other networks might jump on with this and even movie studios. Not to mention, the ability to play your QT movies and iPhoto slideshows- its perfect for someone on the go but dosnt have alot of time to watch their favorite shows or whatnot.
–It is very different from other video/other media devices out there- it’s done Apple style
Notice the reader rating on the article? 1.5 stars (small s intended). With quotes like these, MS needs enemies?
“You can listen to your iPod at work, at home, at the gym, in the car. Basically, that means everywhere. But watching your iPod might not be as convenient. It will be tough to watch at work or while jogging. And in the car? Passengers, yes. Drivers, no.”
Let’s go over that again in slow motion.
“… watching your iPod might not be as convenient… at work or while jogging. And in the car? Passengers, yes. Drivers, no.”
Drivers, no? Drivers shouldn’t be watching anything but the road they are driving on. Does this guy think iPod owners are idiots?
MDN MW: serious
This article can’t possibly be serious!
BTW, that Archos gadget with the screenshot from King Kong is uglier than the ape!
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If he happens on THIS web page he’ll sure get mighty depressed…
It strikes me that with the amazing volume of press Apple is generating from its amazing new products, there seems to be a section that is getting more outrageously dysfunctional: Dvorak, Krakow, Thurrott, Enderle, Glover. Some always were and some are new to it.
Funny really.
Big surprise coming from MSnbc…
Sometimes people on this site have total spazouts over articles that aren’t a big deal. Krakow isn’t saying anything in his column that…well, Steve…wasn’t saying up to a week ago.
All the negatives he writes about are true, and are reasons Steve cited for not previously having a video ipod. Krakow writes that the more interesting thing is the deal with Disney, which is the only thing that has changed since Steve said he couldn’t see a video ipod happening.
It WILL be interesting to see if selling video files for the ipod takes off or not.
How many MDN readers can say the same thing? (not worth repeating)
p.s.
If someone has pointed this out, I’m sorry, I got tired of reading the same thing over and over again.
p.p.s.
I could care less what what this guy says . . . a lot less, maybe even more
; )
Re: John Williams (5th post)
Well said.
MaWo: ‘very’. As in, “Very well said.”
I just love to see the old TV/radion/music/movie-industy fall a part. Makes me happy.
“In other news, apple.com’s website writes disparaging things about Windows. Film at 11.”
Actually, they don’t. I challenge you to find an example of this anywhere on apple.com. More likely you will find it among the fansites, not on the official site.
Call me an extremist but I choose not to have anything to do with Microsoft. I took one look at the web site and clicked off. I will not give them the time of day. Other Mac users might want to think about it. Just a thought anyway.
Magic word “mother”. You figure it out. Australians never ever swear.
As Steve has repeated over and over and over, first and foremost it’s about the music. The only real difference between the Video iPod and the iPod it replaced is the ADDED capability to play video. It didn’t lose the ability to play music or display photos. Hey, I have an iPod Photo. I didn’t buy it for the photo capabilities. I bought it for the 60GB of data storage. The photo capability is just an added feature that I use every now and again when I want to show someone a picture of what we are talking about at the time, or run a slide show. It will be the same for the video capabilities.
People will buy it to listen to music, lots of it, 60GB worth of it in a smaller package than the previous model. They’ll use the video when they fly or commute and have a bit of time on their hands and don’t want to cart around a dedicated larger format video device like the Archos. Basically, it’s just a bonus to make the overall experience and value greater.
Oh, another reason why I love my iPod Photo is that I use it to transport data between home and work. I now leave my laptop at work because of this capability. It also is great for transporting data between Mac and PC. Let’s not forget you can boot your Mac from it and run diagnostic programs from it on your internal hard drive that you can’t do when booting from your Mac’s internal drive. It basically ROCKS in many more ways than one. It is not a violin, it is a symphony.
Personally, I have downloaded the entire first season of LOST and have watched half of the 25 episodes so far. I don’t own a Video iPod. I watched these shows on my 23″ Cinema display, full screen. Sure there are the occasional artifacts, but I can live with that. My main purpose was to catch up on what all my friends are talking about every week. I too am now a LOST fan, but only because I could log onto the iTunes Music store and download the past episodes. I would not have started watching LOST otherwise because like going to a movie, I hate walking in half way through it. So three cheers to Apple and Jobs for giving me the choice I made when I decided to plop down $35 to experience something I wouldn’t have done without Apple’s vision of the future.
People wont pay for television–better tell HBO. I cant believe these people get paid to write down their impressions. This Krakow seems to have the awareness level of an 8 year old. This is like MSNBC televising finger painting. Last I checked I cant even get onto the MSNBC web site because they wont allow Mac users to use Macs on the site. Im going to write a letter to DVD producers to let them know that no one is going to buy those LEXX or Soprano DVD’s because after all people could have recorded the shows on TiVo or VHS. Isnt that moron Don Imus on MSNBC? I guess if you arent a reformed coke head you arent going to get a radio job in America. I believe every word Mark Furman tells me. Furman is on the golf course promising to go find the real Nazi ‘s. IPOD is perfect for T V shows–just as in the case of music, I dont want to have to buy a CD to get one song that I may like–so I use ITUNES–I may not want the entire season of Desperate Housewives or I may want to buy the season –its the same as with music–This is going to be a whole new world for Apple and ABC. I wish ABC would index their entire catalogue of shows including news shows and make them available for download. Obviously I cant buy the whole thing but there are many that Id love to buy. I hope the BBC makes their catalogue of film clips available for 1.99 each. I’d like to be able to get certain old commercials too–imagine paying to watch
speedy alka seltzer!!! Its like selling snow to icelanders. What I wont buy is stupidity in motion from MSNBC.
The title should read “After Initial Dullness Wears Off, Gary Krakow’s Craptastic Article Will Wind Up in Desk Drawer”. Yawn. Did this guy really get paid to write such a redundant article? People have been talking about portable video in this context for years now. How do I get to be a tech pundit? All I’d have to do is smear my ass on a piece of paper and send it off to some comatose copy editor. What an easy job!
End up in the drawer…like MSNBC.
“wind up in the same dresser drawer as the Zvue, the Zen and other portable video devices that have come and gone over the years”
That statement says it all. This guy has never used an iPod and therefore does not have a clue. He probably does have a Zvue and a Zen in his drawer.
MW: wall -as in what he should throw those Z-things against.