For a nice review of the iPod’s history, how far the little music player has come, where it stands today, and how it’s poised for more, read Steven Levy’s article, “iPod Nation,” now online for Newsweek.
“Steve Jobs noticed something earlier this year in New York City. ‘I was on Madison,’ says Apple’s CEO, ‘and it was, like, on every block, there was someone with white headphones, and I thought, ‘Oh, my God, it’s starting to happen,”” Steven Levy reports for Newsweek. “The sudden ubiquity of the iPod, the cigarette-box-size digital music player (and its colorful credit-card-size little sister, the Mini) [has] smacked right into the sweet spot where a consumer product becomes something much, much more: an icon, a pet, a status indicator and an indispensable part of one’s life.”
An interesting note: “VP Phil Schiller came up with the idea of a scroll wheel that made the menus accelerate as your finger spun on it.” (Perhaps we’ve all underestimated Phil a little bit?)
“Assessing the final product, Jobs bestows, for him, the ultimate accolade: ‘It’s as Apple as anything Apple has ever done,'” Levy reports.
Much more here.
I love the iPod.
I forgot to pose this question. Why is it that one never sees the Dell DJ on the cover of something besides Dell’s own catalog?
I believe the story on Schiller is incorrect. Phil actually had the idea to put spokes within a wheel so it wouldn’t collapse in a heap. He did this prior to Al Gore inventing the internet. ;-]
When does the HP version hit the market?
pkradd: you’re wrong!
Read this patent: link
Go to the ‘Images’ button, and click on ‘Drawings’, and then go to page 3 of 18. You’ll see a picture of the iPod.
Sorry about that long link.
From: Phernic: Later this summer. Although, with the 4G iPod coming out tomorrow, it could be really soon.
Ed. It’s early in the morning. I posted a joke!!!! Didn’t you notice the smiley face?
;-}
Oy.
Good Article. However on page two I only see 4 rival iPods but 5 units described in the picture caption. What gives?
pkradd: No, I didn’t see the smiley face. Sorry about that.
I would agree.
My life-changing experience with the iPod mini: I have lost 20 pounds. My hair has suddenly returned to the original medium brown it was many years ago… and it it thicker. My wife doesn’t have those headaches anymore. I now have women take a second look at me when I pass, I like to drive in my car with the top down (which is very interesting in that I don’t have a convertible).
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5457432/site/newsweek/
OK people, fess up. Does the Ipod you you laid? No wonder they are selling so many then.
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Read that “get you laid”
Well, well, well. Whaddya know. I always saw Schiller as the yes-man, the guy you get when you can’t get Jobs, Ive, Tevanian and Rubenstein. He deserves more respect and he’ll get it, at least from me. Sorry, Phill.
It’s funny how we’re now on the fourth generation iPod and HP is still nowhere to be seen. Didn’t they license the iPod to sell under their own brand? I have a theory on why. I remember reading a while back that HP was trying to get WMA support on iPod and that they would have it by roughly mid-year. This is probably what’s holding things up. I’ll bet Apple is being stubborn as usual about modifying their iPod.
Quote of the week:
“There are lots of examples where not the best product wins,” he [Steve Jobs] says. “Windows would be one of those, but there are examples where the best product wins. And the iPod is a great example of that.” As anyone can see from all those white cords dangling from people’s ears.”
[from the end of the Newsweek article]
Just to further my comment earlier, I refuse to purchase an iPod until they support the two formats that my entire library of music is in, WMA and OGG. Actually, most of it is in WMA, so if they at least support that, I’d consider it. But there’s no way I’m going to convert my library to their AAC format and have a third format in the mix, playing some songs in one player, and some songs in another player. If Apple would just suck it up and support other formats, it would only make the iPod that much better. But then again, if they’re already having trouble meeting demands, I couldn’t imagine trying to meet demand when they supported everyone else’s format too. Yikes
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WMA would not now, nor would it ever make the iPod “better.” WMA is a clearly inferior format that has been demenstrated as such in several independant tests.
Here is one of them:
http://www6.tomshardware.com/consumer/20020712/2u4u-05.html
Here’s one even less kind to the inferior WMA format:
http://www.cd-rw.org/news/archive/5257.cfm
That aside, WMA support would freely “give” MS an unearned leg up in the media format war. WMA is a closed MS-only proprietary format (AAC is not 100% open source like Ogg Vorbis, but it’s a lot more open and standard than WMA). WMA support would be a terrible mistake for the Apple iPod. I hope you do change your library around to some other open standard AAC, MP3… if not I hope you never own an iPod!
Quit whining about WMA formats. Apple doesn’t support them because it would make their hardware seem inferior. Why do you think Windoze sucks so bad, and makes many would-be computer manufacturers look bad, for example, Sony. People get so angry with their computers, thinking that it’s the computer, when usually it’s the software, Windoze.
I think Steve Jobs would rather uphold the value of a higher-quality audio format and lose a few customers rather than stoop to their level just to accommodate a very small percentage. The inferior will always be inferior.
Not to mention, then that dilutes the whole idea of the iTunes music store. See, when you get an iPod, the idea is to have a whole package. If they let WMA on the iPod, it allows other formats, thus other online services to be played on the iPod, thus lowering the overall quality of the iPod. Then someone hears it while listening to a friends iPod and they go, “Oh man, this mp3 player sucks!” Not knowing that it isn’t the iPod, it’s the inferior audio format. And of course the owner isn’t going to fess up.
I think it would be detrimental if Apple allowed WMA or anything else on the iPod.
On edit: many would-be computer manufacturers look bad should read “many would-be good computer manufacturers look bad”
g:
Quite right. Good comment.
Valis: You remember reading an article from Paul Thurrott’s site. HP themselves have said that there is no intention to currently add WMA to the iPod. Apple is calling all of the shots in this deal, not HP.
The reason the hPod hasn’t shipped yet is because Apple is not going to let HP ship a 3G iPod while THEY are shipping a 3G iPod. Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised if the hPod came out tomorrow alongside the new iPod. HP shipping the ‘blue’ 3G model, and Apple shipping the well-publicized, 4G version.
Here’s a link to the ‘No WMA for iPod’ article:
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,61897,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_1
Is the following article the one you were referencing?: http://www.winnetmag.com/windowspaulthurrott/Article/ArticleID/41423/windowspaulthurrott_41423.html
And the Jan Joint Press Release: http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2004/jan/08hp.html states that the HP Digital Music Player “is expected to become available this summer and be competitively priced to other digital music players currently available.”
Valis,
You refusal to purchase an iPod is your right. But why post here? This is a pro-Apple site (mostly). Post your anti-Apple rhetoric elsewhere, perhaps Paul Thurrott’s website. You’ll find like minded friends there.