“In a bid to fend off advances from the Microsoft camp, Apple on Tuesday introduced two new iPod portable audio devices, one of which can display digital photos on its tiny color screen. The other new iPod, dubbed the iPod U2 Special Edition, provides lucky buyers with a black body and red scroll wheel, all for just an additional $50 when compared to an otherwise identical white iPod,” Paul Thurrott writes for WinInfo.
“Yeah, these releases aren’t that inspiring. The reality of the long-expected iPod Photo was far less impressive than the mock-ups fan sites had created in the days leading up to the launch, featuring the standard but tiny 2-inch screen that adorns other iPods. By comparison, the Creative Zen Portable Media Center, which also displays photos and music, but adds support for videos and recorded TV shows, features a much larger 3.8-inch screen and better resolution (320 x 240 vs.
This is too easy.. the iPod Photo is slick, and Jobs outlined the reasons why video won’t work (copyright, crappy res, too big, too heavy, and the nature of movies themselves, not worth buying) and the U2 iPod, which is pretty cool is actually 299 when you consider it comes with a $50 rebate for the entire u2 collection digital box set…
.. once again, Thurrott is lying..
im a huge yankee fan, i’ll be the first to admit they suck. they don’t suck as much as Thurrott, but damnit, their performance was down-right embarrissing.
I am so tired of the fake analysts, these people who write highly opinionated, monotone, superficial pretend analyses that are only published to provoke emotional reaction and gain readership and hits from those who are curious to see what outrageous claims they make next.
Can’t we just ignore them? They’re not real, they’re just a marketing thing.
You can soon add St Louis to that list…
I was wondering how long it would be before Thurrott came out of his dark hole and spouted his usual crap!
As usual – not a positive word for APPLE or anything associated with ANY APPLE product – I guess the pay cheques from Microsoft Corp are still being sent regulary eh Thurrott and that the blood money is keeping you well supplied in cocaine?
what part of “mobility” does thurrott not understand?
people take iPods with them EVERYWHERE! and use them EVERYWHERE. mobility is critical functionality that Apple understand and the rest are still scratching their heads.
geez, what a blow-hard.
I’m speechless.
Wait, what was that?
I hear a lap dog yapping…
SJ
precisely. can i stick the portable media center in my pocket? no way jose.
The Yankees crack was totally uncalled for. If Thurrott heard what Jobbs said in the release he would of never written the article. Apple knows what it’s doing and hence is having success. The Yankees are still the best franchise in sports. 26 titles speaks for itself. Don’t hate…
Ahhh, MDN, GREAT analogy!!
Question-
Isn’t it misleading to say the Zen has better resolution when you divide the pixels into the screen size?
Zen 320 x 240 = 76800 / 14.4in= 5318px per sqin
iPod 220 x 176 = 38720 / 4in= 9680 px per sqin
(Yes I know the screen size is measured diagonally. This is just a quick post)
Can anyone confirm this?
I had a less-than-stellar impression of both new iPod when I first saw them, but after watching the keynote, my feelings quickly shifted the other way. SJ is totally right about where they are going with the iPod at this time. Video is not where it’s at, and photos. The same day (yesterday), an article came out entitled “Mobile Photo Phone a Must-Have” clearly solidifying the demand for cell phones that can take photos.
And just stop and take a look at the interface of the iPod Photo…. simply stunning. The attention to detail is extremely impressive.
Once again, when Apple sets out to do something, they aim to do it right.
The iPod Photo is cute, but it doesn’t call out to me. If I didn’t have an iPod, I would purchase the iPod photo, just because it’s 60GB. Over time, the ability to store photos on the iPod might grow on me, though I can’t think of a use for it right now. I don’t see myself handing my iPod to anyone and saying, “Gee, look at this picture of my cat!”
If I was 16, maybe it would be fun to show pictures of friends to each other or some new girl I met, but if I was 16, I couldn’t come up with $500 or $600 smakers.
If I was a parent, unless money meant absolutely nothing, I wouldn’t give a kid something that small, that easy to lose that cost that much money. Then again, after all the whining, I’d probably give in.
A new Canon 580EX flash unit is only $479. I need that more than pictures on my iPod.
Perhaps, just perhaps, Thurrott is right on this one for the wrong reasons.
Apple is building great stuff these days, then they come along and build more great stuff. The problem is the last stuff we all bought is still really great and it would take more than “great” to get us to buy more. Hence, existing repeat customers are underwhelmed.
On the one hand, I agree with him. These are quite underwhelming. And largely because the iPod doesn’t allow a big enough screen to look at the photos.
It’s a bit of a gimmick, but I daresay some will find it useful.
What I don’t agree with is that a bloody 3.8″ screen is actually any better. It’s not. It’s still a tiny screen. If it was 6×4, then it would be a lot more useable as a device for showing photo albums.
But the idea is that you carry photos on it and display them on a TV.
Having little icon sized album art is quite cool though. And 60GB is now big enough for all my whole library. Which is tempting. But I’ll stick to my 5GB until it dies I think. Still going strong after 3 years.
Underwhelming depends on what you were expecting. It’s not really a new product launch, it’s an upgrading existing products announcement, plus a marketing initiative. Both good and well timed.
His Stevenes is right. It is not right time for video iPod.
hey….it’s an election year,,,people are suppose to lie and we should all be use to it….especially from this guy..election year or not
How long this douchbag have used this picture? Why doesn’t he put a newer picture of himself so that we see just how hideous the head that holds the tiny frustrated brain of his goes?
You know dork, life is not as depressing as your thinking is
Time and time again… Steve will introduce something and it doesn’t ‘seem’ so overwhelming…
until we actually see it in action, in person… GarageBand is a good example, I was blown away three times (playin’ w/loops, pluging in a mic or guitar and then finally when I plugged in a midi keyboard I was on the floor). The new iMac is like that… yes, even the iPod Mini…
IMHO Jb
All the negative talk about the iPod Photo is just more of the same couched in lamer terms. Rather than the bold prognostications that it will fail (which were just so successful in the past), they say, “underwhelming.”
These new iPods are underwhelming to us because probably 90% or more of us already have an iPod that works great. But hundreds of millions of folks out there don’t have one – yet.
The 60gb size alone will be enough to entice some people. The album art thing looks pretty cool – might be enough to get me to upgrade from my 30gb 3g model.
I doubt we’ll see exciting iPod developments in the future – we the possible exception of an iPod Micro. The upcoming models will be refinements on the same theme for at least the next 18 months.
About camera phones: Recent survey showed peeps taking pics but not paying to send them over the phone network rather downloading them to PCs then distributing them. The telco’s estimation of the network demand was way out (actual usage about a quarter of projections IIRC).
The extra cost of putting a camera in phones is not rewarding the telco’s who subsidise phones, they will have to either cut the cost of sending pics in the hope that it drives the market (doubtful because prices would have to plunge) or stop/reduce subsidies to camera phones. The camera phone may well become a short lived fad.
Certainly people do share photos but technology hasn’t provided the right digital solution yet. Apple may have provided an acceptable solution, we will have to see what consumers decide.
Meanwhile, Turdrott will probably be one of the first people in line to buy one. The hypocrite owns one or two iPods already. I just ignore all drivel that comes from his pie hole. Besides, he’s obviously on M$’ payroll, so what else do you expect…
I do think that Apple missed a big
big big opportunity here….first, ley me digress for a line or two: Apple
should buy out Apple and go deep into music…okay…I think I really want an IPOD to be nothing less than a tricorder so in that spirit:I think
Photo IPOD’s should have been mechmannah
if they allowed the user to import photos directly from their digital cameras, and if they allowed for video downloads and playback…I want a GPS IPOD too…a DICTAPHONE IPOD…
Neither is incredibly innovative, but they serve their intended function very well.
iPod Photo: a 60GB music player basically begs for a 2nd media function. While some of us do have 60GB of music, the majority of people don’t (assuming they use 160 kbps or less AAC or mp3). Photos make sense because so many people have digital cameras and want to share their photos witout toting around a loptop. The screen is a nice interface to use for previewing what you have loaded on the HD, which is essential for this function. As noted above, the portability factor is also important. It’s a mistake to make the device a “media viewer” at the expense of the portability because, as others have said, the screen is still too small anyway.
U2 iPod: Is the U2 iPod in and of itself amazing? No. Of course, only big fans of U2 are going to buy one. In fact, it makes sense to have it be rare to increase the hipness factor (at least to U2 fans). But it is part of Apple’s strategy to make iTMS desirable. How? It is simply a way to associate the music store with an artist. A download service can differentiate itself from others by having exclusive content. Any way of creating exclusive parnerships with musical acts increases the appeal of iTMS. I don’t expect there to be tons of band iPods, but there will be more. Each band will likely have content or deals available only through iTMS (such as the U2 digital box set), which gives consumers a reason to use iTMS and, thus, an iPod.
Hey, hey MDN, please keep ur yankee hating to yourself!! damn red sox fans don’t know how to act when the win anything!! people getting killed just because you beat the yankees!! and what is the total 26-6(including pre-1918)?? i would most definately call that owned get ur facts right MDN!
Now back to the issue @ hand, we all know tis guys crawls up microsloth’s a-hole and runs around like a lil jerbil, so why is this news?? can u please post some news not involving tis monkey!!!
…and yet all of you asking for MDN to quit posting Thurrott comments seem to like reading and commenting on it constantly anyway.
Next you will complain about advertisements on this webpage that take you to uninteresting links and request that MDN take those off too.
Perhaps try restraining your urge to click on every possible link so that we don’t have to hear you complain about it all the time.
I love the way he shows all his cards from the start:-
“In a bid to fend off advances from the Microsoft camp”
… as if Apple were desperately trying to protect itself from an overwhelming attack from a better product.
He always turns reality inside out.
What was the name of that Iraqi information minister …. ?
You guys are FREAKS! And you only come out at night.
The iPod Photo should definitely have had a built in memory card slot. As a serious photographer, this would have been a really big plus for me. As it stands, I would still be forced down the Belkin card reader route – and by all accounts that is a poor product.
Bring on the iPod Photo 2…
Actually, Simple1, MDN was hating on Yankee fans, like yourself. And to be clear, the Sox fans may have gotten a little out of control, but it was a cop that killed that person, not the fans.
i want my custom “Phish” ipod!
nobody wants MDN to stop posting THurrott’s hilarity.. the hits don’t lie
I agree with the guy…who wants a tiny box with tiny pictures? Just because you can does’nt mean you should!
I guess, like anything, if they build it – you will come.
George Bush will win next week!
Just watch. The picture feature will be a hit. It’s great for a lot of reasons.
I do like the U2 iPod, even If it�s a bit unneeded and unnecessary� I mean who, but hardcore U2 fans would buy an iPod with a bands individual signatures all over the back. It looks nice but that�s about it� just a different colour scheme, nothing really special.
I think the iPod Photo is fantastic� �but� I still can help this feeling of being alittle let down� I mean ok, its 60GB which means I can now take my whole music collection with me, great, thank you.
Also I can see album art work and some of my pictures� BUT!! Its not really a step up in technology as far as I�m concerned, its colour screen? and bigger GB�s, with a video out and 15 hours of juice! But what else technology wise� Not a whole lot� Evolution not revolution, which is a shame.
I mean look at some of the mp3 players coming out now� there�s a 100GB pm3 player called a Xclef 500 player. 20-hour battery life, mic, analog and optical line-in encoding, FM radio, and FM recording.
http://www.engadget.com/entry/2240358613635558/
Apple better start moving abit faster in this music player game because very soon, they are going to be old news and left behide to the new kids in town.
G5 Fanatic:
Two words: TV Output.
I’m going back to the States to visit my parents for Xmas, and since she hasn’t seen her grandkids in four years, she’s feenin’ for some pictures. How cool is it that I can now dump 4 years worth of pictures of my kids into my iPod, hook it up to their TV, and let them watch slide shows, with music to boot?
This thing will sell like hot cakes. Count on it.
Not so sure about the U2Pod, though…
To Mac ed:
I think the iPod’s growing market share kinda contradicts your last statement a bit…
How about another special edition iPod featuring me. I love to dance.
“In a bid to fend off advances from the Microsoft camp”
Yeah. This is pretty ridiculous. The real reason is “In a bid to improve on the already outstanding and market leading iPod, Apple…”
I don’t doubt that Apple do need to stay ahead of the game, but it appears that they can do that by standing still right now, because nobody else is really catching up.
People don’t even ask for ‘MP3’ players any more, they ask for iPods.
As both a parent of two kids, whose grandparents live out-of-state, and someone who travels and takes a lot of pictures (not just of the two kids), the iPod Photo is just perfect.
These days, so many parents I know have digital cameras and hard drives full of pictures that they never print or show to anyone, …unless you happen to go to their house and crowd around the PC. Some might upload to the web but then they can’t give guided commentary or add music (and not interactive even with Flickr).
No, what parents want is to be able to bring those pictures with them IN THEIR POCKET to visit all the relatives, and to easily show those pictures on a nice large TV set with commentary and music. This replaces the need to lug the laptop.
The question is how big is this market. If they added Keynote/PowerPoint presentations, then this market will grow for the elite business traveler set (elite = not the flunkies that carry the laptop
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KEY WORDS: IN YOUR POCKET!!!
” mean look at some of the mp3 players coming out now� there�s a 100GB pm3 player called a Xclef 500 player. 20-hour battery life, mic, analog and optical line-in encoding, FM radio, and FM recording.
http://www.engadget.com/entry/2240358613635558/
Apple better start moving abit faster in this music player game because very soon, they are going to be old news and left behide to the new kids in town.”
I haven’t seen the Xclef in person yet, but you really need to hold these types of products in your hand to really judge them.
I finally got to play with the new Sony’s a couple of days ago. Ignoring the ATRAC format issue, the players look OK if you see a picture online. BBut holding it, it is VERY clear why they won’t sell competing against iPods. The feel of the product in your hand is the complete opposite of an iPod.
From day one with the 1st generation iPod, anyone who picked it up loved holding it and playing with the scroll wheel. You WANT to hold it and use it. The Sony (and others), however, don’t get the same reaction. For example, the nubs on the Sony scroll wheel are very sharp-edged metal. It is actually unpleasant to touch it.
The secret of the iPod is its interface, NOT its technical specification. There have been a variety of players that have come out over the past year and a half with specifications that surpass the iPod, but NONE have sold well.
Until the competitors figure out the human interface, and they have given no reason to think that they will anytime soon, Apple will maintain their advantage.
What sound do both Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer make when the have to choke down some new innovation Apple releases?
“Thurott” just pure puke!
This is hilarious!
This nobody Thurrott starts out with, “In a bid to fend off advances from the Microsoft camp…”
To FEND OFF???
Since when do you have to FEND OFF the threat posed by a competitor that is scrambling desparately for a slice the measly 8% of the market that you don’t own?
What a MAROON.
I haven’t played with the new iPod Photo yet, but-
If I can suck the pictures of my digital camera directly, then this is one great product. The portability of showing pictures on the TV is fantastic (an caveats on resolutions, etc.?). The portability of being able to leave the laptop home for vacation yet still have the portable (and highly usable) storage to dump pictures to is what’ll get me to pony up my 60,000 pennies.
You gotta love this site… always a good spin…
OK, MDN readers! You’re being baited by this guy, Thurrott. He does a 180 on everything Mac related and gets tons of traffic to his web site, thereby further justifying his existence.
How about this, MDN: run one of his “rants” but do NOT put the link to his article. In fact, don’t put his link on MDN any more.
We can still poke and laugh and have a good time, but he won’t benefit from the huge jump in traffic (why else would a Windows apologist continue to have Macs as a topic?).
It’s a win, win situation.
Tera
Mac360.com
Paul Thurrott’s comments don’t surprise me. He would consider the discovery of fire to be “underwhelming”.
you go Tera! you hot babe!
TERA IS RIGHT.
MDN shouldn’t encourage traffic to his site.
Wow 100gb eh, I really need that capacity a naff radio and the ability to record that naff radio just sooooo much.
gzero
I feel ya..that’s cool.
I thought the iPod photo was overkill. Who needs one. My midrange digital camera can do almost the same thing. A $100 or $150 spent on extra flash memory cards and that’s all I would need. Then I saw Steve’s presentation and the reality distortion field took over.
I don’t need an iPod photo, but I want one.
As much as I’d like the Red Sox to win the World Series, I’d really like them to trip up so that I can spend the next couple of months baiting Thurridiot by e-mail – with any luck, he might throw himself into Boston Harbor, although I’m sure that it would contravene EPA laws in some way.
Seriously though, Thurrott’s views on iPod are well known and have, shock horror, been proven to be complete and utter bollocks � he’s still harping on about the fact that Apple don’t/won’t break out iPod mini sales figures, as if the lack of these figures indicates that the mini actually isn’t selling or as if the key point isn’t the fact that they sold two million of the buggers last quarter.
He’s a pillock, and needs medical help.
when it boils down to it, Apple has created a brand phenomenon – similar to Kleenex, Q-Tip and Band-Aid.
people pull out an iPod to listen to music on the go. people reach for a Kleenex to blow their nose. people grab and Band-Aid to bandage a scrape. i use a Q-Tip to clean my ears.
i don’t think how big people realize the juggernaut we are witnessing right now. i am humbled.
MacDailyNews Take:
” Paul sounds just like New York Yankees fans these days; spouting bitter, deluded mumblings in a vain attempt to mask the humiliation of abject failure at the hands of a dominating force they thought they owned, but didn’t.”
World Series Champs since 1918:
Yanks 26, Red Sox 1 (maybe)
Enough said.
iPod Photo is great.
NPD said that the iPod mini was about 1/3 of Apple’s total iPod sales in August. It’s selling incredibly well. If that was true for the whole quarter, then that’s 700K minis.
Can’t find the link right now…
lol love the comments written on the thurrott website regarding the article. If anybody fancies a laugh its well worth reading.
ilugee..
Anoymous, Anonymous, Anonymous..
No one cares enough about Thurrott to help him with his subscriptions.. tsk tsk
BTW I love how people are insisting their Camera Phones deliver good quality photos.. what a crock.. you need iPhoto to clean those nasty pics up
Hey, Charko �
“What was the name of that Iraqi information minister …. ?”
You mean “Baghdad Bob?”
Maybe we oughta’ call Thurrot “Redmond Rob.”
i dont like my ipod mini being small just cuz of style…i like it being small cuz its easier to carry! duh.
being pink, thats for style
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Is that the best you can come up with Mr Thurrott? Even if the new ipod made your breakfast while you listened to music it would be ‘underwhelming’.
Your anti Apple propaganda is thinner now than ever. Embarrassing really. Give it a rest eh.
Bow Wrote “The Yankees crack was totally uncalled for. If Thurrott heard what Jobbs said in the release he would of never written the article. Apple knows what it’s doing and hence is having success. The Yankees are still the best franchise in sports. 26 titles speaks for itself. Don’t hate…”
Actually if you do a google search there are many takes on what is the best franchise in sports
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=best+franchise+in+sports&spell=1
And it also depends on what area you are talking about. If you ask the rest of the world, the 95% of people living outside of the US. Manchester United is probably the best Franchise.
Once again ThoroughlyRotten just doesn’t get it. I agree with Tera, MDN should continue to report on his asinine ramblings (it’s worth a chuckle) but not provide a link. Obviously he does it for the attention (both hit-wise and I think he loves to get our collective goat).
Thelonius Mac was close when he wrote “If I was a parent, unless money meant absolutely nothing, I wouldn’t give a kid something that small, that easy to lose that cost that much money.”
If you were a parent, you wouldn’t buy one for your kid, you’d buy it for yourself to keep pictures of your kids on.
MacBeth, so are you saying that size DOES matter? (Sorry, I couldn’t resist)
GO SOX
GOD BLESS RED SOX
This is what I wrote in January when the iPod mini was launched:
“iPod Mini. It looks great, and it’s price [sic] way too high. Fans are correct that the capacity issues are irrelevent, as potential customers will be more interested in style than technical issues. However. The problem here is that such people are a niche market, and if Apple wants to hit the mainstream, this thing needs to be a lot cheaper.”
Now tell me, am I stupid or what?
Paul Throwup is actually a smart man. He knows if he writes something bad about mac, he gets more hits on his site.
This is what I wrote in February:
“We don’t mind paying for quality, but $250 is just too much scratch for what is essentially a tiny 4GB hard disk”
Same question as above.
“We don’t mind paying for quality, but $250 is just too much scratch for what is essentially a tiny 4GB hard disk”, Thurrott.
The cost of miniaturization is always going to come at a higher price. In June of 2004, the .85″, 4GB drive was sold by Hitachi for about $499 a pop. Since its introduction, other manufacturers have come out with the same drive at a lower price. A 4GB CF card (using the same .85″ drive) can be purchased for about $289. Just the drive alone is more expensive than the iPod mini.
Through hard negotiations, Apple was able to purchase large quantities of the drives that brought the price down to a level that was somewhat affordable. Couple the drive with the guts to run the iPod mini and a modest profit, you come up with $250. A good rule of business finances is; if a company doesn’t make a profit on the products it sells, it ain’t going to stay in business for long.
Disk drives with the capacity of 160GB can be purchased now for around $200. Unfortunately, the 3 1/2″ size format makes it a tad be difficult to squeeze inside the iPod mini. Go ahead and try if you like. I suggest that you begin the size reduction of the less expensive 3 1/2″ drive with an 8-lb sledgehammer and a blacksmith’s anvil (do remember to wear your safety glasses). A couple of healthy blows should bring that drive down to size.
I promise that you won’t be nearly as successful. Even Dell was only able to take a 1.8″ drive (less expensive size format than the .85″ drive), put it into a container that is about the same size of the regular iPod, and STILL charge a whopping $200 for 5GB capacity. That really isn’t anything to crow about.
Get off your high horse kiddo and try some serious research the next time you write.
Why is Apple dismissing the idea of video on the iPod when they publish a web page like this:
http://www.apple.com/mpeg4/3gpp/
Thurrott:
Don’t like it ? Don’t buy it. There I just saved you 500 bucks.
The Creative Zen ? Don’t worry I already sussed that out and she don’t work on a Mac.
Comparing Thurrott to the Yankees is a tad ironic, considering the man is a Red Sox fan.
P market share or more, a niche market ?