“The new iTunes client is here and the podcasting support is excellent,” Jupiter Research analyst Michael Gartenberg writes in his blog. “What’s really cool is the control I have over the podcasts. I can download one, subscribe to a feed, keep a set number on my device and have them automatically deleted after I’ve listened. In short Apple’s done for podcasting the same thing they did with RSS in Tiger. They made it usable by the mass markets and at the same time, they have the what is going to be the most widely used podcasting client on both Macintosh and Windows and that will make their directory the one to be listed in.”
Gartenberg writes, “Apple also tweaked the firmware in all the iPod so there’s no a separate podcasting category, which means podcasts won’t get shuffled with my music and will support bookmarks so I can listen to podcasts and resume where I left off. So it’s not just the premier podcast PC client, the iPod itself is now first among devices with integrated podcast support. Combine this news and the new pricing and the integration of iPod photo into the core white iPod line and you see why Apple remains the player to beat in this space.”
Full article here.
Jupiter research analyst David Card offers the following notes regarding iTunes 4.9 and podcasting:
• Apple claims about 3,000 entries in the podcast directory at launch
• Publishers and podcasters that want to be in the directory fill out submission forms. (Apple is recruiting premiere partners like NPR, ABC News, ESPN, etc.) Apple claims it won’t have much editorial judgement, other than no porn, no hate messages, no licensed music. It’s hoping the community will police itself for that kind of thing – its small editorial staff will look for highlights to promote rather than prevent. Top 20 lists are automatic.
• Podcasts are in AAC or MP3 (AAC required to support bookmarking and indexing) but not DRM-wrapped
• Music will be one of the 21 categories in the directory, but Apple’s not too excited about the opportunity to pay Webcasting royalties for mainstream music shows. It’s keener on music shows that are promotional, i.e. playing unlicensed, unsigned artists.
• Apple will produce its own weekly music show along the lines of New Music Tuesday or Top 20, but it will only include 30 second clips.
Full article here.
David Card has spoken with MarketWatch in a audio report where he says that Apple’s updated iTunes music service featuring podcasting may generate only a mild iPod sales spike, but will also further cement Apple’s position as king of digital audio.
Full clip (Windows Media or Real) here.
With my mind on my money and my money on my mind…
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The new iPod color screen model will produce the sales spike. The rest is gravy. Poor Creative. The next item they sell might just be the company!
Podcasting is just great… I’ve been playing around with it just now. And it is also a very nice opportunity for the scientific community (which I am part of) to deliver “knowledge” in a new fascinating and innovative way… I think we will be using this for our e-Learning courses.
How ironic is it that the full clip requires Windows Media or Real Player? :/
Been playing around with it for three hours and it’s really a great job on Apple’s part. It’s the most full-geatured, easy to use podCasting client out there.
It’s really going to hurt the other software options as well as all the podCast list sites. iTunes Music Store WILL BE the place to go.
It’s not that ironic, Confuzed1. As a matter of fact, there was a time when this was quite common, as many sites just didn’t have a quicktime option. It is getting more and more rare, and Apple is quietly kicking everyones butt with the latest QT…
I really think I need broad band now…
Once again Apple provides the complete solution.
Creative will keep making players until they go belly up; Napster will continue tweaking their service; but Apple will apply their “whole widget” theory to their product lines.
IMO I prefer the solution from Apple based on ease of use and seemlees integration with iLife.
Any word on a larger shuffle with display?
> How ironic is it that the full clip requires Windows Media or Real Player?
This remains the last, but biggest problem with QuickTime. While obviously the superior audio and video technology, many, many major media outlets support the Real and WM players, but not QuickTime.
Apple needs to establish some sort of initiative to lure media outlets to add QuickTime streams as a download option.
No on wants to spend the kind of money Apple wants to charge for their cute little music players. All the Macheads can sit around with their berets and drink their mocha lattes with their superiority complexes. Please.
Analysts are fairly ever accurate and this has no bearing on the real world.
Stop kissing each other and take a look at what is really happening… Apple stock is going down.
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this guy kills me
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hey… aren’t you supposed to be “sputnik” not “sputmik”?
I still don’t listen to the radio but I guess this is a good thing, lol
Oh that’s wonderful!
Sputmik!
I love this guy.
Hey just bumped into sputnic up here. He’s holding his clunky Creative player and boasting about how it has a 100% market share in space. As for his personal demeanor he is I have to say a little rusty with a very Soviet era mind set, so when he talks about reality he hasn’t noticed that on Earth (ie the real world) like the Soviet Union Creative is going belly up and Apple’s increasing stock price only took a slight hit on news of their (ie Creative’s) decline. Methinks he needs an up to date news podcast upgrade. At the moment he is listening to a news story about the Berlin Wall coming down and the ramifications for his East German spectacle lenses. Well they are pink. or is it just his sun going down down down.
MikeR may be right…Creative may be on the block before we know it.
I have an idea: buy an iPod and be entered into a drawing to win Creative. Oh, I guess that’s not much of a prize. I’ll take 10 free tracks on iTunes instead.
Regarding the “editorial control” aspect of iTunes’ Podcast feature: it should be noted that podcasts can be added to iTunes 4.9 manually if they do not appear in the directory. The podcast can then be tracked and synced just like the ones Apple promotes.
mrw0lf:
> Any word on a larger shuffle with display?
No but moving the 1GB shuffle to 129 creates a nice slot for something costing 159-169, doesn’t it?
And pricing the 60GB iPod at 399 creates space at 449-499 for an 80GB iPod with something extra.
Next Stop:
iTunes 5.0…
Featuring Apple’s amazing new iTunes Media Store…
With groundbreaking support for the new iTunes Movie Rental Service, only $25/month unlimited movie rentals…
Introducing the vPod…
Access up to 500 on demand movies instantly in a Mac mini sized case…
Tune in next week, same Pod time, same Pod channel…
This particular analyst gives credibility to the stinking lot of anals.
You just knew something was cooking when Apple was sooo quiet showing a bunch of widgets everyday on the Apple home page for so long.
Still, my spider senses tells me their is more brewing – a lot more!
It’s kinda creepy actually. {He looks over both shoulders}