“No technology since the VCR is as revolutionary to personal entertainment as the MP3 player. And the revolution is just beginning. More than a third of homes that have computers will also have iPods within two years, according to analysts at Merrill Lynch. What’s more, sales of all devices that can store and play a library of digital music, such as smart phones, will overtake sales of PCs by the end of the decade, says Shaw Wu, an analyst at American Technology Research,” Sean O’Neill writes for Kiplinger’s. “If you’re just coming to grips with the revolution, don’t worry. This guide will update you and give you a look at where digital music is headed.”
O’Neill writes, “To start, your best bet is an iPod (for details on iPod models, see the next page). Apple’s MP3 players are the easiest to use because Apple software seamlessly links them to a computer library and the iTunes online store (where you can buy music), both of which recognize your device instantly. None of Apple’s rivals has created anything as seamless, and each has fallen short in other areas. Dell’s recently released DJ Ditty, for example, fails to improve on the light weight and simple menu control of iPod’s most basic model, the shuffle. Sony’s players cost more than Apple’s per gigabyte of memory, without offering better features. Plus, iPods look the coolest.”
O’Neill then covers all of the Apple iPod models, iTunes, and the iTunes Music Store, and pretty much follows the digital media player market as a whole by ignoring the myriad also-ran player makers and online music outfits in his full article here.
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“I’m DYING to see your kick-ass mixtape collection which you compare to my iPod mini with Smart Playlists..”
Um, what part of “convenience over substance” don’t you understand? There is no essential difference between mix tape playlists and digital playlists. The elimination of effort in creating those playlists is a matter of convenience not of substance. The point that was made was that MP3 players are “revolutionary” because they allow you access to commercial free playlists. Obviously, the point was flawed.
The whole hype behind this “digital music revolution” smells the same as the dotcom boom, as if digital music were going to save modern capitalism. The only difference is if this bubble pops it will only effect a small, relatively insignificant market segment.