TechTalk with Jarrett Carter


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Apple Sweeps iPod line With New Models and Stirs Controversy With Customers The night of Tuesday, September 3 proved to be a night of great anticipation for tech fans: websites and blogs were flooded with reports of Apple unveiling their new iPod line that had been talked about for over a year. Many tech fans went to sleep with fantasies of what the most talked about MP3 player would look like...would it have WiFi or Bluetooth? Would the long time rumors of a touch screen iPod come to fruition? Or would it be nothing more than a glorified refresh like last September? With the abundant rumors flying around, even ABC News posting the speculation on their website, it was, needless to say, a night of great anticipation across the world. That next morning Steve Jobs hosted an invitation-only conference in Los Angeles that would prove to change the way we think of iPods and what they can do. As the press was covering the event, there were constant updates posted on the internet as the conference went on. Steve Jobs, in his usual jeans and black turtleneck, started off by going over the success of the iTunes Store and the iPhone. Interestingly, nobody from AT&T (the iPhone's carrier) spoke at the conference. Steve Jobs then went on to announce updates: iPod Shuffle The iPod shuffle has been added in different colors, but price and storage capacity remains the same. iPod Classic (formerly known as iPod Video) The iPod video has been renamed the iPod “classic.” The 30GB model was dropped, and the 80GB was demoted to the $249USD price slot. To fill in the $349 slot, Apple introduced a 160GB model—the largest iPod storage to date. The classic also runs the new iPod interface which includes split-screen browsing and cover-flow. iPod Nano The iPod Nano was redesigned again (after just shy of a year). The highlight of the new model is support for video playback and the noticeably wide body which accommodates a wide screen. In addition, it also runs on the new iPod interface which also includes split-screen browsing and cover-flow. iPod Touch The star of the show, the iPod touch, is essentially an iPhone without the phone. The iPod touch features everything that the iPhone has but leaves out the phone, camera, email application, and (supposedly) Bluetooth. This leaves the iPod touch with WiFi (which includes the Safari browser for web access), the YouTube application, music, photos, and compatibility with Starbucks' new network. The main difference between the iPhone and iPod touch is that the touch is only 8mm thick as opposed to the thicker iPhone. (From left to right: iPod touch, Classic, Nano, Shuffle. Photos courtesy of Apple) Other Happenings The WiFi iTunes Store allows iPhone and iPod touch users to wirelessly browse the iTunes Store. Only songs may be purchased as pod casts and movies are not supported. Another interesting feature is a recent collaboration with Apple and Starbucks: this allows users to view the music that is playing (or was recently played) in Starbucks and purchase it if they want. This will also be available to laptop users who use the latest version of iTunes. The last highlight of the conference, and perhaps the most controversial, was the dramatic price reduction on the 8GB iPhone from $599USD to $399USD. Steve Jobs announced that Apple would slash the cost of the 8GB iPhone by a third in order to get optimal sales. The 4GB model would cease production due to low sales and would have a clearance price of $299USD. iPhone owners were very upset by quick price reduction and began to write Apple with complaints citing that by paying the extra price in the beginning means they paid roughly $3 a day for getting it early. Steve Jobs responded the next day by writing an apology letter to iPhone customers and offering them a $100 gift certificate to the Apple Store. That night, Apple released a new version of iTunes that will allow iPhone users to create ring tones using music from the iTunes Store. The cost is 99cents on top of the 99cents for the cost of the song. However, a workaround was discovered by copying the song and importing it into iTunes (see CNET). As of press time, Apple has done nothing to prevent this. iPhone vs iPod: You mean they're not the same? In an effort to keep their selling streak on the iPhone without the iPod touch eclipsing it, Apple pulled out some features from the iPod touch at the last minute to distinguish the differences: Just before announcing the iPod touch, Apple hastily removed Bluetooth from the device and instead only offered WiFi. After the announcement of the iPod touch, Apple removed the ability to add appointments to the calendar from the device (similar to the previous iPods). As a result of customers complaining they were misled by the website, Apple changed the website advertisement to reflect the change. Apple intentionally left out other applications such as Mail, Widgets, and Google Maps. Will They Be Added Later? Being that the iPod touch and iPhone run the same exact OS, many techies have speculated that adding the missing programs should not be that difficult. In fact, there are some reports that say it will be as easy as importing a file into iTunes. As of press time, no applications have been able to be imported. Third Party Applications According to Apple's vice-president of hardware product marketing, Greg Joswiak, the company "doesn't oppose native application development" for the iPhone and iPod touch but warned developers that subsequent software changes will probably interfere with third party apps. My Thoughts/Predictions: Shuffle: I don't expect to see sales pick up on the Shuffle since no major updates were introduced. I'll give Apple their props for keeping this model alive. Nano: I expect to see sales pick up dramatically since the models are more reasonably priced and support video. In addition, they sport the usual Nano “fun” look. Classic: This was a wise move on Apple's part, sales on the 80GB may pick up because of the price drop, but I also expect to see music buffs picking up the 160GB model. With the whole HD craze going on, larger hard drive space is never a bad thing. Touch: This model has a lot of potential, being that it includes some groundbreaking features but sales may not be as high because of the glaring deficit of hard drive space as well as many other features left to be desired. iPhone: With the dramatic price drop, I expect sales to pick up dramatically. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw a 16GB iPhone within the year. Though Apple does have solid lineup for this holiday season, continual removal of features may leave customers cold. Jarrett Carter

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Apple Sweeps iPod line With New Models and Stirs Controversy With Customers

The night of Tuesday, September 3 proved to be a night of great anticipation for tech fans: websites and blogs were flooded with reports of Apple unveiling their new iPod line that had been talked about for over a year. Many tech fans went to sleep with fantasies of what the most talked about MP3 player would look like...would it have WiFi or Bluetooth? Would the long time rumors of a touch screen iPod come to fruition? Or would it be nothing more than a glorified refresh like last September? With the abundant rumors flying around, even ABC News posting the speculation on their website, it was, needless to say, a night of great anticipation across the world.

That next morning Steve Jobs hosted an invitation-only conference in Los Angeles that would prove to change the way we think of iPods and what they can do. As the press was covering the event, there were constant updates posted on the internet as the conference went on. Steve Jobs, in his usual jeans and black turtleneck, started off by going over the success of the iTunes Store and the iPhone. Interestingly, nobody from AT&T (the iPhone's carrier) spoke at the conference. Steve Jobs then went on to announce updates:

iPod Shuffle
The iPod shuffle has been added in different colors, but price and storage capacity remains the same.
iPod Classic (formerly known as iPod Video)
The iPod video has been renamed the iPod “classic.” The 30GB model was dropped, and the 80GB was demoted to the $249USD price slot. To fill in the $349 slot, Apple introduced a 160GB model—the largest iPod storage to date. The classic also runs the new iPod interface which includes split-screen browsing and cover-flow.
iPod Nano
The iPod Nano was redesigned again (after just shy of a year). The highlight of the new model is support for video playback and the noticeably wide body which accommodates a wide screen. In addition, it also runs on the new iPod interface which also includes split-screen browsing and cover-flow.
iPod Touch
The star of the show, the iPod touch, is essentially an iPhone without the phone. The iPod touch features everything that the iPhone has but leaves out the phone, camera, email application, and (supposedly) Bluetooth. This leaves the iPod touch with WiFi (which includes the Safari browser for web access), the YouTube application, music, photos, and compatibility with Starbucks' new network. The main difference between the iPhone and iPod touch is that the touch is only 8mm thick as opposed to the thicker iPhone.

(From left to right: iPod touch, Classic, Nano, Shuffle. Photos courtesy of Apple)

Other Happenings

The WiFi iTunes Store allows iPhone and iPod touch users to wirelessly browse the iTunes Store. Only songs may be purchased as pod casts and movies are not supported. Another interesting feature is a recent collaboration with Apple and Starbucks: this allows users to view the music that is playing (or was recently played) in Starbucks and purchase it if they want. This will also be available to laptop users who use the latest version of iTunes.

The last highlight of the conference, and perhaps the most controversial, was the dramatic price reduction on the 8GB iPhone from $599USD to $399USD. Steve Jobs announced that Apple would slash the cost of the 8GB iPhone by a third in order to get optimal sales. The 4GB model would cease production due to low sales and would have a clearance price of $299USD. iPhone owners were very upset by quick price reduction and began to write Apple with complaints citing that by paying the extra price in the beginning means they paid roughly $3 a day for getting it early. Steve Jobs responded the next day by writing an apology letter to iPhone customers and offering them a $100 gift certificate to the Apple Store.

That night, Apple released a new version of iTunes that will allow iPhone users to create ring tones using music from the iTunes Store. The cost is 99cents on top of the 99cents for the cost of the song. However, a workaround was discovered by copying the song and importing it into iTunes (see CNET). As of press time, Apple has done nothing to prevent this.

iPhone vs iPod: You mean they're not the same?
In an effort to keep their selling streak on the iPhone without the iPod touch eclipsing it, Apple pulled out some features from the iPod touch at the last minute to distinguish the differences:

Just before announcing the iPod touch, Apple hastily removed Bluetooth from the device and instead only offered WiFi.

After the announcement of the iPod touch, Apple removed the ability to add appointments to the calendar from the device (similar to the previous iPods). As a result of customers complaining they were misled by the website, Apple changed the website advertisement to reflect the change.

Apple intentionally left out other applications such as Mail, Widgets, and Google Maps.

Will They Be Added Later?
Being that the iPod touch and iPhone run the same exact OS, many techies have speculated that adding the missing programs should not be that difficult. In fact, there are some reports that say it will be as easy as importing a file into iTunes. As of press time, no applications have been able to be imported.
Third Party Applications
According to Apple's vice-president of hardware product marketing, Greg Joswiak, the company "doesn't oppose native application development" for the iPhone and iPod touch but warned developers that subsequent software changes will probably interfere with third party apps.

My Thoughts/Predictions:

Shuffle: I don't expect to see sales pick up on the Shuffle since no major updates were introduced. I'll give Apple their props for keeping this model alive.

Nano: I expect to see sales pick up dramatically since the models are more reasonably priced and support video. In addition, they sport the usual Nano “fun” look.

Classic: This was a wise move on Apple's part, sales on the 80GB may pick up because of the price drop, but I also expect to see music buffs picking up the 160GB model. With the whole HD craze going on, larger hard drive space is never a bad thing.

Touch: This model has a lot of potential, being that it includes some groundbreaking features but sales may not be as high because of the glaring deficit of hard drive space as well as many other features left to be desired.

iPhone: With the dramatic price drop, I expect sales to pick up dramatically. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw a 16GB iPhone within the year. Though Apple does have solid lineup for this holiday season, continual removal of features may leave customers cold.

Jarrett Carter