I think the spread of iPods is there for one reason and one reason only: To make you buy more than one.
I’ve got an extra-chunky 40 GB iPod. Great for the car, for the office, and for plugging into the stereo at home. At the gym… it’s a bit of a clunker.
And yet there’s Steve, haunting my dreams. “Buuuuyyyyyy annnnnn iPooooooood Shuffffffllllleeeeeeeee.....” he croons to me as I toss and turn in a feverish nightmare!
But that’s the thing, a shuffle would be THE THING to have when biking, going to the gym, skiing, or otherwise risking iPodular catastrophe (a head crash on the mini-HD). And doubly good because it’s tiny enough that I could Velcro(R) it to my helmet!
As for which one to buy, I’d base it on your music collection and how much you’ll listen to at a go.
If your music collection is less than 60 GB, in MP3/AAC format, then consider getting an iPod big enough to hold the whole thing.
If it’s bigger than that, or if you can’t afford to fit your whole music collection, then you’re going to be doing some synchronization juju in order to fill your iPod. (Smart playlists are wonderful for this!) If juju is the order of the day, then the size of your iPod need only be limited by how much you want to spend, how big a device you want, and how much music to you’ll listen to before re-syncing your ‘pod.
And, to Kyle: The software is what makes Apple so darn good, and what makes the iPod dominate. It’s hassle-free music management. The ONLY software I’ve used that comes close is Rio’s “Rio Music Manager” and “Rio DJ” programs. Quite good software, and it provides the same sort of hassle free syncing that iTunes is known for. BUT, it only works on a PC, smart playlists require a separate “DJ” application, and the network sync (a very cool idea) barely ever works.
That said, if I didn’t have an iPod, I’d be pretty happy with a nice Rio Karma or Carbon. My wife’s got one, and she just loves the thing.
To stay on topic, I really prefer the design of the 3G as opposed to the 4G/mini clickwheel.
I have a Belkin TuneDok in the car, and it doesn’t exactly sit firmly in the cupholder. I can’t put much pressure on the iPod less, the iPod ends up all over the floor… thus, the clickwheel isn’t that great of a solution.
I also think the 3G looks a bit more elegant than the 4G… and, for those of us who run dual boot in to iPod Linux, we at least know the software will work easily on the 3G. I can now browse photos (Though monochrome in nature), and I can even dabble in a game of Chess, Tetris or Pong.
Hmmm. I really like the new model’s clickwheel. It just seems more solid. Regardless, the clickwheel and menu design is to the iPod what Mac OS was to the Mac. Big difference in market share, though.
Ermmm, not exactly sure what you mean by how I’m handling it…
Install was a bit problematic, as it refuses to install on the first attempt. But after hitting the retry button a few times, the installer worked. Downloaded from http://www.ipodlinux.org/Main_Page
The beauty is that your iPod can dualboot in to either OS. There are far more programs available for the iPod using Linux, and more are being developed as time goes on.
The pain is that music playback on the Linux end sorta blows. No OGG support yet, high bitrate MP3 or AAC is unsupported, and, of course, protected AAC won’t play.
However, booting doesn’t take long, and its rather nice to have access to a whole bunch more applications.
It wouldn’t hurt Apple to trim the color choices in the mini line. Green and gold are fine if it’s money and metal, but on iPods, it was ugly and uninspiring. Nothing wrong with keeping the hot selling colors and phasing out the losers.
I bought the 1 GB shuffle and my wife has the silver mini. We take the shuffle everywhere. It’s size is perfect. A 1 and 2 GB offering would be even better. (And, hint to Apple… since you’ve loaded the shuffle already with several double-click and triple-click menu actions, next time add a double-click on the >> [next song] button to advance 10 songs. And even better, add a triple-click to advance 50 songs.)
Then, if they carved an Apple logo into the power switch, offering slightly more friction, it’d be perfect.
Lastly, I’ll bet colors are coming for the shuffle line, introducing even more choices.
This brings up an interesting point. While I don’t disagree with “bugsnw” about the iPod colors being “uninspiring,” I’m also amazed at how many people buy them. Ugliness and all. That says that we pundits and in-the-know folks don’t know as much about what makes people “buy” than we think we do.
Why would anyone buy a 14” iBook when the 12” model so absolutely the perfect size?
It wouldn’t hurt Apple to trim the color choices in the mini line. Green and gold are fine if it’s money and metal, but on iPods, it was ugly and uninspiring. Nothing wrong with keeping the hot selling colors and phasing out the losers.
I bought the 1 GB shuffle and my wife has the silver mini. We take the shuffle everywhere. It’s size is perfect. A 1 and 2 GB offering would be even better. (And, hint to Apple… since you’ve loaded the shuffle already with several double-click and triple-click menu actions, next time add a double-click on the >> [next song] button to advance 10 songs. And even better, add a triple-click to advance 50 songs.)
Then, if they carved an Apple logo into the power switch, offering slightly more friction, it’d be perfect.
Lastly, I’ll bet colors are coming for the shuffle line, introducing even more choices.
This brings up an interesting point. While I don’t disagree with “bugsnw” about the iPod colors being “uninspiring,” I’m also amazed at how many people buy them. Ugliness and all. That says that we pundits and in-the-know folks don’t know as much about what makes people “buy” than we think we do.
Why would anyone buy a 14” iBook when the 12” model so absolutely the perfect size?
See what I mean?
Hey, Missy T, I have some nightlife girl friends here in Vegas who have multiple iPod mini’s. As in hot pink, hot green (gawd, why?) and so on. You’ll see them toting around a different iPod mini depending on what they’re wearing and what bag they’re carrying.
It wouldn’t hurt Apple to trim the color choices in the mini line. Green and gold are fine if it’s money and metal, but on iPods, it was ugly and uninspiring. Nothing wrong with keeping the hot selling colors and phasing out the losers.
I bought the 1 GB shuffle and my wife has the silver mini. We take the shuffle everywhere. It’s size is perfect. A 1 and 2 GB offering would be even better. (And, hint to Apple… since you’ve loaded the shuffle already with several double-click and triple-click menu actions, next time add a double-click on the >> [next song] button to advance 10 songs. And even better, add a triple-click to advance 50 songs.)
Then, if they carved an Apple logo into the power switch, offering slightly more friction, it’d be perfect.
Lastly, I’ll bet colors are coming for the shuffle line, introducing even more choices.
This brings up an interesting point. While I don’t disagree with “bugsnw” about the iPod colors being “uninspiring,” I’m also amazed at how many people buy them. Ugliness and all. That says that we pundits and in-the-know folks don’t know as much about what makes people “buy” than we think we do.
Why would anyone buy a 14” iBook when the 12” model so absolutely the perfect size?
See what I mean?
Hey, Missy T, I have some nightlife girl friends here in Vegas who have multiple iPod mini’s. As in hot pink, hot green (gawd, why?) and so on. You’ll see them toting around a different iPod mini depending on what they’re wearing and what bag they’re carrying.
No, not ‘bag’ as in date. As in purse.
Yeeeeeesh.
Wow, that is some expensive accessorizing. I guess it could be worse, they could have gotten them from Tiffany’s. I agree about the iBooks Tera, but for some reason there is a myth out there that bigger is better. Don’t these people know that it is all in the way you use it?
Wow, that is some expensive accessorizing. I guess it could be worse, they could have gotten them from Tiffany’s. I agree about the iBooks Tera, but for some reason there is a myth out there that bigger is better. Don’t these people know that it is all in the way you use it?
[quote author="NewWaveDave" date="1122883732]
Wow, that is some expensive accessorizing. I guess it could be worse, they could have gotten them from Tiffany’s. I agree about the iBooks Tera, but for some reason there is a myth out there that bigger is better. Don’t these people know that it is all in the way you use it?
Being a guy, I can’t fathom the multiple purse requirement of your average woman. My sister must have FIVE $600 purses hanging around her house in rural Saskatchewan. I say to myself: “You’re obviously not going anywhere… what’s the point?”
Then I go downtown and see a $2500 purse with an iPod mini compartment. She is suddenly all within reason.
[Then I go downtown and see a $2500 purse with an iPod mini compartment. She is suddenly all within reason.
Which brings to mind Robert Palmer’s “Simply Irresistible” music video; the one with the heavily-made up models ‘playing’ backup. My SO would die to have that video on iTunes.
The Gothic models playing backup to Palmer in his Armani suit was the video of “Addicted to Love,” if I’m not mistaken—and not Simply Irresistible. But then I should know, right, given my advanced years and that I’m just this side of assisted living. (I figure I can disarm you if I just anticipate your best lines.)
Jeff, what happened? ‘Senior’ moment?
That style was on both Addicted to Love and Simply Irresistible. Even better was Shania Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like A Woman” which spoofed Palmer’s original. HOT!!
Remember “Pop Up Videos” which played music videos and had little ‘pop up’ balloon commentaries? Great stuff. I saw one on Simply Irressitible. Music playing. Models not. Music stopped. Models still ‘playing.’
That style was on both Addicted to Love and Simply Irresistible. Even better was Shania Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like A Woman” which spoofed Palmer’s original. HOT!!
Remember “Pop Up Videos” which played music videos and had little ‘pop up’ balloon commentaries? Great stuff. I saw one on Simply Irressitible. Music playing. Models not. Music stopped. Models still ‘playing.’
Yeah, Palmer would be a Mac user, for sure. I loved Simply Irresistible (1988) and Addicted to Love (1986).
“The British rock singer, known equally for his crisp suits and hit singles, died in Paris of a heart attack on September 26, his manager said. The French police confirmed that Palmer died in his hotel room near the Champs Elysees in central Paris. Palmer, 54, had been living in Switzerland for the past 16 years. He was on a two-day break in Paris following a television recording session in Britain.
Palmer was the star of another age, when raunchiness was an art form—blasĒ, yet subtle. In the 1980s, his music video for Simply irresistible (1988) drew attention for its sassy models with slicked back hair and pouting bright red lips. And who can forget the miniskirts in the 1986 hit Addicted to love? Both won Grammys for best rock vocal performance.”
Ahhhh, but Shania!! She’s an iPod user! Click the image to see the iPod…
