New iPod questions
As everyone probably knows by now, the entire lineup of iPods was updated today. We now have:
- The iPod shuffle, pretty much as it was before but with new colors
- The next-generation Nano, made very stubby and given video playback capabilities, and new colors
- The iPod Classic, which is the “old” iPod but with an all-metal case, a few new software features, and an upper storage capacity of 160 GB (!)
- Most significantly: the iPod Touch, which has the same form factor and technological features as the iPhone but without the phone.
There was also an announcement of a $200 price drop on the iPhone (which has some early adopters up in arms) and a wireless version of the iTunes Store.
I’ve been itching to update my (n-3)rd generation 20 GB iPod for a while now. I’ve got some questions for Apple and for anybody out there who cares to comment. These aren’t intended to be facetious or rhetorical — I’m really interested in answers.
- Can you really watch video on a 2″ screen without driving yourself blind, crazy, or both?
- How come the iPod Touch doesn’t have a camera?
- How come the iPod Touch doesn’t have Google Maps on it, as it does on the iPhone?
- How come the iPod Touch doesn’t have a Mail application on it, as it does on the iPhone?
- What’s with the small hard drive capacities of both the iPhone and the iPod touch? The iPhone still only goes up to 8 Gb and the iPod Touch only to 16 Gb. That last would be just barely enough for my music and podcasts, and forget about adding video to that.
- Other than disk capacity, why exactly should I spend $399 to get the 16 Gb iPod Touch when the same money will get me an 8 Gb iPhone with, you know, a phone on it? (And email, Google Maps, and a camera?)
- And very importantly, why isn’t the educational discount on these iPods showing up when I go to the Apple Store? Are they not offering discounts on these things?
Of all the stuff announced today, for me the one that looks most attractive is the iPod Classic — quadruple the disk space of my current iPod, video playback capabilities (on a screen only 0.5″ smaller than the iPod Touch), and a decent price tag (in fact, the same price I paid for my current iPod). Who needs bells and whistles?
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iPod, iPod Touch, iPhone
I can answer point #1. I got a video iPod [30gb] for its storage capacity and thought the video capabilities would be useless. It’s surprisingly crisp and I don’t have to strain to view the screen. I’ve watched a few full-length movies on it and it was enjoyable.
That may just be me, though. Others might have found the screen too small.
I can attest that the video is quite viewable. Your mind becomes immersed in the sensory experience fairly quickly, no matter what size the screen is. I can’t tell the difference in the (emotional) experience of watching an episode of Lost on my iPod vs my 50″ bigscreen. I notice the quality of the sound much more than the video (and the sound output is quite good on the ipod for TV as well).
the ipod touch has a 3.5″ screen, the one on the classic is 2.5″. do your math again.
I thought I read that the Classic has a 3″ screen. So my math is fine, thanks, although my reading skills might need work.
In answer to #6): because if you buy the ipod touch, you own it outright and can enjoy it free until it dies. If you buy the iphone, you’re going to pay a minimum of $60/month for two years to use any of the phone or data features, bringing the total cost of ownership to over $1800 for that period.
Perhaps it’s worth it if you already have cell phone service at that price, and if you really use that much cell air time. I pay about $8 a month for cell service, so I would never switch to an iphone. But the ipod touch is pretty cool, and since I was about to buy a Palm T/X to sync my calendar and email with, it might be a valid choice for a little more money.
I think I had arrived at that same answer myself once I started seriously looking at the iPhone (which was shortly after writing this post). I think there is actually a $49.99/month plan for the iPhone for an individual. But it includes stuff that I would never use such as 200 text messages a month — the only text messages I ever send are queries to Google Calendar or updates to Twitter, and you don’t need to do that if you have a web browser on the phone. If you want a family plan with the iPhone, which I would, then you’re up to $60/month minimum and that is just breaking the bank for us.
I think I’m still staying out of the early adopter crowd at this point. Get me an iPod touch with >= 30 Gb of memory for a <$300 price and I’ll be getting the wallet out. Until then I’ll just keep what I have.