Apple unveils new iPod nano with built-in accelerometer - Page 2

They are called playlists - if you have thousands of songs you should really have playlists. Also, the Zune with all the laser engraving I suppose looks cool to you but it looks stupid to me. I'll take the clean shiny back of an iPod any day (let's not get into the scratching argument, I just put a simple clear cover on it so it stays looking nice).

Wi-fi downloading is only useful when you're in a place that allows you access to their WiFi for free. Maybe I don't live in a big enough city but I can't remember the last time I actually stumbled across a place that had honest to God free wi-fi. (I live in the 3rd largest metropolitan area in the country so I'm certainly not out in the middle of no-where).

If you just want a music player to play music you can get a Classic or a Nano - I'm not really sure what you're after here. The Nano isn't full-functioned or innovative?

Also, FLAC wouldn't do a single bit of damage what-so-ever. MS might gain a couple hundred people (you, apparently, included) but the masses just don't give a crap. Hence why they discontinued the 160GB - it just wasn't selling for squat.

As long as the Zune doesn't have iTunes support it will be behind the iPod - that's not some fanboy talk that's just how it works with the masses. Apple hasn't had the best or most feature rich MP3 player on the market for years but yet their market share remains impressively high - that should be proof enough that the masses don't care about features they'll hardly, if ever, use.

Talk to MelGross and BagelJoey. They both loved it- can't stop raving about it.

yeah, except it only works if you have an iPhone or (now) a brand new improved iPod. I have a first gen touch.

Don't you know already? Apple is in cahoots with the government and they are going to share your entire library with them and it's going to be Enemy of the State all over again!?!?!?!

Personally, I really don't care if Apple knows what I have in my library - they aren't going to publish it to the world and say "hey, look at bigmc6000's music library, what a turd!"

But of course people are always going to be paranoid - especially this day and age...

actually, I don't think a new iPod will do it for ya - it has to have the mic rather than just the speaker...

It's anonymous, but that doesn't mean they don't track what songs people are playing. Also, it does require logging into an iTunes account to use, which is suspicious. This would be a really easy tool to help record labels come up with pirating statistics, and unless Apple guarantees that email addresses/ISPs, etc are all securely wiped frequently, it could be a pretty big liability for users... Additionally, what's to stop record companies, etc. from artificially shaping the Genius by setting up a bunch of iTunes accounts and uploading playlists that steer listeners to their selected music? It's bad enough that Jack Johnson and some others have gotten careers via iTunes...

Pretty sure he said the new earbuds for the new iPod has a mike on them. Either way it's not possible for me. The new iPod touch is just not different enough from the original (that I already have and only bought in the last few months) to justify upgrading. If they had thrown the camera in I would have bit at it.

I guess there is no one "cool" on this list, as no one seems to know the answer to my original question which is who the artists of the iPod ad music are.

I was just assuming (because it would be smart) that Apple had a way to sell you those catchy songs they use in their ads. There must be like a million people who will see those ads today and if they had an easy link to buy the music, they'd probably sell a boatload of copies.

Seems like an easy opportunity that Apple is totally missing.

Tell that to the 100,000 users at What and Waffles and the countless more at Demonoid and other trackers that almost exclusively use FLAC. Or the over 4 million that have downloaded Rockbox to get FLAC on their ipods at the sacrifice of battery time.

There's usually a spot on the iTunes front page with the commercial and it says what the song is in the title. I know that's not really an answer but at least it's something!

4 million total downloads is nothing and, again, the masses just don't care. Look at the iTunes store - most of the songs are still DRM'd 128kbps AAC but they are still selling like hotcakes.

Ok, so it's more than 100 but that was sarcasm. And no, going on and on about 4 million total downloads is not going to make me think that the masses give a crap about FLAC. Apple's goal with the iPod, as opposed to the Mac, is the appeal to the masses. That's why they are still so successful without putting in all those options that other players have (ones that sacrifice battery life I might add). Now the Mac, that's a different story. They price those high and only appeal to a small % of people. Apple is the Dell + HP of the mp3 world. They make MP3 players for the masses and throw a few goodies out there for the people who like to think themselves more than just a member of "the masses."

Do the new iPod nano accelerators also enable them to act as gaming devices, or is it strictly limited to rotating the pictures/movies and the "shake/shuffle" action? As far as the info on Apple goes, it seems like they are not fully enabled to be similar to the touches.

Null.

Is that new Nano screen smaller than the last one?

If not I'll get two, one for me and one for the Mrs.

It shows as having the same pixels and the same diagonal size, but I think it might be wider, which means it's shorter when using landscape mode.

Yes: and it's still a stupid idea.

Nobody cares about having radio on their iPod. If they did, the iPod would have been marginalised years ago.

320 by 240 pixels, same as the 3g

I like it, if it requires a decent shake. And it can be turned off.

The "shake/shuffle" gag is kind of cute....; but didn't anybody but me flash on the "Third Rock from the Sun" where they went into a computer store, and Dick picks up a laptop and says:" Oh, yes...I have something similar to this at home," and shakes it like an Etch-a-Sketch to try to clear the screen?

Agreed - totally. Apple obviously doesn't care. They cater to people who want to grow a library. The lack of support for their own Radio Remote on the touch shows they're not too interested in radio.

That is funny! hah

I think I want a 16GB Product (Red) iPod Nano. Very interesting. I have to wait until 6:30 (PST) to use iTunes 8 bleh! Long story...

Apple's decisions are always built on what customers are buying. People are buying more Nanos then anything else. As far as the Zune having a better interface goes, that is a matter of perspective. To me, it seems like a copy of Apple's interface done up a bit with unnecessary graphics. If you do a Google search, you'll find amny who agree. Moreover, Apple's classic iPod still has a lot going for it that the Zune doesn't. For instance, you can use the classic iPod as a hardrive, it has an alarm clock, you can sync photos and video to a television. Finally, the Zune has no accessories compared to the iPod which has thousands.

OK, one last thing. I haven't checked out the new Zune's wireless features, but the first and second generation stunk. Whenever you tried to squirt a song to somebody or vice verse you'd get an annoying message not allowing that song to be shared.

Yes... That does look quite cool. Hopefully we will be able to do something similar to the iPod, soon. And maybe be able to use own bicolor (black & white) images. Ha. Now that would be cool.

I'm surprised there hasn't been one complaint about the glass on the Nano. People certainly complained about on the iPhone. I know mine would get banged up quite a bit when used at the gym.

I'm also surprised that no one is complaining that Apple finally put a voice recorder into one of their iPods.

PS: I just realized that the Nano doesn't come with Nike+ BT built-in, like the Touch. Sucks that you still need that clip hanging off of it.

I though the iPods were made for us to get away from the radio? Who wants to listen to radio? 2.3% of the market.. well i guess Zune won that 2.3%. Good for them. Now lets let's put a calculator on it.

This LAZIOR engraving is another 2.3% of the market who really wants it. Its like Getting a tattoo, but you can't make your own, and you have to choose from only few dozens of fugly designs, that EVENTUALLY you'll start to hate.

Well Zune has won that 2.3% of the market. Good for them.

The last notebook update was February 2008, the one before that was June 2007, before that was October 2006. An 8 month cycle. Next month will be 8 months from February.

Oddly enough, the Quicktime stream window title for the "special event" calls it a keynote. The Apple web page linking to the keynote calls it a special event.

I think it's fair to say that both terms apply, no exclusive-or here.

At least now, the iPod refresh is out of the way, and we can focus on some better reasons for the margin drop.

There have been additional news items that validated my early theory about Google TV coming out soon. NBC Universal coming back to iTunes also makes AppleTV's case to be a Set-top box replacement that much more stronger (cannot imagine Apple and Google running a TV service without NBC, can you?). I think the way it played out, was that NBC Universal was approached by Google and Apple about the launch of Google TV - and NBC realized that if they were left out of Google TV, they would be the losers. So they ate humble pie, and signed on to iTunes again. The fact that NBC is now offering lower priced shows, and entire seasons on iTunes at lower prices, suggests that Apple drove a hard bargain - net result, customer gets a great deal. NBC got none of the premium pricing it wanted, and actually ended up lowering the average price per show.

Out of all of Apple's revenue lines, we already had changes in iPhone and iPod recently. That leaves Apple TV and the Mac line up. I dont think Mac will see major changes from a software perspective, till Snow Leopard launches. That leaves either hardware changes on Mac, lower prices for the entire Mac range, or the Apple TV as alternatives.

I think lower prices on the Mac range dont make too much sense - there is'nt much point in announcing this, just after the Back To School ends - the negative publicity from that is just not worth it. If the Mac is refreshed with better hardware specs, at the same price points, then yes - it would qualify. But I can only think of BluRay as the cause of that - though Apple is on the Blu-Ray panel, Blu-Ray just does not fit in with everything that Apple is trying to achieve. It is a step back from the online content store that Apple has created with iTunes. I doubt if Blu-Ray is a big priority for Apple (to the extent of sacrificing their profit margins to include Blu-Ray in their entire range). The other possible hardware change is custom chips, from their PA Semi acquisition - but there is no way a custom chip would lower their margin so much. In any case, one would assume that the custom chip actually helps Apple to further differentiate their product from the PC world, and allow even better margins.

The more I think about it, the more I am inclined to believe that it is Apple TV where the action is going to be. Maybe I am wrong about how this will play out, and whether there will be a tie-up between Apple and Google - though they both look like the perfect fit to create a major shake-up in the TV space. I think this would be too big for either company to do alone.

It's interesting that a 240GB drive was not introduced that I heard. There's no way to update the $349 model even if they wanted to.

You don't have to share anything with Apple to use the Genius to make playlists from your own music. iTunes 8 gives you the option of sharing you Genius playlists with Apple or not, so it's up to you if you want "big brother" watching.

It also says that anything sent to Apple is "anonymous". I didn't read the whole licensing agreement, so it might be that Apple can share your listening habits if you choose to let them view you playlists, but I'm sure Apple is using the downloading "habits" of people from the iTune store in their marketing, etc.

Anyway, my point is that you can use the Genius without sending information to Apple.

Toshiba introduced the new drives today.

Toshiba 1.8-inch hard drive hits the 240GB mark

...frankly, I'm not very impressed aside from the capacity increase and switch to widescreen display. I'm staying with my 3G iPod nano (8 GB) for the foreseeable future.

Complain, complain, complain.

SOME people complained about the glass on the iPhone. Most don't have any problem with it.

And you're surprised that people are complaining about something that they were complaining that they wanted???? Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat???

solipsism... I normally agree with what you have to say, which is a lot since you post a lot, but this one is out of left field. Surprised that no one is complaining that they finally got what they been asking for??? this does not compute

I'd count on it. Didn't Jobs said that Jack Johnson was the most purchased musician with something like 60M DLs? If the most sales on iTunes Store affected who performed at the event, I'd think that granular analysis of exactly what songs we listen to most should give them a lot of marketing ammunition. Are they going to sell this info or only use it internally? My mind is spinning by how much data this is going to provide them. If only Neilsen could get this kind of info about TV viewing habits.

I've been all for the glass since it was first rumoured on the iPhone, it's dense and doesn't scratch easily. But I've have so much complaining about it, even after it came out. Doesn't get me wrong, I'm glad people aren't on that anymore, I'm just surprised by since I don't recall any posts asking for a glass Nano screen.

Apple is most definitely going to use our Genius playlists to target the buyers much more effectively. That's a given.

It's just that you don't HAVE to share your Genius playlists if you don't want to. There is the option not to send the info to Apple, and just us the Genius playlists for yourself, it you find them useful.

It doesn't seem like many people are talking about the nano's themselves but I gotta say I really like the new ones, this is what I wanted instead of the "fatboy" nano. I just wish the classic had a longer 3 inch screen like the zune.

Faults with the Nano 4G:

The 3G Nano had an all metal case, I'm presuming the top and bottom of the 4G are plastic tabs as on the 2G.

The taller 4G may fit into your hand better but the 3G fits into your pocket more comfortably. More time is spent listening to it then operating it. In landscape mode it will be more awkward to hold than the 3G.

The controls on the 4G are incorrectly orientated when you use it in landscape mode (never thought Apple would accept such a design compromise).

On the 3G the hold switch, docking port and headphone jack are all located on the bottom in a clean symmetrical design. The 4G uses the untidy 2G layout.

The Nano 3G was a classic case of 'if it ain't broke don't fix it'.

1. No one is a blanket comment is inaccurate. I bought one.
2. We are in a minority. I accept that.
3. Why is this unfortunate?

???