TOO MANY E-TRONS

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
Let's see last time I checked you HAD to have:



>MP3 player

>Cell Phone

>Portable Computer

>Computer

>Pager

>TV

>Radio

>CD Player

>E-Organizer



strap portable versions of all of these things to you and your cool. (not)



Hope Apple strives to make appliances that really help us. Yes, the iPod, keeps us organized, as well as offers storage for huge files as well as provides an OS bootable drive and even plays .mp3/aiff/wav files...so this is excluded, but I get kinda mad when you get an appliance and it only has one general feature, as only a MP3 player that only plays Mp3's.



Doesn't that sound like a waste to buy if it could accomplish more, and doesn't.



Take the MP3 player VS. the MP3Player&Radio&CD all-in-one. I mean, if one of those features goes out 5 years down the line, you still have a useable appliance.



What's the take on this digital lifestyle THANG.



-walloo

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 4
    berbercarpetberbercarpet Posts: 242member
    History has shown that integrated products do not sell well, in general.



    Those Samsung/Sprint phones are the closest thing yet to a successful product, and it's still not all that.







    People get confused when faced with many options--and a product that tries to do *everything* will end up not doing anything really well.





    I don't think Apple should try to push *this* envelope.



    It should let other companies cut their teeth in the "ingtegrated digital appliance" market and /if/ something proves useful, then, and only then, should they put out the best version.



    But I contend that we're a long way off from technology that'll allow us to create a useful product.



    - me





    [spelling--oops]



    [ 05-08-2002: Message edited by: BerberCarpet ]</p>
  • Reply 2 of 4
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    Integrated devices ussually sell poorly because they're usually half assed efforts that don't do either of the integrated functions very well. Moreover, the integration price premium usually means that for the price of the integrated device you can by the two seperate devices it's intended to replace and get far superior performance from both.



    The most successful integrated device of all time is the PC. Flexible hardware (with adaptable I/O) running quality software solutions is really the only widely successful 'integrated device'.



    Maybe people don't recognize it as such but a PC(personal computer, not wintel specifically) can be all of the following:



    Office appliance,

    data center,

    internet terminal,

    games machine,

    DV editing machine,

    PVR (please apple do this, DVDrw is crying out for it)

    juke box,

    digital dark-room,

    recording studio,



    That's real convergence, not some gimmicky gadgetry.
  • Reply 3 of 4
    davegeedavegee Posts: 2,765member
    I hope I don't get a verbal beat-down for this but I for one want an iWalkish device with bluetooth.



    I don't need it to be a phone but it should sync with the phone for address book updates and even dial out would be nice..



    I'd want it 'net-connected' via my cell or via a type II card that provides 3G type service.



    It would have / do:



    - Auto-sync with OS X

    - Web

    - E-Mail

    - Cal.

    - Notes

    - PDF Viewing

    - Quicktime (audio and video)

    - Assorted 'fun' apps

    - Maybe even GIS type stuff (okay maybe not)



    Specs:



    - Pen Input

    - 5x8 Screen (or maybe a tad smaller 4x6?)

    - Acceptable audio

    - Good battery life

    - Bluetooth and Firewire

    - 10 Gigs storage maybe even 20?



    In short what I really want is to take a 'major subset' of my data on the road without the need of a full size laptop. I even have a TI and sometimes it's just too dern big to take with me.



    I want something a fair bit larger than a PDA but still smaller than a TI book. Something I'd feel comfortable to take with me while at say a MacWorld type event or for a 3 day business trip or a week long vacation. I wanna stay connected but don't wanna lug and secure something as large as a TI.



    I work at a research hospital and many/most of the PhD's are Mac users and would LOVE something like this and I know Apple could/would sell one to just about evey one of them but that market just wouldn't make it a success.



    Is this sysyem possible today (at any price) yea sure it is... At a price Apple could sell enough of them (to make it a business success) to 'todays' Mac audience? I'm not too sure. Will it ever come? Yea I'm pretty sure it will... Someday.



    Now If Apple makes more inroads into the business world (OS X + OS X Server and now rackmout hardware) then I'd even be more sure of it.



    Dave
  • Reply 4 of 4
    willywalloowillywalloo Posts: 408member
    I've got to think'n more about this and the thing that I really don't like is that the chips in a device are usually there to add extra features, but usually the device only fullfills one simple purpose, instead of other simple purposes.



    Here's a MADD example. A MP3 player only will play back to you MP3's, it's got storage and it's got the controls, but there is no way to add music-wise to the device without a computer.

    So then you must get out another device to encode your mp3's (usually a mac for me) and then add them, when a microphone or stereo could easily suffice. So good technologies, just a bad implementation.



    Here's a cross example. A DV camera has the ability to do input and out put on it's own. It's a device that fullfills most of the needs in the field it covers. It doesn't just capture video.



    Here's another MADD example . A DVD player...only will read media to you and won't capture video...so irritating. Good format and idea, but bad overall functionality: you can only play view material from another source, and not from your own.



    I guess I'm more for paying more money for a device that will help you do more, rather than expending money on cheap devices that require too much management(because of how many you own). I'm not saying that I would want a device that is a vacuum cleaner and a tooth brush in one, but more wanting a products that fullfill the whole need of their field.



    So everyone wants cheap products that also cost less?



    [ 05-09-2002: Message edited by: willywalloo ]



    [ 05-09-2002: Message edited by: willywalloo ]



    [ 05-09-2002: Message edited by: willywalloo ]</p>
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