Let's not forget that the iPod's breakthrough nature is not that it's unprecedented in terms of what it is and what it does, but how elegantly it packages these attributes. I could see Apple hopping back into areas that used to be very profitable for them; building peripherals and devices that are available from other vendors - but with premium features, elegance, and, of course, prices.
Specifically, Apple could reincarnate the imaging products that were lost during the mid-90's cost cutting: LaserWriters/StyleWriters, scanners, digital cameras. Apple had pioneering products in all of these areas - let alone the PDA.
How about a new line of printers? A home photo printer would be a great complement to ImageCapture. It might incorporate the direct-from-camera features seen in Epson printers, but with the broad compatibility for 3rd party cameras built into OS X. And when plugged into a Mac, ImageCapture 2.0 (or iPhoto) could be used to manage a portfolio of pictures, frame them, remove red-eye...
It's not a new concept, but Apple's take on the idea would, as always, be the most elegant.
iPod is not intended to generate profits for Apple in and of itself. iPod is intended to promote mac hardware sales. That firewire connection not only provides high-bandwidth file transfers, it also mandates that iPod users have firewire enabled hardware. Apple has not developed any windows software for iPod. If they wanted to generate revenue with iPod, there would be windows software.
I don't see printers and scanners as 'digital spoke' items. They will not drive hardware sales--I can't see consumers saying "I've GOT to have that new Apple scanner and I need a new mac to use it".
Something like an Apple cell phone is a more likely candidate. Cell phone UI stinks to high heaven. A cell phone with a more eloquent UI and the ability to sync with my contact software would be great.
What digital products do you use that could/should/do interface with your computer? Which of these products have glaring faults that could be opportunities for Apple?
<strong> A cell phone with a more eloquent UI and the ability to sync with my contact software would be great.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Do you mean "eloquent" as in expressive, fluent, articulate, persuasive and well-expressed? Or did you mean elegant?
I think that a Handspring <a href="http://www.handspring.com/products/communicators/index.jhtml"; target="_blank">Treo Communicator</a> would already do the job of integrating PDA/PIM with a phone. There's even one with a color screen in the pipeline.
[quote] Apple has not developed any windows software for iPod. If they wanted to generate revenue with iPod, there would be windows software. <hr></blockquote>
Someone beat Apple to the punch, XPOD is a windows software for the iPod. <img src="graemlins/bugeye.gif" border="0" alt="[Skeptical]" />
Comments
Specifically, Apple could reincarnate the imaging products that were lost during the mid-90's cost cutting: LaserWriters/StyleWriters, scanners, digital cameras. Apple had pioneering products in all of these areas - let alone the PDA.
How about a new line of printers? A home photo printer would be a great complement to ImageCapture. It might incorporate the direct-from-camera features seen in Epson printers, but with the broad compatibility for 3rd party cameras built into OS X. And when plugged into a Mac, ImageCapture 2.0 (or iPhoto) could be used to manage a portfolio of pictures, frame them, remove red-eye...
It's not a new concept, but Apple's take on the idea would, as always, be the most elegant.
[ 11-16-2001: Message edited by: Reid ]</p>
I don't see printers and scanners as 'digital spoke' items. They will not drive hardware sales--I can't see consumers saying "I've GOT to have that new Apple scanner and I need a new mac to use it".
Something like an Apple cell phone is a more likely candidate. Cell phone UI stinks to high heaven. A cell phone with a more eloquent UI and the ability to sync with my contact software would be great.
What digital products do you use that could/should/do interface with your computer? Which of these products have glaring faults that could be opportunities for Apple?
<strong> A cell phone with a more eloquent UI and the ability to sync with my contact software would be great.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Do you mean "eloquent" as in expressive, fluent, articulate, persuasive and well-expressed? Or did you mean elegant?
I think that a Handspring <a href="http://www.handspring.com/products/communicators/index.jhtml"; target="_blank">Treo Communicator</a> would already do the job of integrating PDA/PIM with a phone. There's even one with a color screen in the pipeline.
Escher
Someone beat Apple to the punch, XPOD is a windows software for the iPod. <img src="graemlins/bugeye.gif" border="0" alt="[Skeptical]" />