Starbucks use a t-mobile hotspot provided by t-mobile. You have to pay for it. You can purchase a day pass or a monthly pass.
Yah, this is why I don't go to Starbucks anymore but other places. I guess they are popular enough it doesn't matter but jebus...for a $5 latte I hope to get some free wireless too.
One thing that people here are obviously not following is that Flash prices have dropped like a stone the past month, contrary to expectations (including mine). I'm sure this has something to do with it.
Hi, Mel--I wasn't at all aware of that. I'm sure it was the right decision--I just hope the early adopters (which I think are valued customers, not only for their spending but their support, "evangelization," etc.) aren't too put off by this; I'm also worried about the message this sends to the general public--postponement of purchases are a serious issue to consider, and for the iPhone one of the main talking points for putting it down already before this was "I'll wait for v.2.0." Of course, I'm sure Apple has considered all this, and that there are many well thought out reasons for doing it, but I guess I'm more of the "constantly delight your valued customers (especially the loyal ones), even if it's expensive in the short run" school of thought.
EDIT: I would have lowered the price, as they did (which I thing is great), but would have said "thanks" to the early supporters in some way, even if it was, for example, by implementing new features for old and new iPhone customers (a feature other than a new way to buy stuff from us). But I'm just discussing the only thing that disconcerted me about the event--other than this, I think absolutely everything was freaking awesome.
Man, I am really really torn on this one. I wanted only two things: widescreen and 80GB. Didn't care about Wi-Fi at all.
Unfortunately, nothing released today meets both requirements. But all of them are so much better than my aging 40GB 4th Gen that it's going to be hard to hold off for yet another year.
I know that 32GB or more of NAND flash would be insanely expensive. But couldn't they have just slapped an old fashioned hard drive on the iPod Touch? If battery life would be the issue there, I'd be fine with it not having Wi-Fi. That's just not a priority for me.
The problem is that some people care about more storage, and some don't.
Some would prefer more storage to WiFi, but others would prefer the opposite.
What to do, what to do?
Apple has to make a decision. This was it.
If it doesn't sell well, then they will know that it was the wrong decision. If it does sell well, then they will know they made the right one.
They can't cater to everyone, and have a dozen models out there.
i expected this just before Christmas. it's been 66 days.
at&t must have pressured Jobs to do this.
it's a SERIOUS insult to fans and early adopters to drop the price that much and that fast. i will NEVER be a day 1 adopter again. i'm going to sit it out and make sure all the bugs have been taken care of, and wait for a price drop or spec boost.
do you think the iPod touch will be $199 and $259 on november 1st? NO.
do you think the new Nano will be $99 and $129 on november 1st? NO.
do you think the new iMac will be $790 - $1199 on november 1st? NO.
Free open wireless, or only to access the apple music store?
If the answer is yes, then this is sort of an acceptable trade-off.
Either way, the implementation of "adding a starbucks icon" to your device kinda blows!
It brings up even more potentially disturbing stuff about the software based UI of the iphone and ipod touch.
Apple makes whatever icons pop up onto you phone/ipod. Anybody else see strong possibilities for abuse of this "feature"?
-macornot
What's the problem?
I'm pretty sure that WiFi at Starbucks is free now. It just requires that you log in. with iTunes, you won't have to do that. Also, Apple's deal seems to be an exclusive one to buy Starbucks music from iTunes (so it seems).
Those are the advantages.
I see a lot of people in the Starbucks inside Barnes & Noble in my neighborhood, using WiFi. I can't believe that they are all paying for it.
I'm another person who needs capacity as my present 20GB 2G iPod is full and I probably have another 10GB of music.
As soon as Job started talking about the iPod Classic, I had a sinking feeling about the Touch iPod, which proved correct.
I had planned on buying the Touch iPod if it met my needs. Right now I have the choice of getting a Classic, which isn't a terribly exciting alternative, go for cool with a Touch rather the funcionality or keep soldiering on with the 2G until it dies. By that time 32GB flash memory might be afforable.
Sorry Apple, you missed a sale.
You have hit the nail on the head!
I am in exactly the same position except mine is a 15gb 3rd gen. So what do I/we do? The Classic has the capacity many people want/need. The Touch has the interface and Wi/Fi that many want/need, but no one device satisfies both sets of requirements. That is really frustrating because all the bits are there. We could have had a HD based Touch with decent capacity. I would certainly have bought one.
Some clever dick - and there seem to be plenty of those here today! - will say 'tough', 'you can't always get what you want (make a good song lyric ;-)' or something rude but none of that negates the fact Apple have failed to create a device they could have and which would have had a big market.
Here is what they should have had on offer today - the iPod Vault. It would be a 160gb HD with a battery and WiFi and no screen. When it was on and within range of it's paired Touch or iPhone, Its content would appear seamlessly on the display of the Touch/iPhone and could be played via that device. Want to travel light, just take your iPhone/Touch and go. Want your full music and video collection - pop the vault into a pocket, bag - whatever and you have it all.
Neither the Touch nor the Classic satisfy my requirements so I will be buying neither. Apple - want to get some money out of my wallet? You know what to do.
I think the price drop means we'll see a 16GB iPhone soon.
My thoughts exactly. Now Apple has room to intro a 16GB iPhone at the $599 price point. Ah decisions, decisions. I'm soo glad I didn't buy the iPhone on Labor Day when I fondly fondled it at AT&T (no Apple store here). I thought I'd better wait to see what today brought. I really don't trust AT&T but I guess I'll break down and try them for a 30 day trial. No termination if canceling before 30 days.
If not for the iPhone, I would buy the iPod Touch at $399 just to replace my aging PDA. When leopard ships, To-Dos will be shifted from Calendar to Mail and we should be able to sync them to iPhone and iPod (crossing fingers).
I'm pretty sure that WiFi at Starbucks is free now. It just requires that you log in. with iTunes, you won't have to do that. Also, Apple's deal seems to be an exclusive one to buy Starbucks music from iTunes (so it seems).
Those are the advantages.
I see a lot of people in the Starbucks inside Barnes & Noble in my neighborhood, using WiFi. I can't believe that they are all paying for it.
Starbucks inside Barnes and Noble, Safeway, Target, and airports are not "real" Starbucks. They are not owned by Starbucks. Those companies pay Starbucks to franchise the brand. The people working at those places are not employees of Starbucks but of the company where it is. All other Starbucks are owned by Starbucks. They only let large companies franchise. SO with that all "real" Starbucks have tmobile hotspots you have to pay for. As for the other ones in depends on what those companies (Barnes an Noble) have setup which I cannot speak for. From the sound of the deal Apple and Starbucks have setup you will not see this new feature in any franchised store. At least before 2009
I'm gonna have to get the 16gb touch, but goddamn if they'd just put it's OS into a 512mb-1gb flash chip and put in that 80gb and 160gb drive just for storage, all competitors would be putting revolvers in their mouths.
Not necessarily. Huge (touch)screen + hard drive = not so good battery life. \
I think what they did with the lineup is already making their competitors contemplate some Russian Roulette.
Just as an aside - I note that all these new iPod models require Tiger (10.4.8 or later for the shuffle, nano and classic, and 10.4.10 or later for the touch). So they've dropped support for Panther altogether, which I guess is only to be expected with Leopard looming.
Good luck with that, Mel. The price drop was early and huge. Early adopters will be complaining en masse, and there's really nothing anyone can do about it. \
Seeing how so many of us paid $200 too much for our Iphones, how about Apple giving us an update that isn't focused on milking more money?
it's super cool that i only have to pay another buck to hear a song i already have on my iPhone play when someone calls me. that's awesome... does anyone know why licensing rights are different for listening to a song vs. listening to a song when your phone rings? why does this cost more money [in general, i'm not complaining @ apple, just pay-for ringtones in general]
i'm glad i still buy my music on CD's. it won't cost me more money to re-encode them at a higher bit-rate, or DRM free - but if i want to use one as a ringtone, it looks like i'm out 2 bucks even though i own the music on disc. AND as an added bonus to ripping songs from disc: i have the Beatles on my iPhone :P
Yea but no I'm away from my desk at work a lot and would like to receive email and reply to it as it comes in. I don't want to have to log in via the web over and over to see if I have anything new.
There's this new thing called a bookmark in Safari. You tap it and amazingly your web based email page just pops up. It's very cool, you should try it.
I think I'll file a lawsuit against Apple now...seeing as how Apple didn't mention that their iPod Touch features a built-in rechargeable Li-ion battery...
Comments
Starbucks use a t-mobile hotspot provided by t-mobile. You have to pay for it. You can purchase a day pass or a monthly pass.
Yah, this is why I don't go to Starbucks anymore but other places. I guess they are popular enough it doesn't matter but jebus...for a $5 latte I hope to get some free wireless too.
One thing that people here are obviously not following is that Flash prices have dropped like a stone the past month, contrary to expectations (including mine). I'm sure this has something to do with it.
Hi, Mel--I wasn't at all aware of that. I'm sure it was the right decision--I just hope the early adopters (which I think are valued customers, not only for their spending but their support, "evangelization," etc.) aren't too put off by this; I'm also worried about the message this sends to the general public--postponement of purchases are a serious issue to consider, and for the iPhone one of the main talking points for putting it down already before this was "I'll wait for v.2.0." Of course, I'm sure Apple has considered all this, and that there are many well thought out reasons for doing it, but I guess I'm more of the "constantly delight your valued customers (especially the loyal ones), even if it's expensive in the short run" school of thought.
EDIT: I would have lowered the price, as they did (which I thing is great), but would have said "thanks" to the early supporters in some way, even if it was, for example, by implementing new features for old and new iPhone customers (a feature other than a new way to buy stuff from us). But I'm just discussing the only thing that disconcerted me about the event--other than this, I think absolutely everything was freaking awesome.
Man, I am really really torn on this one. I wanted only two things: widescreen and 80GB. Didn't care about Wi-Fi at all.
Unfortunately, nothing released today meets both requirements. But all of them are so much better than my aging 40GB 4th Gen that it's going to be hard to hold off for yet another year.
I know that 32GB or more of NAND flash would be insanely expensive. But couldn't they have just slapped an old fashioned hard drive on the iPod Touch? If battery life would be the issue there, I'd be fine with it not having Wi-Fi. That's just not a priority for me.
The problem is that some people care about more storage, and some don't.
Some would prefer more storage to WiFi, but others would prefer the opposite.
What to do, what to do?
Apple has to make a decision. This was it.
If it doesn't sell well, then they will know that it was the wrong decision. If it does sell well, then they will know they made the right one.
They can't cater to everyone, and have a dozen models out there.
i expected this just before Christmas. it's been 66 days.
at&t must have pressured Jobs to do this.
it's a SERIOUS insult to fans and early adopters to drop the price that much and that fast. i will NEVER be a day 1 adopter again. i'm going to sit it out and make sure all the bugs have been taken care of, and wait for a price drop or spec boost.
do you think the iPod touch will be $199 and $259 on november 1st? NO.
do you think the new Nano will be $99 and $129 on november 1st? NO.
do you think the new iMac will be $790 - $1199 on november 1st? NO.
Stop complaining already!
Big question on the starbucks deal:
Free open wireless, or only to access the apple music store?
If the answer is yes, then this is sort of an acceptable trade-off.
Either way, the implementation of "adding a starbucks icon" to your device kinda blows!
It brings up even more potentially disturbing stuff about the software based UI of the iphone and ipod touch.
Apple makes whatever icons pop up onto you phone/ipod. Anybody else see strong possibilities for abuse of this "feature"?
-macornot
What's the problem?
I'm pretty sure that WiFi at Starbucks is free now. It just requires that you log in. with iTunes, you won't have to do that. Also, Apple's deal seems to be an exclusive one to buy Starbucks music from iTunes (so it seems).
Those are the advantages.
I see a lot of people in the Starbucks inside Barnes & Noble in my neighborhood, using WiFi. I can't believe that they are all paying for it.
I'm another person who needs capacity as my present 20GB 2G iPod is full and I probably have another 10GB of music.
As soon as Job started talking about the iPod Classic, I had a sinking feeling about the Touch iPod, which proved correct.
I had planned on buying the Touch iPod if it met my needs. Right now I have the choice of getting a Classic, which isn't a terribly exciting alternative, go for cool with a Touch rather the funcionality or keep soldiering on with the 2G until it dies. By that time 32GB flash memory might be afforable.
Sorry Apple, you missed a sale.
You have hit the nail on the head!
I am in exactly the same position except mine is a 15gb 3rd gen. So what do I/we do? The Classic has the capacity many people want/need. The Touch has the interface and Wi/Fi that many want/need, but no one device satisfies both sets of requirements. That is really frustrating because all the bits are there. We could have had a HD based Touch with decent capacity. I would certainly have bought one.
Some clever dick - and there seem to be plenty of those here today! - will say 'tough', 'you can't always get what you want (make a good song lyric ;-)' or something rude but none of that negates the fact Apple have failed to create a device they could have and which would have had a big market.
Here is what they should have had on offer today - the iPod Vault. It would be a 160gb HD with a battery and WiFi and no screen. When it was on and within range of it's paired Touch or iPhone, Its content would appear seamlessly on the display of the Touch/iPhone and could be played via that device. Want to travel light, just take your iPhone/Touch and go. Want your full music and video collection - pop the vault into a pocket, bag - whatever and you have it all.
Neither the Touch nor the Classic satisfy my requirements so I will be buying neither. Apple - want to get some money out of my wallet? You know what to do.
I think the price drop means we'll see a 16GB iPhone soon.
My thoughts exactly. Now Apple has room to intro a 16GB iPhone at the $599 price point. Ah decisions, decisions. I'm soo glad I didn't buy the iPhone on Labor Day when I fondly fondled it at AT&T (no Apple store here). I thought I'd better wait to see what today brought. I really don't trust AT&T but I guess I'll break down and try them for a 30 day trial. No termination if canceling before 30 days.
If not for the iPhone, I would buy the iPod Touch at $399 just to replace my aging PDA. When leopard ships, To-Dos will be shifted from Calendar to Mail and we should be able to sync them to iPhone and iPod (crossing fingers).
What's the problem?
I'm pretty sure that WiFi at Starbucks is free now. It just requires that you log in. with iTunes, you won't have to do that. Also, Apple's deal seems to be an exclusive one to buy Starbucks music from iTunes (so it seems).
Those are the advantages.
I see a lot of people in the Starbucks inside Barnes & Noble in my neighborhood, using WiFi. I can't believe that they are all paying for it.
Starbucks inside Barnes and Noble, Safeway, Target, and airports are not "real" Starbucks. They are not owned by Starbucks. Those companies pay Starbucks to franchise the brand. The people working at those places are not employees of Starbucks but of the company where it is. All other Starbucks are owned by Starbucks. They only let large companies franchise. SO with that all "real" Starbucks have tmobile hotspots you have to pay for. As for the other ones in depends on what those companies (Barnes an Noble) have setup which I cannot speak for. From the sound of the deal Apple and Starbucks have setup you will not see this new feature in any franchised store. At least before 2009
Other than the phone feature, why does it have much less functionality?
Why cripple the new ipod touch out of the box?
Is marketing just trying to force me to the phone?
(don't want those monthly bills thank you)
cheers.
I'm gonna have to get the 16gb touch, but goddamn if they'd just put it's OS into a 512mb-1gb flash chip and put in that 80gb and 160gb drive just for storage, all competitors would be putting revolvers in their mouths.
Not necessarily. Huge (touch)screen + hard drive = not so good battery life.
I think what they did with the lineup is already making their competitors contemplate some Russian Roulette.
.
Stop complaining already!
Good luck with that, Mel. The price drop was early and huge. Early adopters will be complaining en masse, and there's really nothing anyone can do about it.
.
I always thought that WiFi at Starbucks was free, that you had to log in only. You can access the net just as anywhere else.
Nope. Least not at the ones I've been to. You have to pay.
.
Jeez, they had to pick the dorkiest-looking Asian guy in the world to host this?
Seeing how so many of us paid $200 too much for our Iphones, how about Apple giving us an update that isn't focused on milking more money?
it's super cool that i only have to pay another buck to hear a song i already have on my iPhone play when someone calls me. that's awesome... does anyone know why licensing rights are different for listening to a song vs. listening to a song when your phone rings? why does this cost more money [in general, i'm not complaining @ apple, just pay-for ringtones in general]
i'm glad i still buy my music on CD's. it won't cost me more money to re-encode them at a higher bit-rate, or DRM free - but if i want to use one as a ringtone, it looks like i'm out 2 bucks even though i own the music on disc. AND as an added bonus to ripping songs from disc: i have the Beatles on my iPhone :P
Get mail from Yahoo, Gmail through Safari... what's the problem?
Yeah. That's the same thing.
Yea but no
There's this new thing called a bookmark in Safari. You tap it and amazingly your web based email page just pops up. It's very cool, you should try it.