There's nothing "stealth" about the iPod touch. It's a fantastic, flexible little computer!
Quote:
Originally Posted by al_bundy
At this point only the crazy packrats buy HD based iPods. Nano/shuffle on low end and touch/iPhone on high end
I'm no crazy packrat, but I DO rip CDs using Apple Lossless.
The 32GB on my iPod touch doesn't even begin to cut it music storage-wise.
My 80GB 5.5G iPod has 73.5 GB (3700 "songs") in it and it is almost full. Probably 85% of the music on it is "classical", mostly orchestral music and I demand the sound quality of Lossless! The rest is jazz and "world" music, with a smattering of pop (ripped at 256 VBR. I use "pop" in the broadest sense). I may be able to jam another 1/2 dozen CDs onto it, but I'm tempted to get a 120 GB iPod Classic. Maybe I'll use the 80GB as my Mahler/Bruckner/WagnerPod? hmmmm...
I shifted all podcasts onto my iPod touch and there's no music on it at all. The battery life is atrocious and I need my calendar, contacts and OmniFocus stuff available, so eating valuable battery power playing makes no sense. I DO carry a wall USB charger and cable... there goes portability.
For once, an analyst has got it right. The iPod touch is a marvelous gadget for those of us who don't want to get locked into AT&T's pricey two-year contract. As I contemplate replacing my aging iPod mini, I know that the iPod nano is a direct replacement, but ask why I should replace one gadget that works fine with another that's functionally little different. When I look at the iPod touch, however, I realize it offers so much more for only a little more money. The nano is a toy. The touch is a tool.
I know Apple got burned in the early to mid 1990s with too many models of Macs. But when it comes to the iPod touch, they really do need more models to cover the market properly. They should consider creating:
1. Today's standard model, basically like the iPhone except for the cellular phone, so it can run iPhone software. That means a camera and compass in the next version. A GPS is a bit more iffy.
2. An iPod Extended that's not so thin, the added space making it the thickness of an iPhone and being devoted to a larger battery for travelers and those who want to use it as an all-day, on-the-go tool. That's what I'd buy.
3. An iPod Sport that's ruggedized and waterproofed like many GPSs. It'd be great for those with an active lifestyle. Price it high and it would still sell. I'd suggest also giving it a larger battery.
4. An iPod Traveler for those on vacation. It would include a GPS and a larger battery, along with software to download and display tourist maps and information while traveling. In a car, it would give turn-by directions. Hand-carried, it would show the way to tourist spots or offer a tour guide to museums and the like. It'd bypass the lack of cellular by downloading data ahead of time via the app store.
5. An iPod Kid for children that lacks some features to keep the price down, but that's built for play and the 'funner' sorts of education. Trying to create a handy UI for adults, I suspect Apple has stumbled across the ideal UI for little kids. Why not make a version just for them?
The iPod Sport and iPod Traveler do bring up issues that Apple will have to resolve. To what extent should these iPods offer features that add to the cost but that only some users will need? Despite one grumpy posting above, I suspect most potential purchasers do want a half-decent camera (including video). It can be very handy to have a camera available at all times. Building it into an iPod means one less gadget to klutz with.
But including more pricey options like a GPS is a more difficult issue, particularly when most people want a GPS that includes maps and data files. An iPhone can get that information easily. An iPod touch needs a WiFi connection that may not be available in a pinch. I'm rather neutral on GPS in an iPod touch, mostly because I rarely get in situations where I'd need a GPS where I've not carrying one of the stand-alone GPSs that I own. I suspect I'm not alone in that attitude.
I know Apple got burned in the early to mid 1990s with too many models of Macs. But when it comes to the iPod touch, they really do need more models to cover the market properly. They should consider creating:
Interesting. According to the charts, Apple is now making more money each quarter from iPhones (which have only been around 2 years) than they do from selling Macs. It's easy to see where this is leading, and where the company will be focusing its resources.
Think of how much more money they could having been making from Macs if they had offered a matte (or less high glossy) option over the last 2 years for the iMac alone.
I think the giant elephant in the room that is rarely, or perhaps only off-handedly mentioned in regards iPod sales analysis, is that obviously every iPhone sold is also an iPod sold.
I've read dozens and dozens of supposedly learned articles since the iPhone came out talking about declining iPod sales. The author typically (not necessarily in this piece), wrings their hands in anxiety over this unprecedented turn of events where the iPod sales are either shrinking, or not growing at the rate they have in the past. One look at the actual numbers on the charts tells you exactly where those sales have migrated however.
The real story is that iPod sales haven't dropped very dramatically at all when you take into account the sales of iPhones. They really should have, but they haven't. It's really a story of phenomenal growth if you take the market as a whole, but it's often reported as "the sad case of shrinking iPod sales." I know this isn't rocket science, (or even news in some circles), but I find it a bit sad how the mainstream media so often reports this as a negative when it's the exact opposite.
Think of how much more money they could having been making from Macs if they had offered a matte (or less high glossy) option over the last 2 years for the iMac alone.
Not that much...
Matte is a niche demand, offset by greater demand for the brightness os the glossy screen.
There's nothing "stealth" about the iPod touch. It's a fantastic, flexible little computer!
I'm no crazy packrat, but I DO rip CDs using Apple Lossless.
The 32GB on my iPod touch doesn't even begin to cut it music storage-wise.
My 80GB 5.5G iPod has 73.5 GB (3700 "songs") in it and it is almost full. Probably 85% of the music on it is "classical", mostly orchestral music and I demand the sound quality of Lossless! The rest is jazz and "world" music, with a smattering of pop (ripped at 256 VBR. I use "pop" in the broadest sense). I may be able to jam another 1/2 dozen CDs onto it, but I'm tempted to get a 120 GB iPod Classic. Maybe I'll use the 80GB as my Mahler/Bruckner/WagnerPod? hmmmm...
I shifted all podcasts onto my iPod touch and there's no music on it at all. The battery life is atrocious and I need my calendar, contacts and OmniFocus stuff available, so eating valuable battery power playing makes no sense. I DO carry a wall USB charger and cable... there goes portability.
My 3gs has almost 32gb filled up and it's 10 days of music at lossless. When I go over I will just sync what I want. I just need it for the subway ride. Where there is a signal there is slacker and pandora.
A 32 GB touch would maybe hold all of my music & video, but the extra space is nice to have so when you sync photos you can automatically include the originals and have an automatic backup of your entire photo library (one of the few truly irreplaceable types of files you have). An HD-based iPod also makes a nice little emergency boot drive, which I just used recently when the drive in my mini crashed. And an encrypted disk image on the iPod makes a great place to backup important documents. So if there's a break-in, fire, or flood while I'm out and my computer is lost, a copy of my most important stuff is with me. But the touch has no "enable disk use" option, so none of this is possible.
I can also use Apple's radio remote to listen to FM on my 5th gen iPod. And their camera connector allows me to copy photos off my camera's memory card for backup should I lose or damage the memory card before I get home. So I no longer need to take my laptop on vacation with me. You can even view the photos on the iPod's screen to show to your friends and family before you've ever loaded them onto a computer.
So it's not just the "packrats" with 100s of GB of music that appreciate the HD iPods. They are actually quite capable for a lot of other things, but Apple never advertised those capabilities. I've had 3 friends go out and buy the radio remote after they saw mine. They just never knew it could do all that.
my 32gb iPhone has over 1000 photos and it's less than 2gb
Matte is a niche demand, offset by greater demand for the brightness os the glossy screen.
Overrated issue
Right - and that's why Apple was forced to come out with a matte for the 17" Pro and there is rumour now it is coming back because many don't want and haven't bought a glareful Mac. How stupid of me, I totally forgot.
All the more reason for the iPod Nano to be upgraded to an iPod Nano Touch with the iPhone OS. That'll up the iPod numbers. And of course an update iPod Touch with the iPhone 3G[s] treatment with camera and flash.
All the more reason for the iPod Nano to be upgraded to an iPod Nano Touch with the iPhone OS. That'll up the iPod numbers. And of course an update iPod Touch with the iPhone 3G[s] treatment with camera and flash.
And then Apple comes out with the iCamera and goes after Nikon's, Canon's, and Olympus' ass.
yeah, just like everyone predicted, he hates a product until he actually owns one, then it's the best thing in the world.
Not true- that is too predictable. I own an AppleTV- hate it- but I refuse to go off topic and discuss it. I didn't like the iPhone until it became full featured. I still would never have bought the 1st or 2nd gen- didn't appeal to me in the least.
Apple got it right the analyst are just there to soak up the goodness, some what like leaches.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Inkling
...... They should consider creating:
1. Today's standard model, basically like the iPhone except for the cellular phone, so it can run iPhone software. That means a camera and compass in the next version. A GPS is a bit more iffy.
Funny but I look at GPS as a shoe in and the camera as iffy. At least on some models. GPS is extremely useful in creating devices that remain compatible with iPhone, a camera not so much. Just look at all the software packages that leverage GPS tech right now.
Quote:
2. An iPod Extended that's not so thin, the added space making it the thickness of an iPhone and being devoted to a larger battery for travelers and those who want to use it as an all-day, on-the-go tool. That's what I'd buy.
If it is a device with a bigger screen I'd be all over it. Especially if that bigger screen is combined with a much larger secondary store.
Quote:
3. An iPod Sport that's ruggedized and waterproofed like many GPSs. It'd be great for those with an active lifestyle. Price it high and it would still sell. I'd suggest also giving it a larger battery.
Not if priced high just to serve those with inflated egos.
On the other hand a completely self contained and rugged iPod would be ideal in many ways. By self contained I mean a device that can harvest its own power and basically keep running for weeks on end. Right now this means either solar or micro mechanical harvesting of power. In any event the device is as you otherwise describe a rugged iPod maybe with a ceramic crack proof screen.
Quote:
4. An iPod Traveler for those on vacation. It would include a GPS and a larger battery, along with software to download and display tourist maps and information while traveling. In a car, it would give turn-by directions. Hand-carried, it would show the way to tourist spots or offer a tour guide to museums and the like. It'd bypass the lack of cellular by downloading data ahead of time via the app store.
This more or less duplicates what you have already described. As to mapping that issue is quickly being taken care of. Even travel specific apps are becoming common place. I just don't see the pull for a specific device as what you are asking for is very much software driven.
Quote:
5. An iPod Kid for children that lacks some features to keep the price down, but that's built for play and the 'funner' sorts of education. Trying to create a handy UI for adults, I suspect Apple has stumbled across the ideal UI for little kids. Why not make a version just for them?
Call me old fashion but I'm not into giving kids things they are not ready to handle.
Quote:
The iPod Sport and iPod Traveler do bring up issues that Apple will have to resolve. To what extent should these iPods offer features that add to the cost but that only some users will need?
I think you underestimate the demand that something like iPod Touch sport would have. Especially if it was in a totally enclosed water proof housing. One thing that makes me a bit nervous is using my iphone when outside or at the beach.
Quote:
Despite one grumpy posting above, I suspect most potential purchasers do want a half-decent camera (including video). It can be very handy to have a camera available at all times. Building it into an iPod means one less gadget to klutz with.
I think you are wrong here about the camera as many people need an alternative device to take their music to places where cameras are not allowed. For many this is the workplace, but many other venues such as gyms frown on people whipping out camera capable devices on a whim. It is not that I'm against camera in Touch based devices just that it provides people with a real alternative with out one.
Quote:
But including more pricey options like a GPS is a more difficult issue, particularly when most people want a GPS that includes maps and data files.
Where did this idea come from that GPS is pricey? It isn't always a case of wanting GPS for maps, more exactly we want GPS to support applications making use of it. But really GPS is cheaper than hardware and software associated with a camera.
Quote:
An iPhone can get that information easily. An iPod touch needs a WiFi connection that may not be available in a pinch.
If I keep seeing the crap posted in this forum I will blow a gasket. GPS DOES NOT NEED A WIFI CONNECTION TO OPERATE. NEVER HAS AND NEVER WILL!!!!!! That doesn't mean that cool apps of the future might not use GPS in conjunction with the network, just that GPS as a tech does not require any networking of any sort.
Quote:
I'm rather neutral on GPS in an iPod touch, mostly because I rarely get in situations where I'd need a GPS where I've not carrying one of the stand-alone GPSs that I own. I suspect I'm not alone in that attitude.
I fear you are very alone in that attitude. GPS enable feature that your stand alone GPS could never manage, I suspect it would be used more by a new Touch device than a camera. That because it supports a variety of uses by different apps.
Apple overall market has been growing steadily. I am not surprised and nobody who follows Apple product offering should be either.
Apple brand is a global marque that signifies nothing but the best. And that means money, a lot of money. Unfortunately, the wise crooks on Wall Street have figured out how to manipulate stocks at a very successful rate. So Apple stocks goes up and down, even though the company is continuously making profit year after year.
Apple is without a doubt the best American Brand today.
Comments
At this point only the crazy packrats buy HD based iPods. Nano/shuffle on low end and touch/iPhone on high end
I'm no crazy packrat, but I DO rip CDs using Apple Lossless.
The 32GB on my iPod touch doesn't even begin to cut it music storage-wise.
My 80GB 5.5G iPod has 73.5 GB (3700 "songs") in it and it is almost full. Probably 85% of the music on it is "classical", mostly orchestral music and I demand the sound quality of Lossless! The rest is jazz and "world" music, with a smattering of pop (ripped at 256 VBR. I use "pop" in the broadest sense). I may be able to jam another 1/2 dozen CDs onto it, but I'm tempted to get a 120 GB iPod Classic. Maybe I'll use the 80GB as my Mahler/Bruckner/WagnerPod? hmmmm...
I shifted all podcasts onto my iPod touch and there's no music on it at all. The battery life is atrocious and I need my calendar, contacts and OmniFocus stuff available, so eating valuable battery power playing makes no sense. I DO carry a wall USB charger and cable... there goes portability.
But the touch has no "enable disk use" option, so none of this is possible.
There are few nice options to allow you to do that.
DiskAid, is Windows-like... ugly and kludgy, but works. http://www.digidna.net/diskaid/
PhoneView works well. http://www.ecamm.com/mac/phoneview/instructions.html
There are so iPhone/iPod touch apps that allow you to transfer and store files on your touch over wi-fi.
Discover for iPhone/touch is free.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/M...292416855&mt=8
I know Apple got burned in the early to mid 1990s with too many models of Macs. But when it comes to the iPod touch, they really do need more models to cover the market properly. They should consider creating:
1. Today's standard model, basically like the iPhone except for the cellular phone, so it can run iPhone software. That means a camera and compass in the next version. A GPS is a bit more iffy.
2. An iPod Extended that's not so thin, the added space making it the thickness of an iPhone and being devoted to a larger battery for travelers and those who want to use it as an all-day, on-the-go tool. That's what I'd buy.
3. An iPod Sport that's ruggedized and waterproofed like many GPSs. It'd be great for those with an active lifestyle. Price it high and it would still sell. I'd suggest also giving it a larger battery.
4. An iPod Traveler for those on vacation. It would include a GPS and a larger battery, along with software to download and display tourist maps and information while traveling. In a car, it would give turn-by directions. Hand-carried, it would show the way to tourist spots or offer a tour guide to museums and the like. It'd bypass the lack of cellular by downloading data ahead of time via the app store.
5. An iPod Kid for children that lacks some features to keep the price down, but that's built for play and the 'funner' sorts of education. Trying to create a handy UI for adults, I suspect Apple has stumbled across the ideal UI for little kids. Why not make a version just for them?
The iPod Sport and iPod Traveler do bring up issues that Apple will have to resolve. To what extent should these iPods offer features that add to the cost but that only some users will need? Despite one grumpy posting above, I suspect most potential purchasers do want a half-decent camera (including video). It can be very handy to have a camera available at all times. Building it into an iPod means one less gadget to klutz with.
But including more pricey options like a GPS is a more difficult issue, particularly when most people want a GPS that includes maps and data files. An iPhone can get that information easily. An iPod touch needs a WiFi connection that may not be available in a pinch. I'm rather neutral on GPS in an iPod touch, mostly because I rarely get in situations where I'd need a GPS where I've not carrying one of the stand-alone GPSs that I own. I suspect I'm not alone in that attitude.
Well said.
...who?
I know Apple got burned in the early to mid 1990s with too many models of Macs. But when it comes to the iPod touch, they really do need more models to cover the market properly. They should consider creating:
Heh, why stop there?
What's the good of economy of scale anyway?
Interesting. According to the charts, Apple is now making more money each quarter from iPhones (which have only been around 2 years) than they do from selling Macs. It's easy to see where this is leading, and where the company will be focusing its resources.
Think of how much more money they could having been making from Macs if they had offered a matte (or less high glossy) option over the last 2 years for the iMac alone.
I think the giant elephant in the room that is rarely, or perhaps only off-handedly mentioned in regards iPod sales analysis, is that obviously every iPhone sold is also an iPod sold.
I've read dozens and dozens of supposedly learned articles since the iPhone came out talking about declining iPod sales. The author typically (not necessarily in this piece), wrings their hands in anxiety over this unprecedented turn of events where the iPod sales are either shrinking, or not growing at the rate they have in the past. One look at the actual numbers on the charts tells you exactly where those sales have migrated however.
The real story is that iPod sales haven't dropped very dramatically at all when you take into account the sales of iPhones. They really should have, but they haven't. It's really a story of phenomenal growth if you take the market as a whole, but it's often reported as "the sad case of shrinking iPod sales." I know this isn't rocket science, (or even news in some circles), but I find it a bit sad how the mainstream media so often reports this as a negative when it's the exact opposite.
Agreed
Think of how much more money they could having been making from Macs if they had offered a matte (or less high glossy) option over the last 2 years for the iMac alone.
Not that much...
Matte is a niche demand, offset by greater demand for the brightness os the glossy screen.
Overrated issue
Shaking up an entire billion-unit industry... would we expect anything less from Apple?!
Has everyone forgot the debacle that was the ROKR?
There's nothing "stealth" about the iPod touch. It's a fantastic, flexible little computer!
I'm no crazy packrat, but I DO rip CDs using Apple Lossless.
The 32GB on my iPod touch doesn't even begin to cut it music storage-wise.
My 80GB 5.5G iPod has 73.5 GB (3700 "songs") in it and it is almost full. Probably 85% of the music on it is "classical", mostly orchestral music and I demand the sound quality of Lossless! The rest is jazz and "world" music, with a smattering of pop (ripped at 256 VBR. I use "pop" in the broadest sense). I may be able to jam another 1/2 dozen CDs onto it, but I'm tempted to get a 120 GB iPod Classic. Maybe I'll use the 80GB as my Mahler/Bruckner/WagnerPod? hmmmm...
I shifted all podcasts onto my iPod touch and there's no music on it at all. The battery life is atrocious and I need my calendar, contacts and OmniFocus stuff available, so eating valuable battery power playing makes no sense. I DO carry a wall USB charger and cable... there goes portability.
My 3gs has almost 32gb filled up and it's 10 days of music at lossless. When I go over I will just sync what I want. I just need it for the subway ride. Where there is a signal there is slacker and pandora.
A 32 GB touch would maybe hold all of my music & video, but the extra space is nice to have so when you sync photos you can automatically include the originals and have an automatic backup of your entire photo library (one of the few truly irreplaceable types of files you have). An HD-based iPod also makes a nice little emergency boot drive, which I just used recently when the drive in my mini crashed. And an encrypted disk image on the iPod makes a great place to backup important documents. So if there's a break-in, fire, or flood while I'm out and my computer is lost, a copy of my most important stuff is with me. But the touch has no "enable disk use" option, so none of this is possible.
I can also use Apple's radio remote to listen to FM on my 5th gen iPod. And their camera connector allows me to copy photos off my camera's memory card for backup should I lose or damage the memory card before I get home. So I no longer need to take my laptop on vacation with me. You can even view the photos on the iPod's screen to show to your friends and family before you've ever loaded them onto a computer.
So it's not just the "packrats" with 100s of GB of music that appreciate the HD iPods. They are actually quite capable for a lot of other things, but Apple never advertised those capabilities. I've had 3 friends go out and buy the radio remote after they saw mine. They just never knew it could do all that.
my 32gb iPhone has over 1000 photos and it's less than 2gb
Not that much...
Matte is a niche demand, offset by greater demand for the brightness os the glossy screen.
Overrated issue
Right - and that's why Apple was forced to come out with a matte for the 17" Pro and there is rumour now it is coming back because many don't want and haven't bought a glareful Mac. How stupid of me, I totally forgot.
Has everyone forgot the debacle that was the ROKR?
Pleeze- that was Motorola's bomb- not Apple's.
All the more reason for the iPod Nano to be upgraded to an iPod Nano Touch with the iPhone OS. That'll up the iPod numbers. And of course an update iPod Touch with the iPhone 3G[s] treatment with camera and flash.
And then Apple comes out with the iCamera and goes after Nikon's, Canon's, and Olympus' ass.
Now he **loves** his iPhone, and actually tolerates ATT.
I bought some more AAPL when I learnt that (and the stock is up about $15 since the announcement).
yeah, just like everyone predicted, he hates a product until he actually owns one, then it's the best thing in the world.
yeah, just like everyone predicted, he hates a product until he actually owns one, then it's the best thing in the world.
Not true- that is too predictable. I own an AppleTV- hate it- but I refuse to go off topic and discuss it. I didn't like the iPhone until it became full featured. I still would never have bought the 1st or 2nd gen- didn't appeal to me in the least.
...... They should consider creating:
1. Today's standard model, basically like the iPhone except for the cellular phone, so it can run iPhone software. That means a camera and compass in the next version. A GPS is a bit more iffy.
Funny but I look at GPS as a shoe in and the camera as iffy. At least on some models. GPS is extremely useful in creating devices that remain compatible with iPhone, a camera not so much. Just look at all the software packages that leverage GPS tech right now.
2. An iPod Extended that's not so thin, the added space making it the thickness of an iPhone and being devoted to a larger battery for travelers and those who want to use it as an all-day, on-the-go tool. That's what I'd buy.
If it is a device with a bigger screen I'd be all over it. Especially if that bigger screen is combined with a much larger secondary store.
3. An iPod Sport that's ruggedized and waterproofed like many GPSs. It'd be great for those with an active lifestyle. Price it high and it would still sell. I'd suggest also giving it a larger battery.
Not if priced high just to serve those with inflated egos.
On the other hand a completely self contained and rugged iPod would be ideal in many ways. By self contained I mean a device that can harvest its own power and basically keep running for weeks on end. Right now this means either solar or micro mechanical harvesting of power. In any event the device is as you otherwise describe a rugged iPod maybe with a ceramic crack proof screen.
4. An iPod Traveler for those on vacation. It would include a GPS and a larger battery, along with software to download and display tourist maps and information while traveling. In a car, it would give turn-by directions. Hand-carried, it would show the way to tourist spots or offer a tour guide to museums and the like. It'd bypass the lack of cellular by downloading data ahead of time via the app store.
This more or less duplicates what you have already described. As to mapping that issue is quickly being taken care of. Even travel specific apps are becoming common place. I just don't see the pull for a specific device as what you are asking for is very much software driven.
5. An iPod Kid for children that lacks some features to keep the price down, but that's built for play and the 'funner' sorts of education. Trying to create a handy UI for adults, I suspect Apple has stumbled across the ideal UI for little kids. Why not make a version just for them?
Call me old fashion but I'm not into giving kids things they are not ready to handle.
The iPod Sport and iPod Traveler do bring up issues that Apple will have to resolve. To what extent should these iPods offer features that add to the cost but that only some users will need?
I think you underestimate the demand that something like iPod Touch sport would have. Especially if it was in a totally enclosed water proof housing. One thing that makes me a bit nervous is using my iphone when outside or at the beach.
Despite one grumpy posting above, I suspect most potential purchasers do want a half-decent camera (including video). It can be very handy to have a camera available at all times. Building it into an iPod means one less gadget to klutz with.
I think you are wrong here about the camera as many people need an alternative device to take their music to places where cameras are not allowed. For many this is the workplace, but many other venues such as gyms frown on people whipping out camera capable devices on a whim. It is not that I'm against camera in Touch based devices just that it provides people with a real alternative with out one.
But including more pricey options like a GPS is a more difficult issue, particularly when most people want a GPS that includes maps and data files.
Where did this idea come from that GPS is pricey? It isn't always a case of wanting GPS for maps, more exactly we want GPS to support applications making use of it. But really GPS is cheaper than hardware and software associated with a camera.
An iPhone can get that information easily. An iPod touch needs a WiFi connection that may not be available in a pinch.
If I keep seeing the crap posted in this forum I will blow a gasket. GPS DOES NOT NEED A WIFI CONNECTION TO OPERATE. NEVER HAS AND NEVER WILL!!!!!! That doesn't mean that cool apps of the future might not use GPS in conjunction with the network, just that GPS as a tech does not require any networking of any sort.
I'm rather neutral on GPS in an iPod touch, mostly because I rarely get in situations where I'd need a GPS where I've not carrying one of the stand-alone GPSs that I own. I suspect I'm not alone in that attitude.
I fear you are very alone in that attitude. GPS enable feature that your stand alone GPS could never manage, I suspect it would be used more by a new Touch device than a camera. That because it supports a variety of uses by different apps.
Dave
Apple brand is a global marque that signifies nothing but the best. And that means money, a lot of money. Unfortunately, the wise crooks on Wall Street have figured out how to manipulate stocks at a very successful rate. So Apple stocks goes up and down, even though the company is continuously making profit year after year.
Apple is without a doubt the best American Brand today.