ipod vs. cellphone war?
so i've been thinking about where will apple go from here with the success of the iPod?
it seems logical that the sales will start to drop off when everybody and their mom has one.
it also seems logical that there will be features added to the iPod, but what?
so i did a little research on what sony/ericsson is doing with cell phones.
http://www.sonyericsson.com/mmv-100/index.html
this is a bluetooth tranmitter for their phone to tv/projector
so then they also have this,
digital music player doesn?t just play, it communicates ? to your phone, via Bluetooth?, so you can dance 30 feet away ? to your CD player, with the recording cable, so you can carry your collection with you ? and to any compatible devices using the Memory Stick Duo adaptor. A 64MB MagicGate Memory Stick Duo gives you storage space for plenty of playback and quick sharing of files, all-in-all making this a very well connected little performer.
they have yet another piece of the puzzle as well, the new phones have a 1.3 mega pixel camera in them.
so my real question is how will apple counter all this technology built into one gadget that will make you still want to have a iPod and not a phone/mp3/camera?
we know that there will be huge storage built into phones eventually, and the storage of the ipod/mini will be a non factor then. so let's face it, we need all of these devices, and why not have them all in one, i know i carry too many gadgets.
where will the chess pieces move?
can you imagine how pissed sony must be about apple taking "their walkman" business?
and can you also imagine how pissed apple will be if sony takes "their iPod" business?
lets discuss....
it seems logical that the sales will start to drop off when everybody and their mom has one.
it also seems logical that there will be features added to the iPod, but what?
so i did a little research on what sony/ericsson is doing with cell phones.
http://www.sonyericsson.com/mmv-100/index.html
this is a bluetooth tranmitter for their phone to tv/projector
so then they also have this,
digital music player doesn?t just play, it communicates ? to your phone, via Bluetooth?, so you can dance 30 feet away ? to your CD player, with the recording cable, so you can carry your collection with you ? and to any compatible devices using the Memory Stick Duo adaptor. A 64MB MagicGate Memory Stick Duo gives you storage space for plenty of playback and quick sharing of files, all-in-all making this a very well connected little performer.
they have yet another piece of the puzzle as well, the new phones have a 1.3 mega pixel camera in them.
so my real question is how will apple counter all this technology built into one gadget that will make you still want to have a iPod and not a phone/mp3/camera?
we know that there will be huge storage built into phones eventually, and the storage of the ipod/mini will be a non factor then. so let's face it, we need all of these devices, and why not have them all in one, i know i carry too many gadgets.
where will the chess pieces move?
can you imagine how pissed sony must be about apple taking "their walkman" business?
and can you also imagine how pissed apple will be if sony takes "their iPod" business?
lets discuss....
Comments
Belkin are an interesting company. They have an agreement with Apple where they get access to private hardware and software interface information. Other handpicked companies get access to this data.
I suggest to you: Sony Ericsson making a tiny cellular tranciever with a SIM slot, all in lovely iPod white. Plugs in like an iTrip. Uses the iPod as a dialler; you scroll through the Contacts, hit the button. Now, have a look at the P900 stereo headphones with a little collar-level mike.
That, I tell you, is a believable product (even a pocket transciever that connects to the iPod dialler software via the iPod's built-in Bluetooth ahem).
I do not know if this exists. But I do know that there are SE / Apple products still in the pipline, and that the iPod is now a hardware platform through sheer volume alone, and that this would be a minor development project for a vendor, and that ... I'd bloody buy one.
Of course, writing texts would be a pain in the arse on the iPod.
but i like the theory
Of course, there is no way Apple could do the reverse and integrate phone tech into the iPod.
Originally posted by Smircle
Of course, there is no way Apple could do the reverse and integrate phone tech into the iPod.
Why do you say this?
Originally posted by Smircle
If Apple were clever, they could try to negociate licensing deals to get phone makers to include iPod technology (and connectivity) in the nex gen phones. Depending on the availability of a 0.8" disk drive and better batteries, phone companies could include a "micro iPod" with say 1-3 GB in their phones where Apple provides the jukebox software, DRM format, and player tech.
Of course, there is no way Apple could do the reverse and integrate phone tech into the iPod.
And if the song you want to hear isn't on you iPod/Phone, it just hooks wirelessly to your digital hub (Mac) over the internet and downloads/streams it over the internet.
Originally posted by Chris Cuilla
Why do you say this?
Think N-Gage. A mobile game console is just goddamn inconvenient for telephony (when will Nokia actually *understand* that?), and so is an MP3 player.
Originally posted by whoami
so i've been thinking about where will apple go from here with the success of the iPod?
it seems logical that the sales will start to drop off when everybody and their mom has one.
it also seems logical that there will be features added to the iPod, but what?
Well, that is just plain wrong. It is like saying that Ford's sales will top off once everyone has a car. People buy replacements, so the sales always keep coming in. When everyone in America has an iPod, then Apple will sell about 21 million iPods a quarter (assuming that people upgrade every 3 years).
Originally posted by whoami
where will the chess pieces move?
can you imagine how pissed sony must be about apple taking "their walkman" business?
and can you also imagine how pissed apple will be if sony takes "their iPod" business?
Sony lost the walkman business a long time ago. Basically, it was too easy to copy what they did because it really wasn't that difficult. The walkman was more a miracle of idea and marketing. There wasn't much in the way of profound or difficult industrial design that went into it. Whether or not Apple can keep the high ground remains to be seen, but they are doing quite well at innovating, so I would expect them to keep their dominant position for several years (which is quite a bit of time).
The current crop of "smart" phones - which I swear will feature the capability to cluster into superphones within two revisions - are trying to do way too much with way too little, and it's not working.
On that note, off we go to Digital Hub.
Originally posted by Chucker
Think N-Gage. A mobile game console is just goddamn inconvenient for telephony (when will Nokia actually *understand* that?), and so is an MP3 player.
Good point. I was thinking of Apple just DOING a mobile phone (which I expect they could do well). I am not a big fan of the "Swiss Army Knife" school of design.
Originally posted by Amorph
While Harald's posited SE gadget sounds cool, I'd like to see some products that don't try to do everything. An SE phone that was a phone, and that left data storage to the iPod, would be great. Have the two communicate over Bluetooth or something.
Yep, that would be both neat and smart. And face it, only an augmented version of what we have with iSync.
There are Bluetooth transciever modules ... I forget who did the demo (Ericsson as was if I recall) but a modular phone with separate screen / interface and radio module.
Originally posted by Harald
Of course, writing texts would be a pain in the arse on the iPod.
I think it would actually be easier than on a phone (or even on one of those piddly little qwerty keyboards).
You can dowload the software for your Pocket PC or Mac from:
http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/djw30/dasher/
It would also be retro-cool to dial with an actual circular dial.
Edit: that's very cool software.
Originally posted by Harald
Yep, that would be both neat and smart. And face it, only an augmented version of what we have with iSync.
Exactly.
It doesn't have to be some earth-shaking technological marvel. It just has to work intuitively, elegantly and consistently. If SE decided to collaborate with Apple on a phone designed as an iPod companion, they could do it.
Alternately, the add-on you mentioned, which would simply call whoever you selected in Address Book, would be about 90% there.
I'd buy either.
Originally posted by Chris Cuilla
Why do you say this?
Several reasons:
- Apple has zero knowledge about building cell phones. Unless they license a phone blueprint from say Nokia, they will _not_ be able to get the tech right. The iPod was different: slap together Firewire, an embedded CPU and a harddisk and a great UI - all things Apple had boatloads of experience with.
- If you want a phone, you buy a phone. To make it work, you have to implant the sim-card, buy a plan from a phone provider etc. Phones are not something that lends itself to easy integration. mp3-players are like FM-radios: very easy to integrate.
- User interface of a phone is more demanding (offers more functions). Integrating it under an mp3-player UI does not work.
My P900 has an MP3 player but piss-poor memory capacity. I don't carry my (5GB mechanical wheel 2001) iPod so much because I don't like carrying 2 pieces of consumer electronics. If it had a few GB I'd carry my P900 alone.
By which I mean, this kind of tech is coming soooooon at an economical price; Apple simply have no choice but to address this issue.
Originally posted by Harald
Here's the thing:
My P900 has an MP3 player but piss-poor memory capacity. I don't carry my (5GB mechanical wheel 2001) iPod so much because I don't like carrying 2 pieces of consumer electronics. If it had a few GB I'd carry my P900 alone.
By which I mean, this kind of tech is coming soooooon at an economical price; Apple simply have no choice but to address this issue.
I've been waiting for this convergence device for some time now. I've found that I don't take my iPod out on the weekends for fear of losing it or breaking it. What I want is a phone that can handle MP3's or even better AAC files and can take a 256 memory card. First company to do this for under $500 get's my money.