The Apple event is over and I’ve finished watching the live feeds. Engadget seemed to me to be the most professional of the lot.
No special news for us ebook types. There was no mention of a tablet, much to the consternation of all those “pundits” who were floating the rumors. Once again Apple has proved that anyone who listens to rumors about them is foolish. A new Nano with a video camera and a 64GB iPod Touch, a possible upgraded CPU on the Touch and some price lowering, but I saw nothing to get excited about. ITunes has been upgraded to version 9 and the iPod classic upgraded to 160GB. Even the rumors about an iPod Touch camera seem to have been wrong. However the iPhone OS has been moved up to 3.1 and it is available today for both the iPhone and the Touch – ‘though when I try to upgrade my iTunes and my iPhone I’m told I have the latest software.
For the ebook crowd the best news is the lowering of the price on the Touch, which makes a great reader with its WiFi connection. 8GB/$199, 32GB/$299 and 64GB/$399.
Yes, I was more than a little ticked off that, with its allocation of new features, Apple seems to be trying to push potential customers toward a Nano, which is worthless for reading or writing. I also suspect, with its tiny screen and battery, the Nano will make a poor video camera.
Below is what I just sent to Apple’s feedback page for the iPod touch. Feel free to make your own comments there.
———
Apple has got me so ticked off, I’ll probably put my energy into getting a 1-G iPhone cheap and forget buying these ho-hum iPod touches. That way, Apple won’t get a penny and I’ll probably save money.
I need a camera, and I need a mike and I don’t want to pay AT&T fees. I also need them soon. I thought I would get that in the new touches. Instead, Apple is giving the tiny Nano more features but not the iPod touch. Why? With that tiny 2.2-inch Nano screen you can’t see much of what you’ve taken and the equally tiny battery isn’t likely to last long in video mode.
What’s going on? If Apple has production problems with camera-equipped touches, they should say so, give us the details of new touch, and a release date. This cult of secrecy is such a pain. You’d think they were the Kremlin circa 1935. Both have a cult-like obsession with not admitting mistakes.
Still worse is the possibility that Apple wants to build high walls between its products, doling out features in odd ways to fit a marketing straight-jacket. The iPhone would be for work and business for those with the money. The touch is for games but not recreation, hence the lack of a camera and the boring length of game promotion today. Color touch users fat and flabby couch potatoes. The Nano is for mostly outdoor recreation (camera and Nike added), but has nothing that lets you get work done. If so, it’s stupid move.
To add insult to injury, I just checked the specs on the new touches. The 8 gig model ships with the old-style earphones not the remote earphones and without a plastic dock adapter. Total saving for Apple? Probably about 25 to 50 cents. Cost to customers who don’t want to pull their touch out of their pocket every time they pause music: $30 That stinks. Heck, even the cheap little $59 Shuttle ships with remote earphones. While Jobs was gone, the niggling little bean counters seem to have been running Apple. This is the unfortunate result.
I hate companies that treat their customers as if they were stupid, and that’s precisely how I feel Apple is treating its customers now.
We keep hoping, keep dreaming, that Apple will do something wonderful. The iPhone appears to be an adequate eBook reader but Apple just doesn’t seem willing or able to produce a more book-sized device.
I know I’ve mentioned this before, so I won’t dwell on it, but I think it’s important that we evaluate what’s real rather than wait for the all-singing ever-future version. How long have we been waiting for the wonderful flex-screen device? Seems like forever. How long have we gossiped and hoped for Apple’s tablet. I know it’s been at least a couple of years on TeleRead.
“Nothing new for the ebook crowd” ???
Are you sure?
How about the iTunes LP ?
Were they using ePub format… it would be big news; but I bet they aren’t… which is still news.
I think the tablet is coming, it’s just not there yet… Jobso only came back from liver transplant 2 months ago… it’s not enough to work out all the details to the level of quality that he likes.
However iTunes LP could be the first step towards a new document format…
I could easily imagine that once the tablet is ready they will use the same format to distribute textbooks – which would appeal to their audience. Arnold is going for free textbooks in California… just add them to iTunes-University… one more reason why every college student will want to buy a tablet.
According to an Apple insider, it was a technical glitch that kept the camera from being added to the Touch—but they’re still working on it and 32- or 64-gig Touches might suddenly get cameras in a mid-year refresh.
But naturally Jobs won’t say this, because it might damage sales of the Touches available now.
"There is always something better coming ... sometimes it arrives on time, sometimes its delayed, sometimes it never arrives. (We're still waiting for the iPhone ..."
The Apple event is over and I’ve finished watching the live feeds. Engadget seemed to me to be the most professional of the lot.
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Yes, I was more than a little ticked off that, with its allocation of new features, Apple seems to be trying to push potential customers toward a Nano, which is worthless for reading or writing. I also suspect, with its tiny screen and battery, the Nano will make a poor video camera.
Below is what I just sent to Apple’s feedback page for the iPod touch. Feel free to make your own comments there.
http://www.apple.com/feedback/ipodtouch.html
———
Apple has got me so ticked off, I’ll probably put my energy into getting a 1-G iPhone cheap and forget buying these ho-hum iPod touches. That way, Apple won’t get a penny and I’ll probably save money.
I need a camera, and I need a mike and I don’t want to pay AT&T fees. I also need them soon. I thought I would get that in the new touches. Instead, Apple is giving the tiny Nano more features but not the iPod touch. Why? With that tiny 2.2-inch Nano screen you can’t see much of what you’ve taken and the equally tiny battery isn’t likely to last long in video mode.
What’s going on? If Apple has production problems with camera-equipped touches, they should say so, give us the details of new touch, and a release date. This cult of secrecy is such a pain. You’d think they were the Kremlin circa 1935. Both have a cult-like obsession with not admitting mistakes.
Still worse is the possibility that Apple wants to build high walls between its products, doling out features in odd ways to fit a marketing straight-jacket. The iPhone would be for work and business for those with the money. The touch is for games but not recreation, hence the lack of a camera and the boring length of game promotion today. Color touch users fat and flabby couch potatoes. The Nano is for mostly outdoor recreation (camera and Nike added), but has nothing that lets you get work done. If so, it’s stupid move.
To add insult to injury, I just checked the specs on the new touches. The 8 gig model ships with the old-style earphones not the remote earphones and without a plastic dock adapter. Total saving for Apple? Probably about 25 to 50 cents. Cost to customers who don’t want to pull their touch out of their pocket every time they pause music: $30 That stinks. Heck, even the cheap little $59 Shuttle ships with remote earphones. While Jobs was gone, the niggling little bean counters seem to have been running Apple. This is the unfortunate result.
I hate companies that treat their customers as if they were stupid, and that’s precisely how I feel Apple is treating its customers now.
We keep hoping, keep dreaming, that Apple will do something wonderful. The iPhone appears to be an adequate eBook reader but Apple just doesn’t seem willing or able to produce a more book-sized device.
I know I’ve mentioned this before, so I won’t dwell on it, but I think it’s important that we evaluate what’s real rather than wait for the all-singing ever-future version. How long have we been waiting for the wonderful flex-screen device? Seems like forever. How long have we gossiped and hoped for Apple’s tablet. I know it’s been at least a couple of years on TeleRead.
Rob Preece
Publisher
“Nothing new for the ebook crowd” ???
Are you sure?
How about the iTunes LP ?
Were they using ePub format… it would be big news; but I bet they aren’t… which is still news.
I think the tablet is coming, it’s just not there yet… Jobso only came back from liver transplant 2 months ago… it’s not enough to work out all the details to the level of quality that he likes.
However iTunes LP could be the first step towards a new document format…
I could easily imagine that once the tablet is ready they will use the same format to distribute textbooks – which would appeal to their audience. Arnold is going for free textbooks in California… just add them to iTunes-University… one more reason why every college student will want to buy a tablet.
Regards
Tamas
According to an Apple insider, it was a technical glitch that kept the camera from being added to the Touch—but they’re still working on it and 32- or 64-gig Touches might suddenly get cameras in a mid-year refresh.
But naturally Jobs won’t say this, because it might damage sales of the Touches available now.