Wed Nov 22, 2006 4:44 pm

oh. more doom and gloom. every tear it seems will be the ipod's last

Wed Nov 22, 2006 5:25 pm

Speaking of killers, does anyone like that show "Dexter" on Showtime? There could be a clever marketing tie-in for a real iPod killer with that show. And I sure wish Showtime would put it on iTMS!

Wed Nov 22, 2006 5:51 pm

A rather nice comparison is here

	Steve Jobs wrote:
	I’ve seen the demonstrations on the Internet about how you can find another person using a Zune and give them a song they can play three times. It takes forever. By the time you’ve gone through all that, the girl’s got up and left! You’re much better off to take one of your earbuds out and put it in her ear. Then you’re connected with about two feet of headphone cable.

	Steve Balmer wrote:
	I want to squirt you a picture of my kids. You want to squirt me back a video of your vacation. That’s a software experience.

That’s how it is. Steve Jobs can make sharing earwax sound sexy. Ballmer can make a digital file transfer sound like something you’d need to clean up after.

Wed Nov 22, 2006 6:07 pm

Two problems.

First, is that if "elegance" is alien to Microsoft culture, then giving it's users free reign certainly is. It's as if the restrictive EULAs, obsessive and monopolistic business practices, simplified-to-uselessness, and kludgy hacks required to do even the most basic actions off the beaten track.

Second, is that whatever they are describing is not, strictly speaking, an iPod; i.e. a portable media player.

What they are calling for is pretty much the next generation of the portable gadget: the Wearable PC.

Really, when you get into calling for a device that not only replaces the point-and-shoot camera, the cell phone, the blackberry, the MP3 player, the PDA, and perhaps even the game-boy, you really are talking about a laptop that sits in your pocket.

At that point, you run into the completely new problem of designing a portable input mechanism that can access those disparate features without clutter, components that can provide quality while not breaking the bank account, and a display that balances legibility and usability with size, weight and cost. Fun to fantasize about, very difficult to actually implement.

Wed Nov 22, 2006 7:21 pm

In the article:

Quote:

He concluded by saying that Microsoft could crush Apple's upcoming iTunes cell phone "with a real killer app: VoIP software that uses Zune's Wi-Fi option to make free or cheap phone calls over the Internet. Imagine downloading free software that transforms your future Zune (complete with microphone) into a cell phone that does not require signing up with -- or ever paying -- Cingular, Verizon or Sprint!"

As long as you're in range of a Wifi router, that might work. It sure won't help if you need to report an auto accident with your cel phone, call the auto club when your car is broken down, call someone from your car, and about 1.9 x 10^9 other situations. The beauty of cel phones is that they work over wide areas.

Wed Nov 22, 2006 8:38 pm

"the Mac is more elegant than Windows, but most people prefer Windows."

I don't believe that most people "prefer" Windows; they just use it. When people say that the iPod is a monopoly just like Windows, they fail to note that the iPod is a choice made *by* the majority, while (for most) Windows is a choice made *for* the majority. There are many people who use Windows either because they don't know the Mac is an option (although, they are learning) or because their work buys them a Windows box. People who get iPods, want iPods. Those that don't get iPods have their reasons (e.g., they hate Apple, they want to use a music subscription service, they're tired of the hype and want to be "different").

And, I think that most people buying a music player in this era (as opposed to the more "early adopter" type from a couple of years back) are *not* going to be hacking their player to run Linux or control the TV. They just want a simple, elegant player that works well with the jukebox software and media store. Other players that have added more features (because of all the people clamoring for them [sarcasm]) seem to have just complicated their devices...and had ppor sales. A direct result? To some degree.

And...the Zune is *not* a 1.0 device. It's a Toshiba Gigabeat, right? So, the name is 1.0, and the WiFi feature, I think, but overall, it's not. The DRM on "squirted" songs, Microsoft money/points, incompatibility with PlaysForSure, etc. are new to music players, but are all decisions that are beyond 1.0 or 2.6. They are a general philosophy of doing things that I suspect most people don't want to bothered with (sorry about the preposition there).

That being said, if WiFi ends up being a great feature (although without a large userbase, I'm not sure it will get to the point where people get to use it enough and it becomes a killer feature), I would guess that Apple is ready to add it. Maybe the mythical iPhone will cover that feature. I think that if the iPod had WiFi (even if it worked with just other iPods), it would be huge, due to the installed base.

And, since we're onto the iPhone, I have to second the above comments regarding a WiFi-VoIP phone. Great as a alternate mode of use, but you still need the cell (at least for the foreseeable future?).

Peace

EB

Thu Nov 23, 2006 3:45 am

Based on the 4 Microsoft employees I have personally known (3 actual employees and one long-term private contractor), even Microsoft employees don't like to use Windows. They all have Macs and some form or another of Linux at home. And all 4 own iPods.

Mind you, 4/60000 is a rather small sample size. But 100% consistency within the sample size says something.

- Jon

Thu Nov 23, 2006 2:43 pm

	rpaege wrote:
	Give me a phone that allows me to bypass the price-fixed, anticompetitive cell phone combine and use VoIP from anywhere for free and you'll immediately have me as a customer.

I had on CNN on this morning that consumers can now legally unlock cell phones that they own so that they can be used on other services. I couldn't find any other reference to this ruling, but it is Thanksgiving and news agencies are not fully staffed.

Fri Nov 24, 2006 3:08 pm

We don't have to worry... 3 months and Zune will be so full of worms, viruses, troians and other nice customizable "features" and Kaboom!!

I want a player that plays my music... I don't even find the iPod video cool since squinting at a tiny video seems moronic when I can read a good book, but who am I to argue people's tastes.

Zune WILL become like a windows PC, highly customizable, full of problems and user unfriendly... but not so popular.

Cheers

Mon Nov 27, 2006 6:20 pm

Anonymous wrote:

BASIC cameraphones are popular with the masses, not the uber-complex 'Swiss Army knife' phones. Its definitely very possible to add so many features to a phone that usuability suffers. We're already seeing phones like this on the market, and they appeal more to the geeks than to the mainstream user. The cameraphones that made a big splash in the mainstream were ones that basically made calls, texted, and had pretty basic, easy-to-use camera functionality. Perhaps its different in the more tech-savvy/sophisticated South Korean and Japanese markets, but over here, Joe Wal-Mart does not like him a complicated cellphone.

Right! Think to whom the Zune seems to be marketed: mostly young people (teens, college age, etc.). Can you imagine those style-concious folks holding a Zune up to their faces to use as a phone? Some techno-geeks may have a Treo, but most have very stylish phones. I work with teens and younger in 4-H. They're all girls (it's a horse club) and I've seen some of their cellphones. They want sparkly, colorful, cool-looking phones, preferably pretty small. One of the older members said that she was very disappointed at the terrible quality of the pictures her almost-brand-new cameraphone takes.

If Apple does come out with a phone, it will have to be very stylish and cool-looking, probably narrower than the current iPod. It should be easy to use for text messaging. (I was awed at how fast some of the kids are using their phones' keypads.) It will have to have a battery life at least as good as current cellphones. They could take the typical flip-phone design and replace the buttons at the top with a clickwheel, for example (that would make scrolling through the contact list very easy) or use a touchscreen.