6G iPod & Apple's Future

belsin_gordon writes "CNET rounds up what we're going to get from the next iPod and where Apple is heading as a company and as a business juggernaut. [They have the] 100GB widescreen video iPods, Wi-Fi-enabled iPods capable of on-the-fly movie downloads over the air, unlimited downloads from iTunes for a flat fee and the UK finally getting its content-hungry hands on movie downloads. Apple has dropped the 'Computer' from its company name, and is making significant advances into the media-distribution business. It's bringing video to everyone everywhere with iTunes movies and now Apple TV, and the rumours and speculation we've discussed promote the theory that Apple is setting itself up as a major player in the media-distribution industry."

wi-fi hangup

[sluke]

It seems to me that apple will resist having wi-fi in the ipod because it would break their grip on the interface to the ipod. They have a great revenue stream with all of the third party gadgets that connect to the dock connector and if they gave the ipod a meaningful wi-fi connection, it would be a lot easier to make such additions without paying a licensing fee to apple. It would be nice though...

Portable Video

[Nerdfest]

For many of the same features being described in the future video iPods, check out the Archos 704. It's got the wifi, the browser, the big touch screen, the USB ports, etc. Personally, I think it's a bit big, but the features are amazing. Soem competition to keep Apple on their toes is nice to see too.

And the British media don't get it

[Flying pig]

There was an extremely feeble sketch on a supposedly humorous BBC program last Friday (I won't dignify it by naming it) which purported to be Steve Jobs meeting Bill Gates. While their wives are removed by studs for extra-curricular activities, Jobs works Steve up to orgasm by describing the hardware of the next Mac.

Whoever at the BBC approved it obviously hasn't got a clue about what Jobs and Apple are about (or, probably, Gates). Wildly extrapolating, if a media company like the BBC seems to have few people who know what Apple is about nowadays, how far does the blindness extend? Right up until Jobs and Branson jointly attend the funeral of the conventional media industry, I guess.

Re:Unlimited?

[StarvingSE]

Bad analogy. There is a very real limit on how much you can eat in one sitting (let's call it stomach capacity). Therefore, the buffet restaurant knows, on average, how many plates of food each customer will eat and how to price accordingly.

iTunes, on the other hand, does not have the same restriction. You are pretty much limited to your hard drive capacity, which gets cheaper by the month. You could theoretically just have your computer download their entire catalogue without some kind of restriction on a monthly flat rate.

MS saw this coming in the 90's when they ordered

[alfredo]

Apple to "Knife the baby." Of course they were talking about QuickTime. MS knew Apple was going to do an end run around them, but they had that pesky DoJ case against them and couldn't crush Apple like they wanted to. In the end Ashcroft gave MS all they wanted and more (as punishment), but it was too late. Apple had out maneuvered them. Even Ashcroft couldn't protect MS from Apple. (MS was a contributor to Ashcroft's losing congressional campaign*)

They knew Apple wasn't going after the bean counter business. Apple was heading to the living rooms, and MS could not compete against the axis of evil: Jobs, Ives, TBWA Chait-Day.

It has been fun watching this unfold. That's is what made me a fan of this company. Sometimes it is how you play the game, and Apple played it well.

* He lost to a dead man.

if sony was smart...

[insanius]

they would re-work the psp. shrink it down a little, add another analog on the right, and either dump the umd drive entirely for a hd or start selling psps with a big memory stick in the box(>=4gig). with a decent d/l service, it would be everything that apple is trying to turn the ipod into and more with the addition of running ps2 quality games on a screen that is far superior!

i'll probably get modded a troll for this as i was last week for questioning the crazy demand for the wii even though the games are seriously lacking, but i feel it has to be said...for the $, the ipod is currently pretty low on the list of good buys as far as mp3 players go. i believe apple has been lucky to be able ride the ipod wave as long as it has. and unless they open the iphone up, it is going to fail miserably.

my $200 sanyo phone has a gig hdd in it with 8+ hours of play time, a 2 mega pixel camera, unlimited ev-d0 net access, and o yea, i can call people on it too!

imho, apple has got to push a little more than this to maintain their dominance. or just keep charming the masses with their stale commercials...i guess that works too...

Re:Music subscriptions

[nine-times]

I always thought that Apple stayed out of the subscription model and refused to open their DRM for roughly the same reason: they have no faith in DRM, even their own.

They assume that their DRM will likely be cracked, and will only be cracked sooner if other people know exactly how it works. Further, if you have a subscription model, then it basically means unlimited access to music that you can keep forever for a low monthly fee-- no content holders are going to like that idea.

Re:But who buys Apple computers ?

[mattatwork]

Because they're fscking expensive. If they'd release decent and expandable $500-$1000 machines, they could probably crush Microsoft in just a few years.

They wouldn't crush Microsoft...lowering the prices on their hardware would put pressure on other PC makers like Dell and Sony.... Microsoft just takes advantage of the monopoly they have over the PC market. MS is the only company that will licence to them and has the OS most people think they have to have to run a computer. A good part of MS's profit is almost guaranteed from the income from licencing XP, Vista or whatever version of Windows that is out. In the long run, selling sub-$1000 machines has hurt PC companies like Dell and Gateway...so why would Apple want to kill its own business?

Re:Totally Random Comment #102903

[Moggyboy]

Actually I have tried Reason, and found it didn't have the synthesizer and using-keyboard-as-piano capabilities of Garageband - well at least the demo didn't. I found using Garageband just on a G4, I could make up a track in 30 minutes that would require me to use my guitars, basses and electronic drum kit when I was on my PC at home, and I haven't found another program for PC that has anywhere near that functionality.

But I respect your opinion anyway.

Re:Totally Random Comment #102903

[shotgunsaint]

As I own and use both of these programs, I feel obliged to comment. Reason, while it is more powerful for the beat and loop creation part of music production, is not a one-stop shop for recording professionals. Adding any kind of live instrument is completely beyond Reason's capabilities. It is a midi sequencer, drum machine, and pseudo-synthesizer. That is all. Garageband is a great program for quickie recordings that sound decent when they're mixed. However, the software instruments included with the program fall completely flat. The sounds and loops included with garageband are very boring and one-dimensional, and not at all suitable for any professional output. However, combining the two can make a very powerful studio that enables you to work very, very efficiently.

Re:But who buys Apple computers ?

[Guanine]

If they're such a pioneer, why does their product weight over 4.5 times what an iPod does? As has been said in previous comments ... size _does matter_ in portable devices.

Re:Not understanding the practicality

[sl3xd]

Groups like MPAA has always tried to maintain strict control of all aspects of release from time and location. DVD, HD-DVD, and BlueRay all have region encoding for a reason.

You're almost right.

HD DVD does not have region encoding. This is actually one of the reason some studios chose to support Blu-ray exclusively -- the studio demands region encoding, and HD DVD doesn't allow it.

The lack of region encoding (and less restrictive DRM in general) is why I choose to vote with my wallet for HD DVD instead of Blu-ray.

Re:Why

[j.sanchez1]

I've been using Sharepod [sturm.net.nz] for 2 years now. I have NEVER used iTunes to put music on my iPod. Sharepod allows you to copy music to and from your iPod, create playlists and it runs off of your iPod so that you have it with you wherever you are.

Re:But who buys Apple computers ?

[EdelFactor19]

As off topic as that is.. I dunno if I'd be so quick to say that. If BMW were to start releasing cars in that range there would be a significant quality drop compared to what regular "BMW" is. The purity of the brand is important to them. As an aside I think the target at that price range wouldn't involve GM much, it would probably be Honda/Toyota/Nissan/Volkswagon. In an attempt to grab the loyalty before consumers move on to the respective groups upper brand (Acura / Lexus / Infiniti / Audi). And couldn't the exact same statement be made about Mercedes?

For that matter why doesn't Bentley, Ferrari, Porsche, etc release cheap versions of their cars? Because thats not what they are. BMW's aim is to be a (high performance) luxury vehicle. I tend to doubt if they want to enter that segment of the market which is heavily saturated and would be a much tighter competition for smaller profits.

Why doesn't Breitling and Rolex release less expensive watches? Why is there a Lexus and Toyota? etc. It's a debacle across many industries. Gibson has Epiphone, Fender has fender and squire, PRS makes some 'se' models that suck. Maybe you should tell Patron to start making a 10 dollar handle of tequila to compete with .

All aside even if they did enter that segment I don't think there is any evidence to suggest that they would crush toyota, gm or honda. And considerations of adverse impact on the traditional BMW sales would be intriguing.

what it mainly comes down to I think is maintaining brand image and identity.