Apple Releases New Touch Screen iPod

JSM writes to tell us that Apple released a new version of their popular iPod music player today that boasts, among other things, an iPhone-like touch screen and Wi-Fi capabilities. "The iPod Touch will feature the Safari Internet browser and, like the iPhone, play YouTube videos. Apple also announced a new version of its iTunes music store that will allow users to buy songs wirelessly. iTunes will also sell customizable 99-cent ringtones for the iPhone."

wrong name

[Anonymous Coward]

The should have called it the "iPod Newton"

so close.. needs more GB

[acomj]

For a device that seems to play video well (and made for it) 8/16 GB doesn't seem like enough. Especially since the "ipod classic" comes in 80/160GB flavors at the same price point( with a small not so good for video screen).

Otherwise it looks nice.

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[account_deleted]

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Boned and cool

[SilentChris]

Phatpod iPod Nano - Like your sleek device for workouts? Too bad, go get a Shuffle - BONED
$.99 ringtone on top of $.99 to buy the song (certain songs only) - BONED
Starbucks "integration" - now my iPhone will spend a few extra seconds every time I hook up to a Wifi access point looking for coffee music - BONED
We managed to fit really nice HDs in iPods, but not the new Touch iPod - but you get a few millimeters back - BONED
$599 to $399 price drop in 2 months - EXTREMELY BONED

iTunes Store wireless - kind of cool. Wish they'd do the same thing with TV shows in music (that's what I'd be inclined to buy in an airport somewhere)

All in all, a particularly boneworthy afternoon.

I'm disappointed...

[PJ1216]

They didn't bring the touch screen to the larger capacity "classic" models. I'm curious as to why they're striving towards dropping actual hard drives in favor of flash memory. Some of us like the large capacity, but would also like some of the nifty features that they're bringing in to the flash models. Why can't they drop the "classic" models and just make them touch screen as well?

Overall, not a bad event

[Clockwurk]

Apple released some nice products today, but had some disappointing moments as well. First, the new ipod classic looks nice and the bump to 160gb is nice. The other announcements were not as exciting. The new nano looks ugly and didn't get a storage bump. The ipod touch looks very nice, but they should have used the 160gb hdd from the classic instead of flash.

The iPhone news was the biggest let down. For all the talk of Apple "redefining" the cellphone industry, the event today showed that they have no intentions of being anything other than just another gouger. The write-up was wrong. Ringtones aren't $0.99, they are $0.99 for songs that you purchased already from itunes, so they are $1.98 and you can't use music that you got from other sources.

The other nice move was dropping the price on the iphone. I personally think this is a great move, even if it is a slap in the face to all the early adopters (henceforth referred to as "suckers"). It was also a nice fuck-in-the-ass to all the ebayers who are sitting on $200 losses now.

Re:Take That

[caramelcarrot]

Yeah, it's notable that they've kept the "iPod Classic", as well as this new model, which seems to be aiming for a market between the iPod and WiFi tablets like the Nokia 770. Also the new iPod Nano looks a bit... retarded.

Re:I'm disappointed...

[Tumbleweed]

I'm not sure how useful a touch screen would be with a screen as small as the iPod classic has...maybe if you used a stylus or something...

Re:Boned and cool

[anthonyclark]

"Ask not for whom the bone bones, it bones for thee!"

- Bender Bending Rodriguez, circa 3000AD

iTouch = loss of functionality?

[Creosote]

I don't understand the impetus behind removing all tactile controls from a portable audio player.

The iPod is already harder to use than many other brands with buttons if you're driving, cycling, jogging, or walking and want to be able to adjust volume or start/stop without looking at the device. With a fair amount of practice you can learn to orient the iPod and manipulate the scroll wheel without looking at it. Is this even theoretically feasible with an iTouch? Or am I going to have to dodge imbeciles swerving all over the road while scrolling through their playlist even more than I do already?

Transition

[Belgand]

Apple really seems to be in a state of flux right now with their iPod/iPhone lines.

The release of the iPhone went well, but it's really pricey and historically first gen Apple products do little more than set the paradigm and show future promise. By the time we get second and third gen iPhones they'll probably be pretty amazing and a lot cheaper. Just comparing my second gen iPod to the advances made in say, the fourth generation (third introduced major changes, but fourth is where it stabilized design, went color, and started to move more heavily into video) are pretty staggering.

At the same time they're trying to reconcile the popularity of the iPhone with their ongoing iPod line and their iPod Nano line, but without dropping the core functionality of the iPod to such a degree that they lose business (i.e. by cutting the space to make room for the new features). As a result we have a mish-mash of product lines going on right now each of them with flaws.

If anyone out there is interested in purchasing a device now is probably the worst time. Give Apple a year or so and we'll start seeing further consolidation into a more stable product line that better integrates the features of each of their currently available products. Eventually I expect we'll be getting an 80 Gig iPhone with wi-fi and third-party apps, probably in only a year or two based on the way things have been moving so far.

When they stop making changes and start introducing only gradual improvements (like when the video iPod simply came out in a model with more storage) that's the time to go grab it. Based on their past performance though, I'd suggest waiting until then.

Bluetooth!

[SteelWheel]

Now if the new iPhone-without-the-Phone-part had bluetooth, all my problems would be solved..I could tether it to my Verizon Treo 700WX, and have a good, usable web browser, without the crappy speeds from AT&Tingular. So close..

Re:I'm disappointed...

[PJ1216]

I mean replace the screen with the larger touch screen. I just want the touch screen capabilities, but the larger capacity. I don't care about making the physical size of the ipod thinner. I want capacity and I want the cool touch interface, but apparently I have to choose and since capacity is somewhat nonnegotiable, I need to go with the larger capacity. I put a lot of tv shows on there (quite a few different shows with numerous seasons and I use it as my main source for viewing, so I carry a lot more than 16GB of video... and thats not counting the 7gigs of music I have.)

Re:so close.. needs more GB

[Kamokazi]

Actually 16GB of flash memory probably costs more than a HDD. My guess is battry life and size are the reasons for sticking with flash. A HDD version later on wouldn't suprise me though. And for the people thinking about skype and whatnot...I don't think they even said if it has a microphone...it looks like it does not from the spec page.

No Mail app?

[kuwan]

I don't understand why there's no Mail application on the new touch. They give us Safari for web browsing, but no email client? It doesn't make sense. Sure there are those that will say that you can use web mail with Safari. But why would you want to use web mail designed for a desktop screen instead of an email app designed specifically for the iPod/iPhone?

Web mail sucks anyway. Besides, you couldn't configure a web mail client to auto check your email - say every time you have WiFi access. I really hope they include Mail at some point very soon in the future. Otherwise I think people will probably try to hack the Mail app on the iPhone to run on the iPod.

Oh, and no Google Maps either!? WTF!

Re:iTouch = loss of functionality?

[Anonymous Coward]

Theoretically, if it's multitouch sensitive they could do things like detect two fingers moving apart to increase volume and together to decrease, three fingers with an edge finger tap could go forward, middle finger tap would go back. I don't know that they're doing this and I hate ipods because of their interface, but some kind of no-look control would surely be doable.

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

No, they are selling at max willingness to pay ...

[AHumbleOpinion]

That truly is a steep drop in price. Have their supply and production costs dropped that much, or are they sacrificing margin in the expectation of recovering it in subscription fees? I tend to suspect the latter, which amounts to subsidized pricing.

No, Apple is maximizing revenue. It is called walking down the price curve. Everyone has a different willingness to pay, some much higher than others. If you make a product available to everyone at a widely acceptable price you lose revenue from those who would have paid more. So you introduce a product at a high price point that only a few are willing to pay and slowly reduce the price over time. This way all sales are closer to what the various individuals were willing to pay. Note that there needs to be an absence of substitute products. Sometimes this strategy fits in well with initial production and supply problems. However in this case I expect it is mostly revenue maximization.

Re:What's that noise?

[rubberglove]

iTunes is quite a thorn...then again, I hate the Rio Karma's manager as well and miss the "drag and drop" of my Carbon...

Try the open-source, rockbox replacement firmware! http://rockbox.org/ [rockbox.org]
It breathed new life into my iRiver h100, and beats the crap out of the default apple firmware on my girlfriend's iPod video.

It doesn't do everything yet (like play videos), but you dual boot if you need to.

On a related note, one great thing about iPods is the firmware recovery routine...

Re:so close.. needs more GB

[tf23]

Nope, no speaker. No bluetooth, either. And apparently removed some apps that the iPhone has, too.

http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch/specs.html [apple.com]

Also, if you take a look at the accessories, the video-out cables still say "any iPod" so maybe the video-out has been left on the iPodTouch. But looking at the feature/spec sheet for the touch, it doesn't blatantly say it'll still do it.

I was wondering if the iPodTouch could be used as a mobile-ssh terminal with one of those smallish bluetooth keyboards. That'd save me from having to lug the laptop around all the time.

Re:so close.. needs more GB

[njfuzzy]

I have an iPhone, and this isn't as much of an issue as I thought it might be. At these resolutions, with Apple's codecs, you get a remarkable amount of video into 8 GB. I tend to have a few podcasts, and a couple of DVDs, and I still have a couple of gigs to spare. You can't carry your collection, but you can carry everything you might want to watch until you get back to your computer to re-synch.

Supply, demand, repeat

[dazedNconfuzed]

Yes, 16GB of flash memory isn't enough.

Yes, they could jam a hard drive in there.

BUT ... by creating a huge demand for flash (or other suitable) memory, there's more motivation to produce higher capacity & lower prices thereon.

Yes, you might not have the capacity you want now ... but this tact will get you something better sooner.

Wasn't long ago the idea of a flash-based iPod was seriously scoffed at on /. ... but by creating the demand, the supply has appeared.

Re:current round-up

[mmeister]

welcome to the world of consumer electronics.The same thing happens with next-gen DVD players, CPUs, the works.

While it would have been great to get the iPhone for $399 instead of $599, the price drop does not bother me much. It's like complaining that the steak you bought and ate last week was a raw deal because it's cheaper today.

Early adopters already know this. If price is your major consideration, you'd be waiting until next year, when you'll likely get more features for same/less money.

One key feature missing...

[Junta]

A microphone. VOIP with WIFI is kinda useless without a mic...

Re:Have they started with the subsidizing?

[Pope]

No, that's an estimate by a single group on the cost of the components. Manufacturing, etc. never entered into their stupid calculations.

Let me get this straight

[Relic of the Future]

After they buy a 99 cent (or $1.39) song from iTunes, people accept that they should pay another 99 cents to be able to have that song play when someone calls them? Why do people keep putting up with this kind of crap?

Re:Take That

[senatorpjt]

It could be because the maximum capacity of the touch iPod is 16GB.

Re:No, Damage Control

[DingerX]

Dude, I hear you, but as you no doubt also know, part of business and economics is also reinforcing the sense of value for those who already bought in. Deflating the price 33% is pretty aggressive, and likely to alienate early adopters. It's also a departure from the classic Apple tactic of discontinuing older brands as newer ones come in. In other words, up at that end of the price spectrum, the pickings were pretty slim, so they needed to slide down. The iPod touch is almost an admission that they suspect the AT&T contract was a dealbreaker.

So no, it's damage control, much like your multiple postings.

Re:Transition

[vistic]

If anyone out there is interested in purchasing a device now is probably the worst time. Give Apple a year or so and we'll start seeing further consolidation into a more stable product line

If I like the product they are offering now, then just how does the "stability" of Apple's product line even enter the picture? Will I buy an iPod, take it home, only to have it fluctuate into a different product I didn't want when I'm not looking? Sheesh.

I think claims of not buying the first generation are pretty valid, but saying "this product isn't very good right now, because of other products the company is also selling at the same time" is the lamest excuse for now being the "worst time to buy" I've ever heard.

Re:One key feature missing...

[jdray]

Right. I think the comment was meant to indicate the threat of Apple installing a microphone would keep AT&T in line. I think it's more a matter of just not wanting to piss off their new playground buddy. OTOH, it probably won't be long (next week, maybe) before some enterprising fourteen-year-old cracks the iPod Touch open, finds the chip connector for "mic" and solders one on. From there, a minor hack into the software to enable the non-existent microphone (you know the driver is there), and the Apple WiPhone (tm) will be born.

Re:Have they started with the subsidizing?

[ZachPruckowski]

Of course, it's also possible that they inflated the initial sale price a little to allow for the steep drop. This would seem like a good way to make a little extra money and reinforce the exclusivity of iPhone ownership, but dropping the price now has to piss off existing customers, who must feel like they've been had.

Bingo! Basically, they figured that they'd sell a metric butt-load for the first two weeks regardless of price, so they decided to price them ludicrously to take advantage of that. It's economics 101. Early adopters pay through the nose - especially in consumer electronics. The same thing happened with the Razr - it came out at $400 or something crazy (with a contract), was super-popular, and then when the rage started to die down, the price started dropping. The iPhone is a slightly more extreme example of this, but it's not a new concept, especially in the fast moving mobile phone market.

Re:4GB iPhone on sale for $299

[senatorpjt]

If you didn't think the phone was worth $600, why did you pay that much for it?

Re:Have they started with the subsidizing?

[C0rinthian]

And the average person doesn't care that much. Anyone interested in this has a cellphone. It's a given that they're paying SOMEONE for cellular for the next two years. It's not additional cost, just lock-in.

If they didn't drop the price of the iPhone anyone thinking of getting one would look at the price and think: "Wow, I could buy an iPod Touch, and a normal cellphone, and it's still cheaper than the iPhone!"

Re:Let me get this straight

[zaren]

From that point of view, it sucks.

But, try it from this point of view:

Buy a ringtone from AT&T / Verizon / etc. for $2.50. You don't get to pick specifically what you want to use as the ringtone from that download, and in addition, you don't get to have the entire song that you want to make into that ringtone.

So, for $2, you get an entire song, and up to a 30 second ringtone custom configured so you can hear what you want to hear
Or, for $2.50, you get a ringtone of a pre-determined length, and only that ringtone, no entire song

Re:Take That

[Anonymous Coward]

They figured you would only put the music you actually paid for on this one. Oh, wait - it has 15.9 GB free now.

Re:For $138 you can get Holux

[heroine]

Why can't U just link the product page instead of making us search around the store?

Re:Take That

[Leftist Troll]

That's not really the point. I don't have a problem with it being thin, but I find the trade off between a few millimeters thickness and 64GB of storage to be unacceptable.

Anyway, your comment about a "digital brick" is misleading. 80GB iPods are all of 10.5 mm thick. The new 160GB model only adds 3mm to the depth. I have a hard time believing that adding decent storage to the touch iPod would turn into a brick.

Newton!

[alextheseal]

Long live the king. The new Newton rises.

Re:What about the OS requirements?

[toriver]

You might as well wait a little longer for 10.5/Leopard then. No need to buy Tiger unless you feel you have to have it RIGHT NOW like.

(I havent verified it but I assume Leopard also has PowerPC/G4-5 support.)

Re:Transition

[Adambomb]

I think claims of not buying the first generation are pretty valid, but saying "this product isn't very good right now, because of other products the company is also selling at the same time" is the lamest excuse for now being the "worst time to buy" I've ever heard

What about say, Vista versus XP? Its a valid consideration that this may not be a big enough upgrade to justify buying it right now as older models are a) less expensive and b) may do the exact same job that you want of it.

Other products already offered by a company are ALWAYS a consideration as to whether to get the latest and greatest. In my opinion at least.

Re:4GB iPhone on sale for $299

[Kelbear]

Parent has a good point. Good things happened to other people, bully for them. No reason I should be any less happy just because others are now better off. Unless they're better off because they're taking something from you that you didn't want to give, why not just be happy for them? There's plenty of things to be upset about, no need to add to the list.

Re:Let me get this straight

[Anonymous Coward]

Why do people keep putting up with this kind of crap?

I too, am sick and tired of having a song play when a call comes in to someone's cell phone, and I too, am not putting up with this kind a crap any more.

Can't alienate many Apple early adopters ...

[AHumbleOpinion]

Dude, I hear you, but as you no doubt also know, part of business and economics is also reinforcing the sense of value for those who already bought in. Deflating the price 33% is pretty aggressive, and likely to alienate early adopters.

The flaw with your logic is that your are assuming that these early iPhone buyers are part of a rational market. They are not. Those early adopters already got want they wanted, winning the pissing contest, first on their block, attention, etc. Anyone with half a brain new that these high prices were temporary. Also, may were hard core Apple fans. Some of these people may kick themselves for not waiting, but they will not abandon Apple.

Re:4GB iPhone on sale for $299

[StikyPad]

Sorry, I feel no pity. If it was worth $600, then you got a fair deal. If it wasn't, why did you buy it? The RAZR was something like $400 when it first came out; now it's typically one of the "freebie" phones you can get with any service contract.

Unless you actually *need* the latest and greatest (top of the line CPU to keep up with heavy server loads, for example, or the biggest HDs you can find), the only value added in buying early is bragging rights. And those are usually trumped when your friend buys the exact same thing a month later for 30% less. Lesson learned, I hope.

Re:4GB iPhone on sale for $299

[megaditto]

I fail to see why you would be upset at this. So what that another guy can buy that iPhone at a deep discount? You too can buy another phone for $200 less, so you also benefit from the price drop as much as the next guy.

Remember, they aren't really taking anything away from you by lowering the price of their current/future products, they are simply giving everybody more value for their money.

Re:"Isn't Well" you mean?

[DECS]

BZZZ! Wrong. Had Apple suddenly lowered the iPhone's price out of nowhere, it might have suggested that the company needed to boost sales in the same manner as Sony's PS3 price cut. However, what really happened was that Apple released a very popular product that nearly a million people were happy to pay $600 to buy within the first two months.

Apple then released the iPod Touch, which delivers 60% of the iPhone's features - no cell, no Bluetooth, no camera, no mic or speakers, but largely everything else: the iPod and the "Breakthrough Internet Device!!" The iPhone's price had to drop. Anyone who wanted an iPhone got their phone, and now millions more will grab one at the lower price. People complaining about the $200 price drop should take some consolation from the recent $600 price drop on the significantly improved iMac, and the fact that the iPhone's hardware price is only a small fraction of the price with service. So ownership of the iPhone didn't drop by some monumental huge percentage, but merely from $2000 to $1800 across its two year contract.

   

Re:Can't alienate many Apple early adopters ...

[AHumbleOpinion]

... even granting your insinuation that hardcore Apple fans are idiots, this tactic will reduce the field, not expand it. ... if their business plan only included the supertrendy and the hardcore fan base, it wouldn't have the rather expensive marketing campaign, or the goal of 10 million units.

You grossly misrepresent my position regarding those who purchased iPhones immediately. They are not idiots, just impatient or vain in the pissing contest sense, and they are very forgiving so this price drop will not diminish their numbers.

You also misrepresent Apple's business plan. The supertrendy and/or hardcore don't represent the 10 million unit target, merely the initial round of buying. That 10 million will predominantly represent the patient who have waited. The price drop will be a triggering event for many, validating their patience in their mind.

Your argument is that the iPhone only aims to be a cult device ...

Uh, no. I argue that Apple is walking down the price curve to sell to each person at their willingness to pay in order to maximize iPhone revenue. Mass market products do this, not niche products.

... I maintain that the Mac fans who hold sway over so many mod points think different(ly).

That's a foolish argument, Mac fans with mod points have not really been known for their open minded and non-cultlike mods. :-)

Re:current round-up

[stewbacca]

There are plenty of cheaper MP3 players that function just as well (and sometimes better) than the iPod, but Apple is a designer label and the chumps pay accordingly.

Simply not true. Please name specific models and functions that make any one single model better than an equivalent iPod. If you buy a non-iPod, you sare still a chump, because the prices are all genearally the same for similar models. There simply is no comparible mp3 player. The poor offerings of other companies is mind boggling. It's like the competition has just given up and is content selling awful interfaces with awful industrial design tied to a few niche features like "Works with Linux!" or "No DRM!". Whoopy doo. Make a great player, like the iPod, and you can slap all the nasty drm and jack the price up all you want, because the thing will sell, because the thing is good. Apple didn't become a "designer" label overnight based on vapid features. It became a designer label because of their strong ability to design things well.

Re:One key feature missing...

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually it's simpler than that.

Just use a bluetooth headset to provide the voice capability for VOIP.

Re:One key feature missing...

[p0tat03]

Many posters have brought up the existence of voice memo microphones/speaker attachments for the olds iPods. My question is... will we see accessory producers make *cell phone* attachments? A GSM transceiver with a microphone and a speaker that hooks up through the dock connector. Won't be terribly elegant but it would be usable, especially since it's almost a complete certainty that 3rd party apps WILL be written for the phone whether Apple likes it or not.

Re:Take That

[empaler]

The iPod Touch uses a flash drive, whereas the now "Classic" uses a platter-based hard drive.

Apart from the price differences on these, there's also the size and power consumption to consider.

Re:Transition

[Belgand]

My point is that Apple is clearly trying to integrate a couple of different product lines. Rather than settling for the halfway measures that are currently available (i.e. iPhone without enough memory to replace an iPod, iPod Touch without the feature set of the iPhone or the memory of an iPod, or iPod that will likely be rolled into the others shortly) it would seem that the best position to take right now is to wait things out.

This is clearly an indication of where things are going to go and at present it would seem inadvisable to purchase any of these devices when the better integrated ones will likely drop very shortly.

Apple has a history of introducing new products or new form factors of existing products only to finally end up delivering a mature version a year or two later that is typically not backwards compatible. For example, look at the iPod. The third generation brought about the dock, the introduction of USB, and many changes in how devices connect to it. As a result while my second gen iPod still plays music on it's monochrome screen it is completely incompatible with all of the accessories available on the market.

On the other hand, if you're the sort of early adopter who is going to buy the newest product each time a new generation is announced then maybe you'll want to buy now. For the savvy consumer who plans on purchasing one device and holding onto it for a lengthy period of time, the inherent instability of this period makes it one of the worst times to buy any of these devices.

Re:4GB iPhone on sale for $299

[megaditto]

Were I to want to sell my iPhone, I couldn't get nearly as much for it as I could've a couple of days ago.

If you are in the business of re-selling stuff (eBay, ticket scalping, etc.) then you are taking a certain risk which is a part of business and nothing to be bitter about: can't take the heat stay out of the kitchen, and all that...

On the other hand, if you bought your iPhone for personal consumption, then you still have what you paid for in its entirety. Whatever Apple does to the future price does not affect you (other than perhaps make your gadget a thief magnet), and there is still nothing to be bitter about.

I really wish I could understand why some people are upset about price drops.

Re:iPod Classic + Leopard -- Time Machine??

[Anonymous Coward]

You might be able to, but its a bad idea. Good way to wear down the life time of the drive. Its a music player, not an external hard drive ... if you want a HD, go buy one.

Re:4GB iPhone on sale for $299

[StikyPad]

That's irrelevant.. you should only pay as much as an item is worth *to you*. If it was worth the price you paid, then you've lost nothing. If not, you should have waited longer and/or bought something else. Just because you didn't properly anticipate the rate of decay doesn't mean Apple has somehow wronged you -- it was your mistake, not theirs. People make the same mistakes every day in the stock market, so you're not alone. Some people bought houses anticipating a continuing price increase. At least you only bought a phone and you (hopefully) realized from the start that you wouldn't be able to resell it for more than you paid.

At any rate, I'd bet that if you're persistent enough, you can probably get a refund for the difference and/or make an exchange for the next model up. It's in Apple's best interest to keep happy customers, so they'll probably do what they can to make you happy.

General Question?

[MrJynxx]

I've read through a lot of comments and I'm seeing a lot of people discussing the iPhone price drop (which is pretty huge) and how it's a smack in the face to early adopters.

Question: If a company purchases a few million additional components which is used in both the iPhone and ipod touch wouldn't that drive the cost down of the iphone?

To me I see the Ipod touch as an iphone in a different suit. And since the iphone is only available in the US market their new phone (or a lot of the required components) just opened up to a massive market including Japan, UK, Canada, etc.. Also, the early adopters who went out and spent the money only proved the market was ready for such a change in user input.

So to all future buyers of the iphone, you just lucked out. At least Apple appears to be bringing the cost savings back to the consumer. . or this could be an evil scheme to take over the phone market!

Re:we also know

[drhamad]

We also know that Joe Average is fully willing to pay $1.98, especially for both song and ringtone. Ringtones at $2, $3, even $4 are a completely proven market - a MASSIVE market. People ARE willing to pay. And you know what? For $0.99 over what I've already paid, I'm not sure I wouldn't either.

Re:Take That

[kestasjk]

There's also the fact that it's an iPhone with the phone taken out. The options page is blank, and they haven't changed anything about it except remove some iPhone features. The space is also poor if you're going to be storing those wide screen vids on there, and now the iPod classic seems like a mid-range iPod, and the iPod nano now looks like something you get out of a cereal box. I think they really had a much more solid line up before, and this new lot is a step back.

Re:iTouch = loss of functionality?

[vistic]

You're crazy. I can navigate my iPod when it's clipped to my waistband, when not looking, and with my shirt hanging over everything including the dial. It did not take a "fair amount of practice". It's a circle with four regions and a center region. What other brand are you referring to when you say the iPod is harder to use? What other brand has a simpler interface?

Re:Take That

[lanc]

There's also the fact that it's an iPhone with the phone taken out.

Oh comeon. don't you see it? this is the apple uberdevice, an iphone without a phone, this is the i ! The purest it will ever get!

Re:Take That

[shmlco]

Yeah, but does the SD card have an aluminum case, color screen, control wheel, or LiPo battery?

Re:Take That

[tommertron]

My music collection was once 1000 songs too. Ahh, 1999. A great year. I guess this is why there are different iPods for different tastes. The Touch is for people who love eye candy (and possible the bigger screen for movies) the shuffle is for joggers and athletes, and the nano is for people who like cute things. For me, I'll probably always stick with the iPod Classic for its huge capacity, as my music collection is about 20 gigs and growing by about 25% each year. For me, the best part of having an iPod is bringing EVERYTHING with me because I'll never know what I want to listen to/watch while I'm on the go.

Re:Take That

[egyptiankarim]

Actually, with the Nike+ features and its solid state memory, the nano is the best bet for runners and athletes.

I personally could care less about the touch screen interface, as I've grown quite used to navigating with the click wheel on my iPod without looking at it (like when I'm playing songs in the car and want to skip tracks, etc. without taking my eyes off the road). The tactile feedback is necessary there and not provided by the touch screen.

For my purposes (mainly listening to music in my car on long trips and during my daily commute), the higher the capacity, the better. That being said, I won't be moving on the new iPod Classic as it suffers from what I considered the one drawback of all the previous flagship iPods, the moving parts of the harddrive.

What I was really hoping for with this release was some large capacity solid state memory iPod with a click wheel. I didn't get that, and so will probably not move on a new Apple device this time around.

Now, my listening habits are personally kind of all over the place, but most of the time I like to put my iPod on shuffle and skip around through my songs randomly. Given that, a huge capacity isn't really necessary; even if I listen to only half of the songs that can be stored on an 8 gig device, I'll still have about 100 hours of music. Given the battery life on these things, I would never go that long before plugging it into my computer where I'd have the opportunity to swap songs around.

All that being said, with the recent price drop on the iPhone (and the fact that I already have AT&T as a carrier), the iPhone is kind of the best buy option here. Especially since it offers the prospect of consolidating my two most frequently used handheld devices. The one draw back: it's not compatible with any FM transmitters yet, rendering it useless in my car!

Re:There you go

[Anonymous Coward]

So you missed an opportunity you didn't know you'd have. Even so, you got a product you wanted for a price you were willing to pay. Whether they changed the price yesterday or not, you'd still have an iPhone and the same amount of money in your pocket. The effect of this change on you is zero, and yet you're angry.

That's fine, I suppose everyone gets irrationally angry sometimes. But your persistence in attempting to justify your anger belies your inability to allow reason to inform your emotions. It's a weakness that, sooner or later, will hurt you deeply.