[illy2k]

I was checking out the live blog-cast today for Apple's "It's only Rock and Roll" event today. I was severely disappointed by their new iPod line refreshes. In light of the new Zune I was expecting so much more from Apple in terms of UI changes, and the camera that had been suspected and almost guaranteed before the event. They pretty much did nothing to the iPod Touch except add more capacity at the same price point and let you use the iPhone 3.1 OS for free. Also the Nano got a camera/mic and not much else.

So there is my rant I just wanted to see if anyone else was disappointed by their "new" offerings. I am no Apple hater, I own a macbook, but they just seem to be playing it too safe and very very boring.

Goes to pre-order the Zune HD ... (Wishing there was some LOD for it)

 

[iriverdude]

Buy The Beatles on itunes yet?

 

[Kirosia]

Well the ipod touch seems to have gotten the same upgraded hardware as the 3GS. But yeah, nothing that was unexpected.

I'm liking the Zune HD, if only for the tegra and oled screen. I'd really like to see extensive demos of the internet browser, apps menu, etc. The current released videos suck, and the thing releases in like a week.

 

[TheRobbStory]

Listening to The Beatles remasters on iTunes 9 as I type

Overall, I wasn't expecting much. Glad to see the 160gb iPod is back at $249. The video capabilities of the Nano are cool, but I'll hold out for HD video in the iPod Touch before I buy one.

 

[Radio_head]

I think the event was a pleasant surprise. The nano is now chock full of features, the touch has a 64 gb model which was all i really wanted, the classic was predicted to be discontinued instead got a (very) slight upgrade, and new itunes. I for one was happy.

 

[illy2k]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Radio_head /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think the event was a pleasant surprise. The nano is now chock full of features, the touch has a 64 gb model which was all i really wanted, the classic was predicted to be discontinued instead got a (very) slight upgrade, and new itunes. I for one was happy.

hmm... I guess so I just don't find that to be all the impressive. I think iTunes 9 is definitely a nice upgrade, but adding space and pretty much nothing new doesn't really do it for me. "I need more".

I was just expecting the usual Apple pulls some really nice stuff out of their hat with such amazing integration that you know you just want it.

C'est la vie!

 

[TheRobbStory]

Ooh, just discovered a little hidden gem in iTunes 9..

File > Library > Organize Library > Upgrade to iTunes Media organization

Reindexes your entire library, sorting by content type.

Here's where the magic happens - navigate in Explorer or Finder to your iTunes library and there's now a folder called 'Automatically Add to iTunes'

Drop some media in that folder and watch it be magically whisked away to your iTunes library.

Take it one step further by pointing your (legal) BitTorrent completed downloads to that folder, and let your downloads auto-import!

 

[applaudio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kirosia /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well the ipod touch seems to have gotten the same upgraded hardware as the 3GS. But yeah, nothing that was unexpected. I'm liking the Zune HD, if only for the tegra and oled screen. I'd really like to see extensive demos of the internet browser, apps menu, etc. The current released videos suck, and the thing releases in like a week.

According to Engadget, the web browser rivals any other mobile web browser, including the Pre's browser, and Safari for the iPhone/iPod Touch. Also, they seem to be pretty satisfied with the virtual keyboard.

You know, the Zune HD looks so awesome in almost every way... I'm really tempted to wait and see if they add gapless playback support, custom EQ, etc. down the road. But the S9 has those things now, and that's what makes it so hard!

 

[Kirosia]

^ A member on another forum who tried it said it wasn't much better than most feature phone cell browsers. And I've only seen a few seconds of it, which is far from enough.

The Zune HD is just so unproven at the moment. A week left and there aren't even any in-depth reviews by gadget sites.

 

[illy2k]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kirosia /img/forum/go_quote.gif ^ A member on another forum who tried it said it wasn't much better than most feature phone cell browsers. And I've only seen a few seconds of it, which is far from enough. The Zune HD is just so unproven at the moment. A week left and there aren't even any in-depth reviews by gadget sites.

Yeah I agree with you. I have about 5 iPod's in my life and I did pull the trigger on the original zune back in the day and rarely used it. My friend and I were going to pre-order the Zune HD but I decided to wait for that very reason. It (Zune HD) can go one of two ways, be amazing on release and everyone goes to buy one, or is so-so and it never really takes off. I just wish Apple had done a little bit more to compete with their new role out. Seems they don't think the Zune's list of features is worthy of that.

 

[electropop]

I was refreshing the site at work and I laughed my bottox off

"Wow. Minds: Blown" said the live journalist when they announced that they were gonna update several headphones with the shuffle control panel as integrated (showing a picture of Beats by Dr. Dre)... Heheheheheeee..

 

[applaudio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by illy2k /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah I agree with you. I have about 5 iPod's in my life and I did pull the trigger on the original zune back in the day and rarely used it. My friend and I were going to pre-order the Zune HD but I decided to wait for that very reason. It (Zune HD) can go one of two ways, be amazing on release and everyone goes to buy one, or is so-so and it never really takes off. I just wish Apple had done a little bit more to compete with their new role out. Seems they don't think the Zune's list of features is worthy of that.

They had already finished development by the time the Zune HD started popping up, and had all the parts on order for months in advance. How do you attempt to make any kind of revisions in that situation?

Besides, I don't think Apple is overly worried about the Zune. Apple is the brand in the mp3/pmp market (at college, half the people you talk to around campus don't even know the difference between an iPod and an mp3 player... they think they're synonyms), and nobody's going to change that anytime soon, no matter how awesome the product.

 

[VicAjax]

all i really wanted was a larger capacity iPod Touch. a hardware refresh would've been nice, but i pretty much got what i wanted. i'll probably pull the trigger on a 64GB Touch in the next couple of months. probably.

 

[MD1032]

I think Apple's just running out of ideas. The iPod, as a device, is pretty much as optimized as it can be for what it is. Sure, you could add way, way more features, but they don't want it to have those because it's supposed to be a simple device (besides, they already make the iPhone).

 

[tstarn06]

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