Apple about to announce wireless video iPod?
By Ryan Block 
posted Oct 10th 2006 12:24PM
posted Oct 10th 2006 12:24PM
When it comes to Apple's product roadmap, to say there's an enormous amount of buzz and milling of rumors is a ridiculous understatement. Believe it or not we tend to have to disregard the majority of rumors floating around (or that get sent in to us); that said, when not only one, but multiple trusted sources get in touch to let us know Steve Jobs & Co. are supposedly finally about completed with the wireless / video iPod, we have to take note. Supposedly they're preparing to announce the device in the very near future, which we've been told is both wireless and widescreen (both features we've been waiting for the iPod to take on, since, well, forever) -- you didn't think last month's new nano / new shuffle / iTV event was going to be it for the rest of the year, did you? We'll keep you posted.
You'll get over it.
I must agree.
seems like Apple trying to take a bite out of Zune profits to me.
what I really want to know is, where the hell did this (big screen) video iPod thing come from?? I mean generally, when companies have something in the works, they tend to tell us about it while this thing seems to have sprung from the demented minds of fanboys. But perhaps I go to far.
Holy Shit this is awesome cant wait. this will rule, do u think theyll throw in some BT headphones or will i have to buy those too?
My initial reaction is that it's unlikely given the recent iPod announcements...but then again it seems perfect. A November announcement means big holiday sales - also, they have tested the waters with their movies download service and may have more studios lined up. And it's different enough be seperate from the iPod brand, maybe wireless is intended for iTV??? i am frothing with speculation.
it actually makes some sense your right, because they needed to calm down the public and rumors alittle so by simply updating the firmware and making it brighter and saying its a 5.5gen ipod was a perfect compromise. and then finish the rest just in time for christmas. Plus it is just about time a TRUE next gen ipod came out (im not really counting the 5.5 as a next gen) plus it seems logicall that they wanted to get there other updates, software and products out first to make sure they work and it gets good public responce because id bet anything there somehow all related to the new 6gen ipod hopefully coming out soon.
but we will see, fingers crossed :-D
You guys seriously need to stop reporting this "news" over and over again when it can't be substantiated by anyone.
this is what I'm waiting for...
this has to be the longest running apple rumor. (except maybe the g5 laptop)
Weren't there hoax photos of this floating around last year?
Lets just hope they don't decide to use sony batterys when these go into production.
Parent: "Merry Christmas, Timmy."
Child: "Aww, thanks Mom! An iPo-"
>
Child: "AHHHHHHHHHH!!! AHHHHHHHHH!!! My FACE! It's on FIRE!!!! I HATE you mommy!"
Right before christmas would make for great timing. I can't wait to see how they implemented the UI.
Goodbye, zune.
It should go great with the amazing high quality video currently being offered on iTunes and the wireless some people felt was worthless (which is from 2003.) I can't wait for the already done innovation from Steve Jobs & Co!
hahaha
wait...were you serious?
gimee gimee gimee....
Even if this is true, I doubt that it will be an iPod at all. My best guess is it would be a wireless dumb terminal that will work with a Mac/PC and iTV. When I mean not an iPod, I mean it wouldn't have any form of mass storage other than buffer memory for streaming media. This would essentially turn iTunes into a portable media center minus the tv tuner that could be watched in any room in the house. However I would not rule out that you could likely interface it with existing iPods to leach content on the go. So why do I think this isn't the next gen iPod? Think about it, Apple just released the 5.5 Gen video ipod last month. There is no way they are going to just drop a new improved iPod on the market for another 5-6 months. However I could definitely see a wireless dumb terminal that could interface with the current existing iPods.
Not too sure on the timing but they did have a 4g(?) and the iPod photo out at the same time. So if they sold this as a 'true' video iPod and is not marketed as a 6G (which would be a huge mistake) it could do ok.
I think it could happen and if it didn't it wouldn't be because they thought it would kill 5.5G, they've tried this before as I said with the photo/4G though ultimately the photo became the 4G. I think the same thing could happen here.
Listen Up, this IS pretty far fetched, but not for the reason you stated, the 80gb ipods just launched are nothing new, physically the same, brightness control added (which has been in the hardware for OVER six months).
The shuffle and the nano are SWEET and certainly around to stay for six months to a year, but the big boi iPods? They're definately at their peak (read retirement age), so bring on these beauties for crimbo and let them coexist (maybe $449) with our 5.5g's for a while.
Let me hear a hell yeah!
Boy, I really hope this is true!
That would be outrageously awesome, as I'm not interestend in the 5G.
If it was some thing very new with great battery life and a big HD it would be a perfect christmas gift!
zzzzz......what, huh? more "real" video iPod rumors?...zzzz.....oh.....yay for yet ANOTHER concurrent iPod iteration......
If this is true ...zune what?
o rly,
i cant decide if you're a negative nancy or a debbie downer. either way, you're like that kid at my 6th birthday who told what was inside all my gifts before i unwrap them.
Well Serge, when you figure it out (along with how to use simple punctuation), let me know; and make sure you use cool rhetoric again (I'd suggest Blabbing Bobby.)
It was posted again for the nth time over many years so it's bound to be true!
Apple fanboys who said WIFI was ridiculous and that MS was silly to include it..... let's see what you say now; if this gets released. You fanboys will have to eat those words. If it doesn't, well..... it's just a matter of time before Apple copy MS and add WIFI; it will be a must have feature.
More than likely, the wifi option will be used to integrate with Airport Express, iTV and future car stereos.
If Apple uses wifi merely for sharing songs, they'll catch as much flack as Microsoft.
WiFi on a MP3 player is not silly a priori; it's just that including it involves many tradeoffs; and adding secondary features at the expense of primary ones (portable media playing) must be well designed and implemented. If not, you're forcing customers to pay for something which doesn't benefit them.
M$ has been criticized for making the wrong set of tradeoffs in its 1st generation device; and for hyping the WiFi crippled capabilities. Of course, until customers actually get the devices (whether Zune, iPod, or whatever) all this chatter is really either speculation, marketing, or opinion. IOW, mirages.
jeeeez Looouise: "Apple fanboys who said WIFI was ridiculous and that MS was silly to include it..... let's see what you say now; if this gets released. You fanboys will have to eat those words."
WiFi is still ridiculous and MS is still silly to include it, but that does not preclude Apple from throwing it in there simply to say "Yeah so what? We have WiFi now too and your player still sucks. Whadda ya got now?"
At some point, WiFi will probably be included in iPods simply because competitors have it, but it is still the single most overblown and overrated feature in a PORTABLE media player. Where exactly will you use this fancy wireless connection? Sitting at Starbucks? At the library? Or worse, your living room? How portable is that? And what happens when you move out of wireless range?
I don't see WiFi working in 90% of the places people actually WANT it to work, like the park, riding their bikes, their gym, walking around town, on the train or bus. Vast stretches of the country have no widespread WiFi access. WiFi in a portable media player is a non-feature since it will be largely non-functional.
iPod XM - now THAT's a rumor I want to see come to fruition. Satellite is far more pervasive than WiFi and I would love to be able to flip on a radio station and buy a song I hear with the push of a button over the XM system. Now THAT would be useful.
WiFi? Yawn.
WiFi for sending a song or to to a friend for 3 plays as seen on the Zune is useless. WiFi for browsing and buying music on the iTunes music store with your iPod would be amazing. The Zune's WiFi services are lame, and would be even if the same thing was on the iPod... but if WiFi makes it to the iPod it will likely be for the iTMS.
Well Apple will include more than just locked down horribly restricted transfers between iPods like the Zune. If I had to guess I would say that this will be just like the Photo was - a high end iPod that people will pay more for, for more features. WiFi that will interface of course with 'iTV', your Mac, other iPod wifi's and the new iTunes mobile store that will be opened with the release of this device and their phone. Possibly the net, as well.
So please don't say we are going to eat our words. We will kill the Zune before it ever takes off, hopefully.
i think the iphone is the longest running rumor. i remember hearing about that a few years ago.
Honestly I don't care. Music is vastly more important for me, and I plan on buying a 5.5g this weekend ( I currently have a broken iAudio X5L). Plus this should be considered first gen technology. This is Apple (a company which I love by the way), but they can't quite get first gen right.
Like I said, I bet it's a wireless dumb terminal. If it allows you to pop a 5G ipod in like a cartridge, then you have a Zune killer. :) Especially if it works the way I said in my previous comment.
Happy 5th Birthday ipod...... 21st of Ocober 2001......
November 11
The 5 year anniversary would be a good day for Apple to announce the video iPod. I sincerely doubt it would cannibalize the 5G. They just lowered the prices leaving plenty of room for a high end video iPod.
Phredd
How the heck am I supposed to play Zuma on this thing?
I know it's just a matter of time before they release it. Everything points to it being released very soon. The 5.5g is just a marketing gimmick to sell off the rest of the 5gens before the 6gens come out near Christmas time. Definitely waiting to purchase my 6gen.
An add-on is going to turn an existing product into a Zune killer? Unlikely. Apple's industrial design team is much classier than that. Also, the idea of a 'dumb' terminal is exactly that- what would you do with it when not around a wireless signal?
Tzaar, I stand by what I said about the dumb terminal thing. I'm thinking it will be more like the existing screen enhancement devices for video iPods, and be more slingbox like with iTunes no matter where you are. When your not near a wireless hotspot, the device could get content from the iPod. However just like a notebook, at a hotspot content could be streamed to other devices like it, or even with notebooks just like the way iTunes works that way now. However the key feature would be much like Slingbox or Orb where you can reach your PC at home and consume content from it. Although this would obviously physically be larger than the Zune, I don't think anyone would mind, especially if the screen is much larger perhaps at full resolution in the 16X9 format. I think this is meant to be a portable Media Center killer in general, but not an iPod replacement.
They will annonce this the day before the Zune gets released, so it will go on sale 24 hours before anyone can get there hands on a Zune. The Zune will falter and Apple will step in and say here Bill we will give you a hand. And then they cane make Pirates of Silicon Valley 2!
Oh How I laugh at the people who said MS doing WiFi was stupid and now think it's great because apple are doing it.
These rumours has been out and about so much I don't know if they are going to be true or not.
If it is you can see Apple's thinking.
To stop me buying a Zune, Apple are going to have to match Zune feature for feature (Radio, WiFi, All you can eat subscription...) then I might consider it.
Ashley Allen,
When the Zune is released, hold a Zune in one hand and a 30gb iPod in the other. Then put them in your pockets. That should be enough for most people to choose the iPod. The Zune is quite a bit larger and not very pocketable.
Regarding wifi, if Apple cripples wifi like MS did, I'll be the first to stand up and complain.
Apple WILL stay ahead, my guess is that since zune rumors began, apple has pumped more dev time into this 6G iPod. IMO apple would not get left out on such a major step in the products development, this would make the iPod mcuh more central and all-in-one ish part of peopes lives.
My prediction, before christmas aslong as there are no bugs. Apple has had a dodgy year - MacBook heat, stock options and if this comes out buggy, it won't so them any good!!
This is precisely what they did last year. They had a nifty release with the Nano, everybody went crazy about it, and then about a month later had the "...One More Thing" and the iPod started playing video. (that was last year, right?)
It's a proven business model. They made a killing by realeasing in such a way, so it would'nt surprise me to see them do the same thing this year.
Of course, I ain't beleiving untill I'm seeing..
Did anyone really expect Apple to let the Zune go unanswered?
I sure didn't.
Last iPod refresh was seen as a "temporary stopgap" measure by the industry - there was no major redesign or resourcing of components which has typically come with each new iPod rev. Plus, everyone has known that this type of application has been coming from Apple for a long time now.
I doubt Apple will really stick 802.11 wireless of any sort on the iPod though, because they're too concerned with battery life to have a wireless chipset sucking down juice all the time - but apple has done crazy stuff before so I won't rule it out completely.
if this is true -- though i doubt it -- it is deliciously evil. if they can do the wifi correctly (e.g. not add the silly DRM wrapper to everything, allow wifi connections to your computer and to an airport express) it will effectively kill the zune.
sure there will be the anti-apple and xbox crowd that will buy it for personal reasons, but for potential owners without an agenda zune will be a non-issue.
This thing is just coming in at the 6G level, overtaking the 5.5G as the high-end iPod. That's why the prices fell on the 5.5G, with higher capacity. That's kinda what happened with iPod Photo, which I bought only cause they dropped the 40GB, and gave it color. It'll prob have an 80 GB, unless a 100GB HD exists (??). If it is touch screen, they may be able to incorporate a 'game pad' version of the interface ala PSP, and also a 'remote' interface for the iTV. That would be sweet-ass! The wireless thing for sharing tunes will be useless for now, until they get more popular, but as I take the subway every morning, it could be cool to see what others are listening to as we all sit there in our own little msuic-filled worlds, n'est pas?
You mean hold a 30gb iPod with WiFi, a radio and a bigger screen?
Size was the Zune is about the same as my dying 4G iPod which fits in all my pockets fine.
Maybe you shouldn't wear such tight trousers with small pockets?
Tank,
I disagree. I've been carrying a Zune in my pocket on my way to work for the last few weeks and it feels utterly comparable to my iPod.
It would be funny if Apple released this the same day the Zune comes out to piss on Microsoft's parade. Still, I will believe it when I see it.
I thought the Zune wasn't available till November. So, if Apple actually, releases this WIFI player to the public before I get my Zune I am going to sell every last MS stock I have. What, is it with Microsoft?!?!?!? Apple releases products after they have been produced, everyone else pretends they actually have a product available.
I'm not a Microsoft hater, but I have to say that - if Apple ships a unit that looks like this and has WiFi - I don't know why anyone who would buy the Zune, which is absolutely ugly in comparison. All Apple has to do to seal the deal is allow purchase of music/movies from the device over WiFi.
I know that some Engadget writer recently criticized someone for saying that Microsoft would only ship 50,000 Zune units in its first year, but I see that as a reality if Apple gets this out for the holidays.
it was actually Michael Robertson of Linspire/MP3.com etc etc that made that comment, Engadget merely reported it.
I really doubt it for the near future. They just released the 'redesigned' ipods and it would be pretty dumb to cut into that lifespan so soon
I feel sorry for anyone who actually went out and bought the 5.5G iPod iterations. While I would love to have the 6G with its widescreen (if the 6G even actually has it), I am content with my current 5G for the time being.
Realize anyone buying this ipod really aren't the same people as those buying a 5.5 (as some have mentioned on here). The 5.5 will hold a ton of music, which is more important for most people, that's why the can come out with this which will cater to those who will take full advantage of the widescreen, just like the B&W screen vs. the color screen did. Mainly it's going to be about the pricing, this will cost at least 100 bucks more than the high end I bet.
oh man ... my 5.5G arrives today..... oh god this is not cool...
When you will see the price, you will rejoice. ;)
if half of the screen is a touchscreen so you can control the scroll wheel then it will have big smudge marks on half of the screen so every time you use the wheel then the ipod would have to be cleaned
This still could be a possible iPod design coming up this year. If you can think all the way back to a few years ago when the iPod Phto (30GB and 60GB) came out, they sold those fo a bit more than the other balck and white 3g iPods (20GB and 40GB). Then they remade the 20/40GB iPods with color just when they noticed how popular the color screens were. So the 5.5g ipod could just be a repeat of those ipods past, Apple is just testing the water to know if they should sell this true 6G iPod. Every year apple comes out with something new for the ipod not meaning an improved battery or a brighter screen. Those improvements point to apple testing the technology they've developed.
i agree with those who think it might have a different name, if it exists at all...
with a large widescreen, this device will certainly be aimed at watching 'Video' so why not use a different name?
my bet is on iVHS.
add in wifi and just think of all the innovation potential.. and i don't mean Zune like innovation (or lack there of) in throwing in a crappy wireless feature set.
I think they will keep iPod, the brand name is waaaay to strong these days
marketing 101. iPod is a massively recognizable brand. Probably one of the top 10 in existence right now.
They won't change it for the same reason that the iTunes store sells more than just "tunes".
Fantastic! I heard that this Video iPod will come preloaded with a trailer for "Duke Nukem Forever". ;)
about time the old design was way stale. Still I won't be buying, my nano is fine, if I want to watch video I have a T60 and a dell Axim X50v.... both have Bluetooth, and wifi. This will kick that lame arse zune to the curb though. That is if it is not vapourware...
Why not save these posts for when an actual product is released? Ipod rumors are so boring.
While I highly doubt this would happen given the most recent iPod announcements, it could make sense. Steve lowered the prices in order to justify intro'ing this newer version at a higher price.
People could still get entry level video and those willing to spend $450 or so would get this new device. Of course, next year the price would go down but I think people would pay to have it now.
I think this is just a ploy made by apple so that people wont spend money on zune. They will wait till the new ipod comes out, and it will come out. And then apple wont release it for a long ass time just like everything else they ever RandD.
WHO CARES? I'm so done with these rumors! For a year we've been hearing this, enough already! I say no new vidPod threads until Steve pulls it out of his pants onstage!
If you care so little about video ipod rumors, don't click on the story and post in the comments. I however will take heed of the rumors, and have my finger on the submit button on ebay for my 5g as soon as we find out when this widescreen ipod is going to be released.
IMHO, I think that Steve will not market this as a 6G Ipod. The Ipod line up, however, will change. There will be a Video Ipod, 5.5G Ipod, 2G Ipod Nano, and 2G Ipod Shuffle. Adding Video Ipod into the Ipod family. Since last year, Steve introduce 5G Ipod as an Ipod that plays video. This year will be different. This will be the real "Video Ipod," re-designed from the ground up, to play video.
Please No!
I didnt think a new one would be out before the new year so ordered a 5.5 gen - it just arrived today!
I dont' understand the market, there are already PLENTY of personal media players. Heck there's even location free from sony. Apple's marketing is genius. By fueling the rumor mill they keep people waiting for somehting that is already available.
Yeah they just released a new iPod, but remember they lowered their prices, leaving that top of the line price empty, perfect for a video iPod, just as they did with the iPod Photo. You have to pay extra now, but wait till the next update and they will all be video playing.
i believe it only because i just bought an ipod this past weekend. of course!
Just to stoke the fire
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/10/05/apple_video_ipod_launch/
and the good ol BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4334586.stm
Lets hope we in the UK get movies and tv in our itunes
If it rings and says hello I get it!
If anyone at apple (preferably with clout-SJ is one) scans these, BenQ-Siemens Black Box concept phone etc. is your idea, RIGHT!
None of the Mac rumor sites have reported this (yet)...
Well, I would very much like a device that plays video at higher size and resolution than the 5G iPod, but that isn't gigantic like the Archos and other players. I want this for on-train and bus video/movie viewing. It still has to fit in my pocket - that is key and that's where the otherwise nice-looking Archos' devices fail miserably. A 5G that is all-screen would be just about perfect. It doesn't have to have a virtual scroll wheel or scrollwheel at all if it's primarily for movie viewing, so side-mounted button controls would work fine, but one rumored possibility that would resolve the smudge issue was a no-touch screen, perhaps using in-air gestures to control it. That would resolve the problem, if it worked....
I don't know whether this posting is accurate, but I am quite certain that Apple is close to revealing a wireless iPod. In a conversation that I had with Walt Mossberg about three months ago, he indicated that Jobs had told him that they were hard at work on a wireless iPod, and that they significant hurdle that they were working to over come was the battery life (of course!). So whether this post is true, I have no clue, but I do know that Apple has been working on it for several months now. I imagine that three months would be plenty of time to fix battery issue. Time will tell!
I think the video ipod could come in and blend nicely with the current selection. Right now they're missing a high end player: Generations 1-4 we had an iPod at $499 and in Gen 4 they got up to $599. Currently the highest priced iPod is $350.
A true Video Ipod could easily come in at $499 and $599 for, say, an 80 Gig and 120 Gig and still be competitive in the grand scheme of iPods.
I just replaced my old Mini's battery to wait for this...
zi44y, thanks for the stoking... BUT before everyone goes crazy over it take a look at the date of the articles "2005".
Thanks but no thanks.
Wednesday is October 11th also... not the 12th
The Zune is a very bad ipod knock-off, a rebranded Toshiba player to be honest. It's thicker, heavier and blocky looking. The wheel at the bottom isn't touch sensitive like the patented ipod scroll wheel. MS just positioned their buttons to look like an ipod (like everyone else these days) but without the clear advantages a touch-sensitive scroll wheel provide the end user.
Brown - you have to be kidding! All plastic - how cheap can your get? For the same price as a 30GB ipod to boot. Sans one or two features, the Zune is a failure on paper. But MS will lose hundreds of millions in marketing it's crap as loss leaders. Who wouldn't spend $50 more and get an 80GB ipod?
MS is so hypocritical. They criticize Apple's "closed system" for years, then turn around and follow suit after every MS-sponsored ipod competitor fails. They even turn their backs on all of their partners who use their DRM under the "PlaysForSure" brand. "FailsForSure" is more like it. I don't know about you, but I want the least restrictive DRM as possible. MS won't provide that. They will bend over and give the content providers exactly what they want. Anyone rememberwhen Steve said NO to "variable pricing". MS would never stand up to the music and movie studios on pricing the way Jobs has. As long as I have to live with DRM I want it as transparent as possible.
So, to all the Apple haters, all I have to say is wake up. Apple may not be perfect, but Microsoft is pure evil. Do your homework and make being spoon fed by Redmond.
ipodG8TR: "MS is pure evil..."
You sir, are what's known as a fully fledged idiot.
I'd love to see this finally come out. I'd like to see a lot done with the UI though, with some features thrown in.
The only thing I like about the Zune is it's UI and being able to set your own background. I'd like to see that in the next iPod; we've been looking at white screns too long. Also, if you're just listening to music on this thing, I'd like to see the screen fully utilized with more than what's on the 5G layout.
Re:- stoking the fire
Apologies to all
But don’t you just love the consumer hungry public, we are all whipped into a frenzy of excitement and lust, once again, over an apple product, will it wont it, can or cant it…..
But ill be first in the queue Ha Ha
The device could be called "iPod Pro."
Apple likes to keep their product lines simple. =)
Something like this is a long time coming. Now that the Zune and the Creative Zen are out for the holidays, even if they are inferior in quality (IMHO) as compared to Apple products, Apple could lose sales to other larger screen video players with more options. Apple could really boost sales this holiday season with this type of product. I still think there is a market for the 5.5 product as well, even if this was released, just like there is a market for the nano. Different people like choices, mine is definately on a larger widescreen for video, and preferably an Apple product, but if Apple takes too long they could lose out on potential buyers.
I can't help but to say that I knew about this for a month now. I SO psyched to finally see a picture of it. My friend who's close to a high-up guy from one of the distribution facilities saw this picture in early Sept. He's been tellin me it'll be bigger than the standard ipod. Although, the initial release date for this product was some time in October. So keep your eyes out for a release this month or early Nov. I definitely have my theories on where this is all going. If apple could just hook up w/tivo....maybe I should start that rumor...hehehe. screw tivo to go....i'd rather have it on this device. put a little slingbox in it and we're good.
p.s. Anyone want to start a zune bashing t-shirt company? After seeing this article, I'm down to wear it tonight at the bar :-)
This will be announced on, oh , Nov. 13th and bury the zune in grand fashion. Steve loves to rub it in Bill's face any chance he gets.
If it has wifi Lets go the hole hog and have skype, coz we cant ask 4 a phone built in yet or sales will be lost
my requiremnts:
"device (mp3)" with; Bluetooth Headphones, 30+GB, Widescreen (like a Palm Pilot has had for ever), touch screen controls, RED color, PHONE, and maybe a camrea, gps but thats extra (basicly my IPAQ 6515) with an 30+ gb HDD
The bottom line IS
If good old SJ at Apple was to release the perfect POD, would we be rushing “every” year to give him £200 to £300 of your hard earned…..don’t think so……
Lets hear it for Steve
I see it here and other places as well... people predicting that Mac fanboys will change their tune when they hear Apple is about to do a wi-fi iPod. Nowhere have I seen anyone say that Microsoft incorporating wi-fi into the Zune is in and of itself a dumb idea -- but what they DO say, is what Microsoft IS DOING with wi-fi is pretty dumb. (And I agree.) When Apple comes out with their wi-fi iPod it will surely do something more user-friendly and useful than to simply enable one to loan a song that plays 3 times (even if you made the tune yourself).
Now, more on-topic... It wouldn't surprise me in the least to see Apple announce a wi-fi enabled, wide-screen iPod sometime before the Zune hits the street. I think that the 5.5G iPods recently announced was a clever plan, hatched by you-know-who, to put MS at ease and make them THINK they have SOMETHING that might compete with the 5.5G. Then, the day before the "line" starts to form in the Zune stores, "BAM"! Dead-on-arrival.
"When Apple comes out with their wi-fi iPod it will surely do something more user-friendly and useful than to simply enable one to loan a song that plays 3 times (even if you made the tune yourself)."
With Zune, you can't send a song over the Wi-Fi that you made yourself. It can only transfer the DRM'd songs purchased through their store.
That's great, but what about the core 2 duo macbook pro?
Isn't about time they have those out!
if there is a new product announcement, can get some odds on an "early" release of iTV? Apple loves pointing out that they are ahead of schedule (when in reality they barely mention the schedule beforehand).
Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. And in my case, I laid out very specific points about the Zune vesus the ipod. You can't argue with the facts.
•The Zune is based on a Toshiba player.
•The Zune looks a lot like an ipod with a "fake" scroll wheel.
•Brown is an ugly color for a digital music/movie player (my opinion).
•MS will spend millions promoting the Zune and is willing to lose substantial revenue sustaining a foothold in that market.
•MS has abandoned "PlaysForSure" and completely changed their tune on closed systems. The Zune will have a proprietary DRM when the Zune Marketplace opens.
•MS is more desperate to gain ground in the music/movie download business and (in my opinion) will give into demands of the labels more than Apple.
•And one more thing: You will purchase Zune content using MS points. The tricky part is 80 points equals $1. How clever (or dare I say evil). Confuse consumers into thinking Zune songs cost less than those on iTunes because once you buy the credits (in 400 and 800 points packs), you forget that points aren't equal to dollars. Way to create your own form of currency MS.
MS is where they are because of monopolistic practices in addition to some smart business moves early on. I'll give credit where credit is due, but I'll also call a spade a spade.
I was just up Steve Job's ass, and I asked Mossberg and Pogue when they thought the new video iPod would be released. They said "soon", to a chorus of cheers from the 1,200 Engadget-posting fanboys in there with us.