[opendtv] Re: Nine ways Apple, Inc. just changed the landscape of consumer electronics

  • From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Sun, 14 Jan 2007 07:21:11 -0500

At 10:49 AM -0800 1/13/07, John Willkie wrote:

You're a real laff riot.  iPhone redefined the smartphone category?  There's
this little Chinese-only product that will do that.  It enables you to make
cell phone calls when no WiFi is available, but to use WiFi for VOIP when
you're within WiFi range.  A customer of mine has been using it for months.
It's not available in the U.S. yet; he paid almost as much for shipping as
the phone.
That's nice. There is nothing remarkable about the PHONE portion of the iPhone other than the user interface. It remains to be seen whether Apple/Cingular will block the use of VOIP calling via WiFi networks. 



By the way, on this list within the last two years, I said what the IPod
needed was a cellphone built in.   Other manufacturers have offered such for
more than a year.
And Apple/Motorola have been selling one via Cingular for more than a year. It's an obvious feature for the computer in you pocket. 



I'd put it that Apple gave iPod users the only real -- stretch -- reason to
upgrade again, and to pay once again for the music they already own.  Or,
did they somehow solve the issue that you can't move your FairPlay licensed
music content from one unit to another?
Again you are totally misinformed. Apple had ALWAYS given you the right to play the songs you have purchased from the iTunes store on five computers and any iPods that you sync to them. You do this by authorizing a computer to play your purchases through a very simple process at the iTunes store. If you have iTunes on you PC I could easily authorize it to play and make copies of my purchases, as currently I am only using two of my authorizations (my computer and my wife's). We load all of our purchased music on both of our iPods. You can also de-authorize a computer, so if you upgrade, you just move the authorization to a new computer.
Apple ALSO lets you share your music if you want to - even the protected content. I remember a presentation I saw at the Apple store in Soho. The presenter was talking about sharing music in her apartment building where they have a firewall and broadband in each apartment unit. When you connect to the network, if you choose to share all or part of your iTunes library, everyone behind the firewall can access your music and play it via iTunes on their computer - but they cannot copy protected music. The same sharing scheme applies for Apple TV and now the iPhone via WiFi. 



I have a bass-ackwards relative who has three separate music libraries on
three iPods.  As much as he likes the product (having spent more than 2
grand on them) he has bought his last one, since the music libraries cost
more than the hardware.
Maybe its NOT your relative that has things bass-ackwards. There is no reason that he would have needed to buy any song more than once, and I suspect he knows this. Perhaps he now has the music he wants, and therefore has no need to buy more.
More to the point, the vast majority of music on my iPod and I suspect most others is music that I already owned. With iTunes it is very easy to import all of your CDs - an online database automatically loads the track names, and if you have ever purchased any music from the iTunes store it also loads the album artwork. This is important, because one of the user interface modes for iTunes uses the metaphor of browsing through a stack of albums. This carries over to the big screen interface for music browsing in Front Row (the software that lets you use a remote control to run media on your Mac or Apple TV. It also caries over to the way you browse videos, TV shows, podcasts, etc. And it now works via the multipoint touch screen interface on the iPhone, which will likely also be used on the next generation of iPods as well. 




Ever tried to 'repair' an iPod?  He's spent almost as much on 'repairs' as
hardware.


Yes, I replaced the battery in my Mini. It took about 10 minutes.
I have never had a hardware failure on either of our iPods, although I did need to dry out my unit when I got some water in the click wheel. The new touch screen interface should be even more reliable. I have had problems with the original iTrip FM transmitters that connected via the earphone jack. The FM link to a car radio is not ideal, so i bought a radio with aux inputs for the iPod, which works great. 



What's happening here is the serious onset of the disposable culture.  Buy
an iPod, buy the music.  Next year, buy another IPod, buy the music again.
Wedding the Ipod to AT&T?  People HATE their cellphone company.  Change your
cellphone company, revert from the iPhone to an iPod, and buy your music
again.
Your wrong John. Buy once use many. There HAS been a controversy about people loading up iPods with music they own, then selling the loaded iPods on eBay for more than the cost of the iPOD. Another twist on music piracy. 



If only Zune had a cellphone in addition to the FM radio ...  (And didn't
wed me to a cellphone vendor.)


I'm sure that Microsoft will jump on this too.



I'm leaning toward the Treo with video that doesn't come with a cell service
vendor/subsidy lock.
I'm with you on the service option front. Fortunately I am already a Cingular customer, so I will be able to use the iPHONE when I get one. There are still some unanswered questions regarding how "open" the iPHONE really is.
This is just speculation, but I suspect that one of the reasons for the Cisco/Apple PR stunt related to the name is that Jobs may have learned his lesson with the Mac - i.e not opening it up for others to manufacture. My guess is that Apple really wants to license the iPhone technology, rather than hoarding it for themselves. We shall see.
I think it would benefit John, and perhaps others on this list to watch the MacWorld keynote and see what Apple has actually accomplished with the iPhone software and user interface. The 360 x 480 high res display (160 dpi) allows a great deal of information to be presented - but the way you actually use it to access content is what is really a breakthrough. 

http://events.apple.com.edgesuite.net/j47d52oo/event/

Regards
Craig


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