News & Views

Apple Simplifies iPod Product Matrix
By Bill Davies

On February 23, 2005, Apple shuffled its iPod lineup to simplify what was becoming a myriad of too many iPods to choose from. Additionally, prices were dropped in many categories, because with the Mac mini selling for $499, iPods offering a fraction of the minis functionality and priced at $599 seemed like a pretty stupid idea. (My words, not theirs.)

For those who just want the big picture, it goes something like this: The iPod mini now starts at $199 instead of $249. The color gold was dropped and the remaining colors are deeper and more vibrant. The cheap model remains at 4gb, while the high-end mini now sports 18 hour battery life (more than double the original models battery life) with a 6gb hard drive. The new iPods sync via USB 2.0, so your Mac better have USB 2.0 instead of USB 1.1. You can still sync your iPod via Firewire, but that cable will cost you $18 extra dollars.

The legacy 4G white iPod in the 40gb size is history. The traditional iPod now comes either as a white ($299) or U2 edition ($349) and holds 5000 songs (20gb) with a black and white display. Why is the U2 edition more? Because you get a coupon for a U2 box set of all their music releases from the iTunes music store, and some racy red and black graphics on the iPod. (So if you cant stand U2 but have $349 to spend, skip the U2 iPod, and get the new, color-screen 30gb iPod for the same price.)

The high end model now becomes the iPod Photo with a color display, available as a slim 30gb (5000 songs, $349) or as a not-so-slim 60gb model (15,000 songs, $449). And the big news here is that Apple has heard the complaints about how useless the iPod Photo is for photographers, since you cant connect a digital camera to it. So sometime in March 2005 theyll be shipping a $29 accessory that will let you directly connect your digital camera to the iPod Photo and download your pictures from the camera to the iPod. Docks appear to be history, but you can still buy them for $39 (and firewire cables) as an accessory.

The big non-announcement is the absence of Bluetooth iPods. Yours truly has written to Steve Jobs and suggested that a Bluetooth iPod would be a wonderful way to remote control a Mac mini being used as a home theater or home media center. Steve didnt bother to respond to my email. But earlier this week, some Motorola minion let slip that future iPods would be able to connect to your car stereo and play music in your car via Bluetooth. It probably also goes without saying that Motorolas upcoming cell phone that will let you play iTunes music on the phone would be a perfect candidate to sync with a Bluetooth iPod or a Bluetooth Mac. Only time will tell on that one.

Apple also released iPod Updater 2005-02-22 for all iPods. This software release adds shuffle functionality to white iPods, compatibility with iTunes 4.7, and, if I had to bet money, Id guess that it further modifies the firmware to prevent iPods from playing music purchased from Reals Rhapsody Digital Music Service site, and forces you to buy your music from the iTunes music store, or to rip the CD to digital yourself from your own physical copy of the CD.

© 2005 Bill Davies, MacNexus. May be reprinted by any authorized Apple User Group without prior authorization.

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Story as published:
You can access it at the following url:
http://www.macnexus.org/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=236
Contact info: bdavies@macnexus.org