Posted on 10/16/2005 8:11:26 AM PDT by SamAdams76
THAT new iPod nano may be impossibly slim and stylish but the sad truth is it's already obsolete. Even its bigger, video-playing brother - announced last week - will be old technology by the time it hits the shops next month.
For 2006 is to be the year of the Ultimate Gadget, when the phone, music player, camera, organiser, games machine, and pretty much everything apart from the kitchen sink, is crammed into one attractive, effective and easy-to-use package.
The consumer electronics industry is convinced we're tired of carrying two or three separate devices to deal with our entertainment and communication needs. The marketing gurus call the solution "convergence".
And while many modern mobile phones offer a bewildering array of functions none yet does them particularly well. But a series of recent developments have convinced technology-watchers we are on the verge of getting the electronic equivalent of a Swiss Army Knife:
• Tiny, high-capacity hard drives have been developed which allow thousands of songs and hours of high-quality video to be stored on devices no bigger than a mobile;
• South Korean firm Samsung has developed a tiny computer chip powerful enough to process numerous tasks simultaneously; and has also showcased mobiles containing hard disks;
• Software giant Microsoft is working on a mobile-based version of Windows that will handle a wide variety of jobs; and
• PalmOne already claims to have produced the ultimate gadget, the £400 Treo 650, a handheld computer that incorporates a camera but is likely to appeal more to gadget addicts than mainstream consumers.
Meanwhile, the firm that many would argue started it all, Sony, is not far from the action. Sony Ericsson will unveil its W800i Walkman Phone, which includes an organiser, camera, video camera and player, and music player, later this month.
Apple, the creators of the iPod, is refusing to give anything away but industry sources are convinced its iPod Video is just the beginning of the route to convergence.
Paul Harris, Professor of Screen Media at the University of Abertay, Dundee, said there is now a demand for an ultimate gadget, but it will have finally arrived when people no longer think of it as a gadget.
"It will become as essential as a kettle in the home," he said. "It will include a telephone, camera, texting, music store. It will allow you to download programmes and songs from anywhere."
Robert Strohmeyer, gadgets editor of the technology journal Wired, said: "As far as the ultimate convergence gadget is concerned, we are almost there. A series of new phones will come out in the next couple of months which will bring all the functions together."
He added: "One in particular, the Samsung i300, has a hard disk and, for song storage, it is up there with the iPod nano and iPod Mini, and it is a phone and organiser. We can expect convergence devices to become much more common about the end of 2006 onwards. But these devices need to be under £200 in order to become mainstream."
There is another important side to the development: style. Merely cramming features onto a Mars Bar-sized piece of electronics will not be enough to sell, according to experts.
Mainstream consumers, and especially women, have little interest in expensive gadgets which are anything other than completely intuitive.
The iPod's success among women has been shown by a huge increase in their numbers downloading music from the internet. New figures show that while in 2004 96% of downloads were bought by men, this year 31% of the customers are female as women have embraced the new technology.
Shane Greeves, executive creative director of marketing agency Future Brand, said: "The element of style is completely crucial. What Apple has pioneered with the iPod is the philosophy that products do not have to be big and chunky; they can be slim and elegant. One of the key factors that attracts women to iPods is its simplicity. Women don't like gadgets and they are technophobes. On a mobile all women want is an address and text and that is it."
Michael Parsons, the editor of the personal technology website Cnet.co.uk, said: "What Apple cracked with the iPod, was making it easy enough to use. Their Clickwheel on the front allowed the user to find one song among 4,000. There needs to be a similar advance in making gadgets easy to use in order to make a 'super gadget' popular among mainstream buyers."
But there are other challenges in the months and years ahead, among them developing batteries which are both small and high-capacity. Colour screens running video use up plenty of power, yet consumers will demand many hours' use between recharges.
Graham Whitehead, manager of future developments at BT Scotland, agrees the ultimate gadget is on its way, but questions whether its appeal will be universal. "Personally, I quite like having an iPod, which plays music and that is it.
"I like having a high-quality digital camera, which is a good camera and nothing else. If the ultimate device has to fit in a pocket, how big can the screen be? Will it be big enough for those of us who are getting on a bit?"
I found that pretty amazing. I know that my wife would never download a song in billion years. In fact, I don't know of a single woman who cares about downloading music. Generally, women are content to just listen to whatever streams over the radio and are not collectors of music like many men are.
So the fact that we had this sudden shift of women downloading music is intriguing.
I disagree with the article in that the iPods being shipped today will be extinct in a year. I was never a fan of the so-called "Ultimate gadget". To me, a cell phone should manage your contacts, appointments and be used for phone calls. When I want to listen to music, I usually have my cell phone shut off and I don't want to be interrupted by phone calls when listening to my music (or soon) be watching my video.
Having a device that does all of these functions is a bit disconcerting to me. I don't think I'd ever own such a "jack-of-all-trades" device. I like to separate work from play.
One less thing to worry about since I've never owned an IPod and see no need to in the future.
Multifunction does not attract me either. I want the device to do the very best at its mission and not try to be all things.
They could easily design the device so you could turn off the phone while listening to music, so there would be no concern about being interrupted.
"One less thing to worry about since I've never owned an IPod and see no need to in the future."
Ditto. I've got all I need with Lotus Notes and Netscape 1.0. [ \ sarcasm ]
I tend to agree with the article in some ways. I believe AAPL is NOT a good long investment. The IPOD is benifiting from the "cool" factor now, but many clones already exist that have more technology built in. My cell phone is Verizon with VCast. I have a LG 9800 that can play and download tons of video NOW. It has MP3 capability, etc. MY cell will do lots more NOW than the newly intro'd IPOD. The IPOD's are limited in what they can do. The capabilities of the IPOD is only a small peice of devices that will be/and are available. I want GPS, Cell, Internet, MP3, and Video. My LG9800 has it now.
ping
I got this beat too, as I don't own one .
Not everyone wants to carry around a digital camera, an ipod, a cell phone, a satelite radio, etc. If they can make one device that does all those functions well in a small enough package, why not? Certainly, if you want to take high quality photos of an important event, you probably would want to have the latest 8 megapixel camera with 1 gig of memory and quality zoom lens. But in most cases, you don't want to haul around extra devices if you don't have to.
This guy gets it. Some people just want a good phone, or a good camera, not a swiss army techno pod. The functions are so disimilar between phone, camera, music player and blackberry I dont see a true market for device that does it all. It's impossible, even with reduction in size. You can have one device that does it all in a mediocre manner or you can pick and choose.
I had a palm treo and it sucks. The only good thing about it is freeping and getting directions and browsing the internet. My ipod is fine and won't be obselete to me.
The "cool" factor now has been the success of marketing since the transistor was invented. What's your point?
My HP pocket PC plays video, plays MP3s, sends/receives E-mail, can surf the Internet, stores appointments/contact info, creates Word and Excel documents... I'm content.
Great, now I'll finally upgrade my Commodore 64!
I enjoy the ipod. I have no need or desire for the other gadgets listed. My wife uses her cell phone all the time. I can't stand the things. I know I am old fashioned but it ticks me off when I go to the market and see all these females (mostly) walking up and down the aisles talking on their friggin' cellphones.
Whatever it is, as long as it runs Emacs - I'm in.
I'm still waiting on a Dick Tracy watch.
I mostly agree, but I'm tired of looking like Batman, with my cell phone, iPod, Palm Pilot, camera and a jacknife all hanging on my belt. Once they get a device that's really good at all those functions (except the jacknife part), I'll switch to it.
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Hollywood's actors, directors and writers unions said they would vet Apple's new iPod portable video player so members get their share of residuals.
"The announcement today unveiling the Apple Video iPod represents the latest chapter in the ongoing technological evolution of our industry," said a joint statement by the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, the Directors Guild of America, the Screen Actors Guild, the Writers Guild of America East and the Writers Guild of America West.
"We have not yet heard from the responsible employers of our members, but we look forward to a dialogue that ensures that our members are properly compensated for this exploitation of their work," said the statement.
"As the representatives for the creative community, we embrace new technologies that expand distribution of material featuring the work of our members," they said.
On Wednesday, Apple launched an iPod for music videos and television shows.
The US tech giant also sealed a content deal with Walt Disney to allow fans to watch their favorite programs such as "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost" on the go.
The new gadget can store up to 15,000 songs, 25,000 photos or over 150 hours of video.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.