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Wednesday, September 05, 2007
A revolutionary iPod. Really.
I'm sure my friend Jerjo will hate it, as with all things Apple. Steve Jobs could cure cancer and Jerjo would complain that oncologists, while having worse results, are actually the superior product because, well, I don't know why he thinks the way he does. But Apple today launched a bunch of new iPods and one of them could be huge. The iPod Touch is the revolutionary product, essentially an iPhone without the phone. But don't underestimate what that is. It's a touch screen driven music and video player with full wifi internet capability. Is it just me or does that make it the fist truly pocket computer with mainstream potential? People will be buying an iPod but be getting full access to Youtube, internet radio, email, etc. Geeks have long talked about the move away from computer based software to web based programs for everything from spreadsheets to word processing and this just might be the devise that gets us there. Sure you can do all that from a laptop but who wants to carry one of those around all the time? And sure, someone could come up with a handheld computer that does all this, but why design and market something like that when Apple has clandestinely sold one to people already without their even realizing it?
In the couple reviews I have read the whole Starbucks thing is dealt with as kind of an afterthought, a gimmick that might be neat but of no real consequence. In short, Apple has partnered with Starbucks (which is trying to make a name for itself as a new kind of music retailer) to offer a service in all their stores. When you walk into a Starbucks with your new iPod Touch it will automatically display the song currently playing in the shop by opening it in the iTunes Music Store on the iPod. One click and you can download it to your iPod (and later sync it to your home computer) for the standard iTunes $0.99. Your iPod will also display the last ten songs played in the store and you can do the same with them. Just a clever way to get people to impulse buy songs they may or may not want, right? Think about this, tho. When you go into the store your iPod is instantly trading information with that particular store. If it knows what song is playing it is a snap for it to also know what items are on the menu as well. How hard is it to order your coffee with the same process? And doing so pays for it with your iTunes account. You're bringing your stereo and computer with you but leaving your wallet at home. This is not new technology but it is brilliant in its potential application. A huge chain of stores coupled with a devise that tens of millions of people will have in their pockets may be the critical mass to start the long discussed cashless society. Imagine millions of people buying all sorts of things with just their iPod and all that money flowing thru their iTunes account. I bet this move is not unnoticed in the PayPal offices today. Come to think of it, I bet the credit card companies are paying attention, too. Might Apple do to financial services what it has done to the music industry?
You heard it here first, when the country moves to virtual currency we will look back and say this is where it started. Forget how cool a music/video player Apple has launched, the real significance today is a devise positioned to change the way we live.
[Even as I was typing this it was only slowly sinking in how brilliant a move this was. There are a billion things that are doable with off the shelf technology but are held back because the widespread infrastructure is not in place. I've long thought that ubiquitous wifi would put an end to things like satalite radio. After all, why pay for a couple hundred stations when you could get every streaming audio channel in the world over the internet. The drawback was getting companies to build and people to buy wifi enabled devises to make it possible. Starting today someone IS building them and people will buy them by the millions without even knowing it! We will soon be doing all the things we have been promised for years , and who would have predicted we would be doing them on an iPod? Apple is positioned to dominate a market most people don't even know is coming. Brilliant. Note to self: buy stock.]
Labels: Apple, iPod, revolution
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