Results tagged “Gadgets” from ScottandMargo.net

"Gizmodo iPhone Hands On Part Deux: Why Isn't it White and Other Questions" via TUAW

Gizmodo's reporting that, among other things, that the iPhone isn't really running OSX and that they're not going to allow third-party developer support. I guess that answers a couple of questions that I had about it.

That's kind of disappointing. I understand Apple's need to keep the platform pristine and seamless and that they tend to do that by strictly controlling what goes on it (like the way the iPod is controlled). I'm guessing that any applications that come out for the iPhone will be handled through the iTunes store like the iPod games are.

That's a little disappointing to me. Restricting third-party development support like this makes the iPhone a prettier but less flexible Windows mobile phone. The Cingular 8525 isn't as slick, but it's a lot more flexible and ultimately usable because I can go out and find (or potentially write) the software I need to do what I want with it.

Technorati Tags: Apple, Gadgets, iPod, iTunes, Marketing, Technology

A look behind the iPod/iTunes report - Paul Thurrott's Internet Nexus

This analysis pops up every year, it seems. Someone does the math on how many songs iTunes has sold and divides by the number of iPods are out there, and the number they end up with is pretty small.

I'm one of those people. Here's a screenshot of my Purchased folder in iTunes (7):

I've had an iPod for almost 2 years now (since the first Shuffles came out in Jan 2005) and I have five songs Purchased from the iTunes Music Store. Three of those are from the 5-track sampler that I got free when I registered my Shuffles. I deleted two of those songs since because they suck. I like TKO so that'll always be around. The other two haven't been listened to recently enough for me to decide whether to delete them...though the Blow It Out track has a 1-star rating, which I use as a "this sucks" marker. I'm a bit of a NIN fanboy, so when The Hand That Feeds came out, iTunes was the faster way to get it (I have the CD single too, and the vinyl picturedisc). I needed Cars for something relatively quickly so I didn't have time to track down a copy of The Pleasure Principle to use it from there.

I will probably always prefer buying CDs over digital downloads of songs. Gary Numan's Replicas album is $9.99 on iTunes, and it's $11.98 at Amazon. For that extra $2, I get a non-compressed version of the album, all of the artwork and a physical CD and an MP3 version for my iPod (after importing it to iTunes, of course). I consider that to be a better value than the iTunes version where all I get is a DRM'd AAC file.

There's always a risk when buying recent albums that you get a couple good songs and a bunch of filler crap, which kinda kills the value argument. Some times I do better at avoiding that issue than other times. I used to buy a lot of singles. Lately, I just avoid bands that do that altogether. Going indie helps (I love CDBaby) since unsigned bands have less of a reason to add filler crap to an album. I think that's another topic for another post though.

Technorati Tags: Gadgets, Marketing, Music

I've been keeping an eye out on the buzz about Microsoft's iPod-killer...the Zune. I wasn't expecting a lot. A portable audio/video player is an portable audio/video player these days so there's not much to compete on for features anymore. What's left to do with one, anymore? On Thursday, Microsoft dumped out a lot more details on the Zune so I'm

With the Zune preview pictures that have been coming out, I was impressed by the screen size. I'm using a Nano now (not the new one), so the music I carry with me is pretty manageable, but I think that if I had a big iPod and was carrying my whole library around, it'd get a little tough to navigate in that little iPod screen. I have no interest in watching movies on the current iPod screen. I've written before on what I'm wishing for from Apple (besides the long rumored iPhone): The full touchscreen video iPod. I could see myself watching a movie on one of those while on the treadmill or something as long as I can use my own DVDs. The Zune's screen, while not ideal, comes closer to being video-friendly than the iPod does.

What other innovation can there be with a device like this? In spite of both company's reputations, Microsoft beat Apple to the next level for mobile audio/video devices.

Sharing.

The Zune has Wi-Fi and you can wirelessly beam songs from one Zune to another. Isn't sharing of music like that kinda illegal? Probably. Microsoft has an innovative solution to that issue too. Any music that you receive stops working in 3 days and you can't share it with anyone else...and if you like the song, you can flag it to buy it from the Zune Marketplace (through URGE?).

That's a smart solution to a difficult question of how to legally share your music with friends. I'm impressed, Microsoft. Great idea.

Is it enough for me to buy one? Not yet. The featureset is impressive and the UI is beautiful but I'm not in the market for a $300 device that holds all of my music...the nano is just fine for now, thanks. Since the Zune is a Microsoft product, I'd expect that it's Windows-only which is a showstopper for me since the only computer in the house here is a Powerbook. It's definitely something interesting to keep an eye on, and I'm especially interested to see what Apple does in response.

Microsoft's Zune Delivers Connected Music and Entertainment Experience
Microsoft Unveils Zune MP3 Player

Technorati Tags: Gadgets, iPod, Microsoft, Technology