Five years of the iPod -- your thoughts

[limitdeditionlayla]

Sorry, didn't realise you guys were getting intimate there.

*steps out*

[wayved]

THIS IS WHY I LOVE VINYL:
Shitloads of cool music thats out there has not been pressed into zeros and ones yet. Old Motown 45s sound better to me on 45 on a ANY system cos they have been beaten up and loved--my moms 45 collection got raided by me several times. Plus the mixes they use on CDs (especially of old soul music) are less hot and sound like shit. Sure you get the basic sound, but its not all there. Give me the real deal.

Im not old enough to remember what is was like to buy a RECORD exclusively--you had a choice, cassette vinyl or CD. I usually bought the cassette cos a broke ass teen not old enough to drive mowing lawns isnt gonna pay for a CD (18 bucks!) when you wanted to hear 10 new and old artists a month. But the first thing I did when I bought a real stereo setup was aquire a turntable.

Sometimes i wanna lay a thick piece of vinyl on the turntable and go about my business. It really is not about sound quality--audiophiles actually get on my last nerve to be honest ("what do you mean you dont have the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab edition of "Born To Run?" Most people that are into that kinda shit are more intersted about the scientific aspect of sound than the actual music itself)

Sometimes I wanna hear music on wax-uncompromised--the way it was released to the public. skips scratches and all. And I want to hear it loud.

PLUS-on alot of CDs (especially earlier ones) I notice that the percussion suffers--cymbals sound like ice cubes.

I appreciate the MP3, nowadays its all I listen to. I have a little MP3 player that holds 512 for workout etc and a disc one that I use everyday that holds my weekly new stuff--about 12 new albums.

I do love vinyl. I suggest that anyone here who loves music whos not have a turntable to go get one. In this modern age its a dinosaur but you'll be hooked.

[wayved]

I would love an Ipod though, buts its gotta hold all of it. They dont have one that will hold all I want yet.

[rockysigman]

Through a stroke of luck, I now have a 40gb iPod photo that I got for relatively cheap. Is my life forever changed?

[Paul]

This has been rumored for awhile now...looks like it's about to happen...

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Mac fans clamor for 'iPhone'
POSTED: 9:35 a.m. EST, November 21, 2006
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SAN FRANCISCO, California (Reuters)

-- The long-rumored arrival of a hybrid mobile phone and iPod music player from Apple Computer Inc. has morphed from a question of "If" to "When" among fans and analysts.

Since Apple's introduction of the iPod five years ago, the company has sold more than 67 million of the devices and more than 1.5 billion songs from its iTunes online music store.

Now, Chief Executive Steve Jobs and Apple are poised to roll out what has been dubbed the "iPhone," perhaps as soon as January next year at the Macworld conference that kicks off every new year, analysts say.

"From a technical standpoint, the phone is pretty much done," said American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu. "It's a big endeavor and we believe it's beyond speculation."

Speculation has simmered since even before the introduction of the ROKR phone from Motorola Inc. that uses a slimmed-down version of the iTunes digital music jukebox to play 100 songs. But sales were lackluster as users complained the phone did not hold more songs.

In recent weeks, blogs that cater to Apple fans have been buzzing insistently that the iPhone is coming. Just this week, the Taiwanese financial daily, Commercial Times, reported that Taiwan-based Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd. is building the iPhone.

"There is a lot of buzz," said Gartner analyst Mike McGuire. "But there are also a lot of things in the way that make it difficult. Which carrier and the like they use are not trivial challenges."

An Apple spokesman said the company does not comment on rumors or speculation.

Jobs and Apple are famously tight-lipped about unannounced products. But company Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer did hint about a possible mobile phone with iPod-like functions during a conference call with analysts in July to discuss third-quarter financial results.

Asked to comment on how Apple would compete with offerings such as Sony Corp.'s popular Walkman phone, Oppenheimer said he believed Apple would do just fine.

"We don't think that the phones that are available today make the best music players," he said. "We think the iPod is. But over time, that is likely to change. And we're not sitting around doing nothing."

Analyst Wu believes the iPhone would be a candy-bar-shaped phone, rather than a flip phone like Motorola's huge hit, the RAZR mobile phone.

And he believes the iPhone would not be too bogged down with all the bells and whistles often crammed into today's smart phones.

"I think it'll be pretty simple with functionality probably similar to an iPod Nano," Wu said. "It's going to be very similar to the Sony Walkman phone, which is very media-centric and that's Apple's strength."

The now-widely-expected iPhone is also a way for Apple to add yet another line of revenue to its business. Sales of the iPod, still far and away the No. 1 digital music player, have moderated somewhat recently and sales of Mac computers, now powered by Intel Corp. chips, have set records.

But with about a billion cell phones expected to be sold next year, if Apple can break into that market and be half as well received as its iPod was, it adds up to serious dollars.

Wu estimates that a 1 percent share of a billion unit market, with the iPhone carrying an average price tag of $200, could mean about $2 billion a year more for the Cupertino, California-based company.

But Apple needs to learn from the ROKR and introduce a real phone, not just a music player with a phone jammed in almost as an afterthought, analysts said.

"The key challenge here is if they were doing it, it has to be a very good phone and a good extension or subset of the iPod and iTunes software," McGuire said. "It's not just music. It would have to be a good media device."

One other not inconsiderable decision is what cell phone standard -- CDMA or GSM, for example -- the phone would use and whether Apple would link up with one mobile phone company to provide the service.

Some Mac watchers, such as site ThinkSecret, have mentioned Cingular as an early, exclusive winner. Still others say the phone will be sold with an Apple-branded MVNO, or mobile virtual network operator, in which Apple effectively leases excess capacity from other mobile service providers and resells it to customers.

"The other thing is finding a set of carriers or an ecosystem where they wouldn't need to be dependent on the carriers," McGuire said. "But they've won over tough audiences before, like the music labels."

Copyright 2006 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[luke]

I've learned to hate something about my iPod- the damn wheel thing. How the fuck are you supposed to work that thing in the cold months? Gloves don't leave my hands this time of year, so I'm all having to adjust the volume on my iPod with my mouth. Lame.

[skvorisdeadsorta]

I've always wondered about that......

[Thorngrub]

I wanna iPot to piss in...

[Kensterberg]

luke said:

I've learned to hate something about my iPod- the damn wheel thing. How the fuck are you supposed to work that thing in the cold months? Gloves don't leave my hands this time of year, so I'm all having to adjust the volume on my iPod with my mouth. Lame.

One of the things about living in far west Texas ... I've never had this issue come up. Not once. Of course, if I'd had an iPod back in the nineties when I used an old Porsche with no heat as my daily driver I'm sure it would have been a different story.

[Galactus]

Oh, poor Ken can't use his iPod and drive his Porsche, boo hoo...

[Kensterberg]

Actually, in that car, you couldn't hear anything at highway speeds anyway ... noisy, uncomfortable, but glued to the road. A ton of fun ... and sometimes with the roof on you could even hear the cassette deck!

But my Element now has a great stereo, and even has an iPod input jack. (Plus, it holds big dogs a whole lot better than a two-seat Porsche!)

[luke]

ded said:

Oh, poor Ken can't use his iPod and drive his Porsche, boo hoo...

Hahaha...this should have been post of the day.

[Kensterberg]

luke said:

ded said:

Oh, poor Ken can't use his iPod and drive his Porsche, boo hoo...

Hahaha...this should have been post of the day.

Yeah it should've, but I can' always be arsed to make a formal POTD. So will you guys settle for me giving it a bump here so others can see it?

[wayved]

Let me know when the Ipod is up to 200 Gig.

[luke]

I'm thinking that'll be around 2008.