Thoughts on Apple’s “One More Thing”

OK. So, like every other Mac junkie, I’ve read the news, I’ve watched the webcast of the event, I’ve read the specs on Apple’s website, and now I’m ready to chime in.

iMac
What else is there to say? Apple has upped the ante on the iMac yet again. Adding an built in iSight, making the Superdrive standard on all models, and upping the systems specs while retaining the same prices, is nothing short of amazing. But Apple has taken it to the next level with Front Row. Obviously, this is just the start. While it makes sense to be able to use your iMac as a media hub in your living room, the future implications are obvious. This software (along with the stylish remote control) enables your Mac to be the center of your digital living room. Take a Mac mini, hook it up to a HDTV, throw in some DVR software, and you have a recipe for success. We all know it’s coming. It’s just a matter of how long before we get there.

iPod
Another home run. Again, the price remains the same while specs and storage are increased. My only concern is whether the $249 iPod nano sales will be canabalized from the $299 iPod sales. The size on the nano is it’s selling point, but 7x the storage, along with video playack capability is a lot of feature for $50. With nearly 1 million nanos sold in 17 days, I doubt Apple is too concerned.

iTunes 6
Really this should be iTunes 5.1. But if Apple wants to skip a version, who am I to complain. All of the additions to the music store are welcome. I really like the new Gift features. You could always buy someone iTunes credit, but being able to buy them a particular track/album to me says more. Of course, if the recipient doesn’t share your taste, they might not necessarily agree.

As for iTunes 6 biggest feature – video… Well, $1.99 for music videos seems reasonable. I can’t think of any music video I would ante up for, but hey – I’m 35 and not the target audience. I’m a little bothered that your download is only a 320×240 resolution movie. Perfect for the iPod of course, but played on your Mac, this will be tiny. During Steve’s demo, he played the U2 video purchased from the music store on the big screen, and it looked decent enough. Of course, the true test will be when it’s on your 20 inch display in front of you.

Content will be the determining factor for iTunes 6 success. Getting Disney/ABC onboard with selling $1.99 replays of shows is a great start. I’m sure most people wouldn’t mind ponying up $1.99 every now and again to download an episode of their favorite show that they missed. Of course, the geeks (like myself) will go to great pains to find the shows on BitTorrent, download them, and recode them for insertion on to our iPods. But Joe and Jane sixpack have little interest in doing this themselves.

The video content is light right now (only about 2000 titles), but that will change quickly. Other networks will be clamoring to have their shows available for download on iTunes. Independent film makers will start selling their wares as well. Podcasts will go video. DTV will quickly find itself dumping its video on an iPod.

Lastly, I have to thank Steve for closing out his performance with Wynton Marsalis and his bands performance. After the classlessness of Kanye West on the last special event, Wynton was a treat.

Category: News