How About Them Apples?

OK, so after the iPhone was released in late June I must say I felt pretty burned out by Apple mania. The hype and hysteria was everywhere and I was in the middle of it. That said, I did break down and buy an iPhone. I also bought a video iPod for my wife's birthday last week. After today's series of announcements I'm wishing that I'd waited on both purchases. Curse you, Steve Jobs. In my books, your timing is NOT impeccable.

The iPod Touch looks similar to the iPhone except it doesn't have the phone component and a few other features. But it does have increased storage space (8GB/16GB vs. the iPhone's 4GB/8GB versions) and features Wi-Fi iTunes. It's supposed to be in stores in a few weeks. It'll even have a version of Apple's browser Safari. That's easily the headline from the Moscone West convention center in San Francisco, though Jobs did throw out a few other iPod updates. There'll be increased storage, new colors, and better interfaces such as a wider screen. Plus there's a new partnership with Starbucks to buy songs while waiting for your Frappuccino, and there'll soon be do-it-yourself ringtones available for the iPhone.

That's all well and good. And being an early adopter of most things I can't complain too much, but I sure wish Apple had rolled out the iPod Touch first instead of the iPhone. Of course, then they wouldn't have hooked hundreds of thousands of people in a two-year AT&T contract. (Jobs claims Apple is close to selling its one millionth iPhone.) The phone feature of the iPhone is fine, but I'd scale down to the iPod Touch. Oh, and Jobs also announced a price cut in the iPhone 8GB model, which he said is the one most people want. Starting today it's down to $399 from $599. So now I REALLY wish I'd waited. A lesson for those of us eager to be first.

This is simply the way it is with Apple and its iPods. There's always a newer, better and flashier one coming down the Cupertino pike. You could argue that Apple gets it right after a few upgrade cycles, or you could argue that they're just eager to keep generating revenue from a device that seems to have saturated the gadget market. (Is there actually ANYONE left who doesn't have an iPod of some kind and wants one??) In any case, it never ceases to amaze me that people still pay so much attention to one company's line of tech products. But that's just me.