iPod Cell Phones coming, but why and when?

Some insightful commentary over at roughly drafted.com regarding Apple iPod and adding a cell phone capability to it - or adding iPod - ness to a cell phone. Tough to tell what would happen in this Chicken/Egg debate.

Motorola of course has some connections now to iTunes to move music onto some of their units, but again, that is not the "iPod" experience, only a pale substitute.

The tough part for cell phone companies (either or both the hardware and services) will be convincing Apple that there is enough raw profit (not revenue - PROFIT) to make Apple risk their precious iPod brand on a telephony solution. It would be like convincing CocaCola to put their name on a new candy bar or potato chip - snacks to be sure, but not with the mind numbing profits of a soft drink.

Plus, the cell phone partner risks huge market collapse of their other hardware solutions that may actually threaten their business while it benefits apple. There are a lot of old phones still in use out there, and replacement with an Apple branded phone is obviously not a given.

An interesting hybrid market to be sure, but I'd rather see a good quality camera built into my next iPod before I worry about playing music on my phone. Just my view of the world.

Tags: mobile, cell, phones, cellphones, apple, nano, shuffle, ipod, movies

iPod as Home Theatre - Bliss

Quick opinion piece here, feel free to tear it to shreds after I finish.

Once upon a time, all regular (non movie industry employees) would see a movie in a strange dark building called a "movie theater". The movies were shown on giant screens, you sat in rows of seats, and maybe bought some overpriced snacks to devour while you smelled everyone else's perfume (and worse.) and usually didn't hear too much chatter.

Now the trend among those with too much money to spend, and a declining common sense, build "home theaters". These are dark rooms with giant screens, rows of seats - well, you get the idea.

People are apparently taking an experience that they rented for a couple hours, and paying to install it in their house. Why? Mostly because it looks cool in Magazines and on Television shows about the "Rich and Famous". Again, for the kiddies out there, here's Live Lesson #8 - BUY Investments (things that MAKE you MONEY), and RENT entertainment and other non-investment goodies. Unless you MAKE movies, have distribution, and can rent them out to theaters yourself - movies and theaters are not investments.

Here's reality. If you build a "Home Theater", you become a "host" with "parasites" who oddly enough, would rather experience your theater for free, then pay to go to a commercial version.

A lil' iPod is actually more relaxing and enjoyable than a "home theatre" once your friends find out about it, and you get the electric bill to run it.

So enjoy little movies that you can watch in a park, or in your backyard, or in the garage, or whereever. It's sweet.

Tags: films, hollywood, movies, home theatre, ipod, movies

Move your movies from TiVo to iPod easily

TiVo Desktop Version 2.3 PLUS for Windows is a cool new simple way to get television content from your cable or satellite television system ONTO your iPod.

It automatically converts your TiVoToGo transfers into video for iPod, PSP, Treo, Nokia, and other portable devices that support MPEG-4 or H.264 video.

And again, for those who whine about watching video on a tiny screen. You can watch iPod video on ANY TV (portable and all) with a standard mini-plug to A/V jacks cable. I duz it all the time. Therefore you can move your TiVo recorded stuff onto your iPod, and watch it on any TV, regardless of whether it's near your TiVo or not.

Cool Beans.

Tags: tivo, TiVo, iPod, iPod Movies, TiVoToGo, PSP, Treo, Nokia, MPEG-4, H.264

$10 Movies for your iPod

You may soon be able to download iPod Movies through the iTunes store for about $10 each. This has some technophiles all up in arms about having to "repay" for a movie over and over, just to have it on different media. But really, for $10 instead of the $40-$50 for a DVD, you can just slap a movie onto your main media center computer, slide a copy onto your iPod, and watch it on any T.V. you like as well, by hooking the iPod up to it.

The quality won't be DVD, but if you're just looking for some quick entertainment, why pay four times as much, just to archive a high-quality copy of something you'll rarely watch.

Huge DVD collections confuse me anyway. Who has the time to rewatch a couple hundred movies anyway? Watch it once, keep it or delete it, and get on with life.

Tags: ipod, movies, apple, nano, shuffle

Use Your Mac to get Movies on Your iPod

A new iPod movie converter for Mac owners has appeared at http://js8media.com/reelbean/index.html . It's free at the moment, though it will only be $10 when it goes fully commercial.

We haven't tested it yet here at Top iPod Info, but for free, it has to be worth a shot.

It can play streaming media, as well as convert to/from a lot of the most popular formats.

Tags: ipod, movies, apple, nano, shuffle

Cool iPod Community for Services, Trades, Information

Check out the iPod community at http://www.spymac.com/ipod/ for a huge group of Mac and iPod enthusiasts who trade iPod related bits and services.

Sometimes a person wants a monitor in exchange for an old iPod, or someone else wants to do some design work to get an iPod.

Quite the eclectic bunch over there, and maybe a great place to unload your old stuff to get something different!

Tags: ipod, movies, apple, nano, shuffle

Driving Directions and Maps for your iPod - Too Cool!

Go here (http://www.ipod-directions.com) to get cool little map pictures for your iPod for a sequence of driving instructions and images you can view on any Photo or Video iPod.

The website provides the little text and map images in a zip file, all ready for uploading to your iPod.

Of course a built-in GPS function would be even better . . . maybe in the next version.

Tags: apple, ipod, movies

Funky, Funky, iPod!

Fun stuff from A-Zone International, the "iPod Dock Valve Station" is a Three Tube Amplifier for your iPod. Using a traditional valve (tube) amp, your iPod can also play through your TV using the sVideo outputs and can be run using a remote control.

Really cool for iPod Movies in a Home Entertainment Center!

iPods more popular than beer!

And why not? In a market survey by "Student Monitor", iPod Players are a more popular activity than Beer Drinking or Bar Hopping. Of course, that's probably because students are spending considerably less than $200-$400 on their beer, unlike their iPods.

If you're a student, tell us what your favorite content (audio, video, notes, contacts) usage is - around here, we like to watch Family Guy and Poker videos, and listen to a few wacky podcasts. We have a few thousand tunes, as well, but only listen to those as we go to sleep or are out running around in the woods or something.

Let us know! We're looking to give away some free iPods, but we need to know which models you want or like, and what you want to do with them!

Video goggles turn iPod into TV

At the Seattle Post Intelligencer, there's a quick little review (here) of some goggles that project imagery in front of your eyes to simulate a 27" TV. Plus, there's either room around the image, and/or you can see through the image a bit, and actually walk around while you have these goggles hooked up to a video iPod.

Cool, but I really don't have that big a problem with watching the regular screen of my Video iPod if I'm sitting or laying down. If you hold a Video iPod up in front of a regular TV (say a 25-30" model), both at their normal viewing distance (The TV across a 10 or 12 foot room, and the iPod at half an arm's length) then their image sizes in your eye/brain are about the same or at least adequately equivalent. If you have a "oversized" TV (all the big screen monsters) then you are looking for a different experience anyway.

Microsoft iPod Killer Device - Not possible. Why? Read On.

See the mysterious photo at left for the latest "scoop" on a piece of hardware from Microsoft reported to be an "iPod Killer".

It could be a device based on a mini "Windows Media Center" type of application, but whatever it does, it would never be an "iPod Killer".

It might very well be even better, faster, stronger, than before (hope it doesn't cost Six Million Dollars though!), but just like Pepsi will never wipe out Coke - Microsoft is not going ever be able to touch the BRANDING of Apple products. They may beat them in actual functionality or other useability factors, but the sensory and emotional appeal of brands cannot be beaten by hardware. In fact, a new "Pocket Media" device from Company "X" could develop its own branding which is entirely separate and different from iPod.

People love their iPods because they look cool, feel cool, their FRIENDS think they look and feel cool, they work relatively well, and they make you look good while you're using them. This is all branding, and it's built up by association with experts, celebrity, advertising, marketing, and word of mouth.

This doesn't mean that APPLE can't destroy their own brand with mistakes of their own, but no other company will be able to do it simply with new product introduction.

iPod for the Kids Future - Just Do It, Now!

Apple and RIM partnering for AppleBerry device?

Engadget and others are reporting on a possible Apple and Blackberry marriage of devices. Would be cool, but in all these concepts, a larger display screen needs to be a part of the plan for it to be commercially successful for businesses.

For training, customer self-service, and standalone marketing, the display needs to be at least as big as a small tablet PC.

Just a presently sized Video iPod Screen with some keys won't do it.

More on the current idea here: Apple and RIM partnering for AppleBerry device?

Tags: blackberry, email, ipod, movies

Apple Giving Away FREE iPods - No Kidding

For you lucky college students out there that are considering buying a new Apple laptop for you school days, Apple is throwing in a free iPod as well.

Qualified educators can get in on the deal as well, the only major restriction is that the Mac Computer and iPod purchases must be on the same receipt. So no stretched-out buying process if you want to get in on the deal.

Below are the qualifying computers for this deal, though it seems to be most of Apple's product line.

What are the qualifying Mac and iPods?

This offer is available only on purchases of new product. The products listed below are eligible for participation in this offer. Products not listed in this chart are ineligible for a rebate. Configure to order versions of these products are eligible. Refurbished product is ineligible.

Product Family Qualifying Products
iMac iMac 17-inch Intel Core Duo
iMac 20-inch Intel Core Duo
iBook 14-inch 1.42GHz PowerPC G4
MacBook 13-inch Intel Core Duo, (White & Black)
MacBook Pro 15.4-inch MacBook Pro Intel Core Duo
17-inch MacBook Pro 2.16 Intel Core Duo
PowerBook 12-inch 1.5GHz PowerPC G4
PowerMac Dual 2.0GHz PowerPC G5
Dual 2.3GHz PowerPC G5
Quad 2.5GHz PowerPC G5

Here's where you can find the info at APPLE

Tags: apple, free, dvd, ipod, movies