Won't comment on the launch since it's all over the internet anyway (just go to digg to get the most popular apple fanboy news item there). What's interesting to me is the evolution of the iPod through the years (are we on 6th gen now?). in hindsight, the evolution has been almost predictable, in a weird deja vu'ish kind of way. The common thread is the waterfalling of features over time. At the lower level of the product stack, you'll see the shuffles and the nanos taking on some of the 'older' features of its more sophisticated siblings. In this round, the nano is now video enabled. In the higher rung, you see the iPod taking on 90% of the iPhone features. and, as you move further up, aren't the iPhone and more broadly the whole smart phone family just watered down notebooks in smaller packaging (MIDs, UMDs)?
Here's my prediction:
1. iPod Touch becomes Apples 'best' (as in good better best) offer in the iPod line -- either nano or Classic goes away. This will happen when Apple is ready to offer a 'fatter' Touch product with bigger capacity.
2. Either the Touch or the iPhone becomes their MID/UMD play as WIMAX goes mainstream in late 08/09. No need for mobile carriers if you have WIMAX and VOIP.
3. on the design side, macbooks due for a refresh. Am i the only one to notice the similarity between the iMacs and the iPod's design? The macbooks should follow.
End result is an elegant product line that should meet every consumer lifestyle and life cycle needs.
No comments:
Post a Comment