The panel for this show includes:
Katie Floyd: Mac Power Users Twitter
Bart Busschots The International Mac Podcast Twitter
Chuck Joiner The MacVoices Group Twitter
The Mac Roundtable discussed the announcements from Apple’s September 1st Music Event. Including the new iPods, Apple TV, Television Rentals, iTunes 10, iOS and more.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
I totally agree with Katie. Apple made a big mistake on this nano. The 2 biggest features of the last generation nano were the video camera on the back and the new widescreen video format screen. And now those features (major features) are wiped completely. You can’t even watch movies on it now, and photos are too small to really enjoy the experience. I’m shocked that this rumor didn’t end up being a souped up shuffle. Secondly, the majority of people I know that have a nano use it as their gym iPod. Touch screen devices don’t function well on the go. You can’t be biking down the road or going for a jog while flipping through a touch screen device trying to accurately place your fingertip on the right location. Buttons are critical for this kind of activity where you can’t afford to take your eye off of what you’re doing. Apple seems obsessed with this new and amazing multi-touch world and while I love my iPod Touch and think all this multi-touch really is amazing, there is still a great need for physical tactile touch. You can’t replace buttons in active use (driving, running, biking, etc). BAD BAD MOVE APPLE. I think this Nano will be as big a scar for Apple as the 3rd gen stubby pod was?did you see Steve breeze over that one in his line up evolution. Wow.
Comment by Devin — September 2, 2010 @ 11:16 am
Bart’s first observation on handheld gaming is correct, Apple’s gaming is a new market. The iOS does not really eat into the DS and PSP market much. It’s a new field of gamers on the iOS.
As a 19 year old who grow up with gameboys in hand and consoles on the TV, traditional games and iOS games are very different. And I’ll try and be less snobbish than Bart’s friends.
One big difference is buttons!!! As I see it, video games are about watching and interacting. My greasy fingers coving up the screen added with imprecise controls is not good. Touch screens are never as perfect as a button for interaction.
Rapid fire mode, iTunes accounts requires a credit card. No secondary market for games, i.e. buying and selling used games. Lengths of iOS games are shorter, there are a number of DS games over 20 or 40 hours long. Less press, information, & reviews of iOS games.
And my biggest annoyance is that, iOS devices have shorter life-span because of hardware & software. A DS from 2004 will plays DS games released in 2010. While 1st & 2nd gen. iOS devices doesn’t even run the latest OS or some games. (Subtracting those devices shrinks the 120 million number.)
I don’t want to be an iOS hater or a DS fanboy. But as a gamer, iOS isn’t mature enough for my gaming needs. (It was all the Nintendo bashing on IMP why I stopped listening, sorry Bart.)
Plus it’s Chuck’s fault cause he asked for a gamer’s perceptive.
ps. Katie why is a child who plays games on say a DS a ‘video game zombie’ but plays games on a iPod Touch not? In three words, reality distortion field.
Comment by Max — September 2, 2010 @ 5:33 pm
1. I had the original 2006 release Shuffle Clip. The Clip was nice, the Shuffle not. Gave it away to someone whose life was set on shuffle and thus in chaos.
2. I have the original iPod Touch. All the controls on that model except stop/start are onscreen. Couldn’t control the volume. Had to stop, hold it up to my face, find the onscreen controls, to change what plays or change volume. Bought Sony over-the-head in-ear headset with inline volume. Helped, but not enough.
3. Other iPods I have all have click wheel. Just last night listening to this Episode I was able to control the volume, pause, and start, in the dark, without disturbing the good wife exhausted from her commute to Bangalore. That’s because the iPod Nano to which I was listening had a click wheel, and I know BY TOUCH where to touch.
4. The NEW Nano announced by Steve seems to have not just multi-touch, but BUTTONS. Volume is on two buttons, + / -. There’s a Sleep / Wake ( button? / slider? ) Guess we will have to wait to see if it is possible to get the thing playing, and LOCK its status so it doesn’t get jostled off program, or if the Sleep / Wake will let you pause play to answer your phone, or speak to your significant other without losing your place.
5. The crippled camera in the new Touch is typical of how Apple has taken to abusing its customers by designing products primarily to feed customers into the black hole iTunes music, video, and Apps.
6. I have really fast internet at home (by US, not Korean standards). Streaming works most of the time, sorta’ works the rest. Neflix streams well to my LG Blu-Ray over ethernet. The iPad seems to jam on YouTube. My first gen Apple TV does pretty well, Wireless N on YouTube, but I connect the ethernet to do anything “serious,” like rent a movie.
– Steve’s keynote broke on our wired DSL connection at work. And apparently lots of other places. No matter how many drop points Apple sets up connected to its big mystery server farm, streaming will bottleneck from time to time. Have to wait and see, but at $99 Apple has probably not put lots of Flash Ram in the new TV. Good thing about the old TV was its ability to download ahead of what you wanted to watch, or to download entire podcasts, video or audio. A flywheel, if you will, to improve your user experience.
7. The price point to rent TV episodes for 24 hours is ludicrous. Movies are also too expensive. My public library several blocks away has a huge inventory of DVDs for free checkout, and lots more I can have delivered to my local branch for pickup at my convenience. There’s far more on NetFlix than I can watch. ONLY if you’re suckered into NEEDING to watch some series to talk about it with family and friends does this make any sense.
8. No ads? There may be no ads in the middle of your rented TV series. But you bet iAds will be tracking your rentals and linking back to your iOS devices and Macs. Use an iPad, iPhone, iTouch as your remote? iAds. Steve didn’t get richer than Bill, Warren, and Gawd by missing out on selling oppos. [I’m just assuming Steve is now richer based on AAPL stock price]
Comment by George in Tulsa — September 3, 2010 @ 11:55 am
http://www.9to5mac.com/17295/engadget-on-next-appletv-99-cloud-storage-a4-chip-iphone-os-not-wwdc
Back in May, Engadget got most of thr ATV right. Maybe it is right about the 16GB which should be fine for video streaming. Betcha’ iFixit tear doen lrts us know ASAP?
Comment by George from Tulsa — September 5, 2010 @ 10:17 am
I second Max analysis. I am 40 years old (and French so sorry for my English). And I am a gamer.
I’ll add that the market of the iPhone/Touch is not really for gamers like the one who play on Nintendo and Sony Handheld device or Living room console nor Computer ones.
The iPhone market is Pass-time gaming, like Solitaire is. I play on my iPhone, yes. But the game are mostly puzzles, which use the multi touch screen perfectly.
Other games lack buttons, like Max says. Actions game are annoying because you are hiding the screen and not touching physically real buttons.
The multi player aspect is very useful when it’s turn based game (like ‘scrabble’ or ‘word with friends’)
I can’t see myself playing in a real-time multi player game. It’s not like having a real controller in your hand and be competitive (again buttons).
The good thing with game center. Is you gamer side is not spread between Openfeint and other Cloudcell networks, which are game centers but each of them for different games. With the Apple solution everything is centralised. So you can showing off your score with others player easily. See what they are playing etc.
And I’ll react ?video game zombie? from Katie. I can see by saying that, that you know nothing about gaming and even are kind of scared about it. Your reaction is typical.
The problem with kids that looks like zombies, is not coming because of the games. The problem is the parents. they need to watch after their kids.
It is true Games can be addictive (especially when it’s a good one). Games are games like Poker and Black Jack and other cards game, but nothing like drugs or alcohol.
I am saying that to help you, understand more the gaming aspect of video games.
Cheers
André
Comment by André — September 6, 2010 @ 8:58 am
MacWorld has review of new Nano today, Wed, 9/8.
As feared:
“As useful as the Multi-Touch screen can be, it?s no substitute for physical playback controls when, say, the iPod is in your pocket, or when you?re trying to skip tracks while running or driving.”
http://www.macworld.com/article/153921/2010/09/6g_ipod_nano.html
If you have a Nano, and it is on the verge, and you ever have need to control it BY TOUCH, buy a new or refurb previous generation now.
Comment by George / Tulsa — September 8, 2010 @ 11:26 am