All I can say is that this strikes me as a really, really good idea for Apple.
Oh, and I want one…
And since last year I totally misread the popularity of the iPod mini, I’m going to say that the iPod shuffle is a really nifty idea. Yes, it has no screen, but the fact that it doubles as a USB flash drive is equally nifty. Even though I already have an iPod, I’d consider getting one just as a storage device — the price point could not be better, and you can believe that this is going to be a hot item.
This is a big move for Apple from expensive specialty hardware to hardware that everyone can afford. It’s a smart move for them, and I have a feeling that the phenomenal success of the iPod is only the beginning for Apple.
UPDATE: Okay, there’s no “i” in the name. iCan’tRead apparently. I still want one though.
Despite the arguably better operating system of the Mac, I can’t see how this would really do better than a Dell that costs $50 less, comes with monitor, mouse and keyboard, and twice the clock speed and is more easily expandable. And I’m open to the whole idea of switching, but this doesn’t do it for me.
And the lack of the screen on the iPod Shuffle seems like a major drawback when the $99 Creative NOMAD is more, dare I say it, accessible.
Windows PCs are only cheaper if your time is free. That Dell is made from cut-rate parts with an astonishingly high rate of failure, a DVD/CD-RW drive is extra, and you’re getting not only a crappy OS, but crappy software too. The video card in the Mac mini is a low-end 32MB Radeon, but when you compare it to the integrated video on a cheap PC, there’s a huge difference. Inregrated cards steal memory from the system memory which adds a huge performance bottleneck not only on video, but for everything else as well. Figure that $50 bucks is going to get eaten back in buying anti-virus software, plus the time and effort of scanning for spyware, dealing with adware, and the horrendous security flaws in Windows, even post-SP2 and that “value” comes at a rather high cost. Granted, you could expand it (although not necessarily), but then it’s no longer a cheap computer, and 90% of computer users are never even going to open the case unless something’s wrong.
By comparison the Mac mini just plugs in, runs noiselessly, has a G4 processor which has a real-world performance that’s heads above a Celeron of double the clockspeed. (Clockspeed is relatively meaningless in terms of real-world performance, especially when comparing two totally different architectures.)
Granted, this isn’t a gaming machine, and while you could edit video on it, I wouldn’t particularly care to. What this is the computer you get when you want to actually get things done rather than mess around with spyware cleaners and all that junk. You use it to sync your iPod, store your digital photos and email them to grandma, do your bills, and write letters – the tasks that 99% of computer users do 99% of the time. For those tasks, the Mac mini is ideal.
As for the NOMAD, that’s a nice player. But the iPod syncs with the iTunes Music Store (and given that WMA files can now be a vector for computer viruses I wouldn’t touch anything that uses them with a 10 foot pole) and is designed for things like working out when you’re not using the screen anyway. With no moving parts, the iPod shuffle would be extremely rugged – perfect for jogging/biking, etc. Plus, it makes a nice flash drive for other things as well.
Granted, Apple won’t please everyone, but when you’re as profitable as Apple is, you don’t have to. Look at the iPod mini, which should have been a flop but ended up selling like penicilin at a hooker convention…
I’m impressed with the Mac mini as well. The price is so much better placed than the Cube. In fact, I might just have to pick one up. I was planning on getting a little home-entertainment PC and that little guy looks just as good as any. Just will have to find a USB TV tuner.
I’m not sure about the iPod shuffle. The lack of a screen will turn a lot of people to something like a Samsung YEPP which does the same thing and more (USB thumb drive, mp3, FM, screen). However, the price per MB is quite impressive. I would like to see one in person. The mini wasn’t too impressive to me until I saw it in person.
Jay: can you email me please….thanks…JON
Jay,
I’m sorry as this is way off the subject at hand but the new look of your blog is INCREDIBLE.
Easily wins as the best looking blog out there, hands down.
Not that the content is bad either!
Keep up the great work!
Jo from the Attic
Hmmm. I’m perplexed as to how your trackback thing works here. Where’s the code I copy and drop into Typepad? (Aren’t us HTML clueless a pain?) For lack of a better idea, I linked to your post here.
The way buzz spreads when there’s a new Apple product, you’d almost think that us Mac heads are plugged into a wireless network allowing Apple to beam new product releases directly into the forefront of our conciousness……
No preview button…..so here goes nothing……
DC: I have to make the trackback URL more obvious, but the link is up at the top where it says “You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.”
You can also just add /trackback/ to the address of any post and that will be the trackback address.
But I still need to make it more clear where that is. And I really should look towards adding a comment preview. And I really need to get a very intelligence chimpanzee I can train to do software updates. 🙂