And I have to say, it's even better than I imagined. The hyperbole just wasn't hyperbolly enough. The interface is incredible, the screen is incredible, browsing the actual web over WI-FI is incredible, the little details are incredible... it's just incredible full stop.
So, yeah, I was planning to hold out for a 30GB model, but last week I had a little butterfingers incident where my beloved third-gen iPod took a tumble onto the footpath and came up not so shiny. It was still playing, mind you, but the enclosure had come apart and needed to be clicked shut, and when I turned it on the next day I discovered its entire contents had somehow been erased. No albums, no playlists, nothing. And when I plugged it into my Mac, Finder kept crashing. Not a healthy sign.
So, vale third-generation touch-wheel iPod. You were a faithful and steady companion, and your monochrome screen was second to no other monochrome screen. And if I ever complained about 20GB being too restrictive, please overlook the fact that you've been replaced by a younger, slimmer model that holds only 16. The key, you see, as I've recently learned, is smart playlist management and avoiding so called "dark matter": those quirks of your collection that found their way in but have remained unplayed ever since. Sure, a day may come where it would've been handy to have some obscure track at hand, but is that chance worth denying yourself the wonders of a touch interface in the meantime?
I didn't think so, and it was off to JB for me. And yes, I've already done like everyone else on YouTube and let Winter scroll through the photos and tap her way around the apps. She's a little heavy-handed, but she took to it right away.
Speaking of YouTube, I just came across the very first iPod promotional video from 2001. It's seven minutes long, but it's a great watch; if only to see how much things have changed in six years.
Although, it's funny how relative things are. The audio could be used all but unchanged for the iPod touch, but to hear the heads marvel at how "thin" the first-gen iPod was is quite amusing. Well, to me, anyway. And only 1000 songs in your pocket? How did we ever survive back then?
UPDATE:
UPDATE 2: Kate informs me the iPod promotional video is not a great watch. :)
UPDATE 3: Just noticed that if
UPDATE 4: Today, October 23, is
Kate may disagree, but I reckon it's another cracker watch.
And watching it I've just noticed that Jobs doesn't call it "the iPod", just "iPod". Like it's a person. Huh. Weird.
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Just wondering how "accidental" the incident was which "tragically" rendered the old, won't-break-the-ice-at-parties, not-winning-the-instant-admiration-of your-friends model unusable...
ReplyDeleteWe used to *dream* about having to just snip a little "dark matter" to fit our music collections on our iPods...
ReplyDelete("We" being those of us with a 6 month backlog of podcasts and a 4G mini.)
Oh, Phil, cynical Phil. Your inverted commas wound me! Your punctuation punctures my heart! I knew there'd be at least one person to compound the grief of this accident by suggesting deliberate intent.
ReplyDeleteI can assure you it was quite accidental. Not only was I in a place of serene contentment with my pod in life, but Kate (the lucky girl) was in line to inherit the old timer when the time came for me to jump on the upgrade cycle. I'm many things, but I'm not the sort to sacrifice someone's first ever iPod on the altar of ostentation.
Aye, JJ, aye. Fancy a glass of Château de Chasselas?
ReplyDeleteJust noticed that if the iPod touch is playing and you pull out the headphones, it automatically pauses playback. Nice. It's the little things...
ReplyDeleteErm, but my Mini already does this. How old was your old iPod, anyway?
Even better: when dual-booted into Rockbox, I can (and indeed, have) tweaked the settings so that re-inserting the 'phones restarts playback.
"Erm, but my Mini already does this."
ReplyDeleteOh really? Wow. There's at least one example I know of where Apple haven't updated older model iPods with new bells and whistles even though they could have, so maybe this headphone thing is another such "upgrade incentive"?
"How old was your old iPod, anyway?"
My old iPod was so old that when it was manufactured 'Yo Mamma' jokes were still funny. Actually, it was so old that when I took it in to uni for the first time, I actually had to explain to some people what it was. A World Without iPods... imagine that!
"Even better: when dual-booted into Rockbox ... re-inserting the 'phones restarts playback."
That is cool. Me new-fangled fancy-pants iPod touch can't manage that! Actually, while we're RAWKboxing... substance over style and don't judge a bit of software by its title and all that, but couldn't they have come up with a better name than "Rockbox"? I'm just asking... :)
iRockbox, for example. Hehe.
ReplyDelete"...won't-break-the-ice-at-parties, not-winning-the-instant-admiration-of your-friends..."
ReplyDeleteOh, and by the way, Phil, I'm offended by your implication that I need something other than my scintillating, ocean-going personality to break the ice at parties and forever hold transfixed the admiration of my friends.