Top 5 iPod features you'll never see
All signs point to a new crop of iPods in September, and while I'm as interested in the rumors and blurry "leaked" photos as the next fanboy, I'm also preparing myself for disappointment. Deep down, I know there are iPod features that will never see the light of day. Sure, Apple always trots out a few iPod-related surprises like iTunes movie rentals and Cover Flow, but I've all but given up on the following innovations.
1. Subscription music
You're telling me that Apple sees potential in subscription music just as one of the industry's biggest names put their service on the back burner in favor of an MP3 store? You must be high.
If the rumors are right, I'll be chewing my toes on this one, but I just don't see any motivation for Apple to take up a subscription music model. Could they make it work? Absolutely. Apple's closed iTunes/iPod universe is the perfect playground for DRM-encrypted subscription music that needs to be escorted and licensed between computers and devices. After using the Zune and its proprietary Zune Pass music subscription service for about a year, I have a pretty good idea how a similarly seamless iTunes subscription music model would operate. It would be awesome, and you may never want to "buy" music again--and that's the problem.
If you think Apple's iPod business is profitable, you should check out the money they make selling you music at 99 cents a track. iTunes is the most recognized name in online music retail and they make a killing at it. The idea that Apple has any motivation to tweak its golden formula for success is preposterous. In fact, an iTunes subscription music model could be a disaster for Apple.
Last week, I heard Tag Strategic's Ted Cohen lecture Rhapsody's David Krinsky on the Achilles heel of the subscription music model and I've never been so convinced that a successful music retailer like Apple wouldn't touch subscription music with a ten foot pole. The problem: It's not in the best interest for subscription music companies to have their users downloading too much music.
Putting a camera on the iPod Touch would be awesome, but Apple is probably reserving the feature for its star attraction.
(Credit: CNET Networks/Corinne Schulze)Politely discouraging users from gorging on unlimited music will be tough for iTunes, considering the retail efficiency they've honed after years selling songs piecemeal. Without a total overhaul of the iTunes store or a revolutionary approach to subscription music, offering consumers an all-you-can-eat music plan at a flat-rate would cause Apple to bleed money into the pockets of record labels.
It would also be a PR disaster for a music retailer just coming out from the shadow of Fair Play DRM to dive back into a rights-managed music scheme. Sure, Apple would create lifetime customers who are locked into monthly/yearly subscription plans for fear of bricking their music collection, but the risk of burning consumers again with DRM just isn't worth it.
2. Camera/GPS (aka phone-less iPhone)
With the 8GB iPhone 3G's $199 up-front price, there's a fine line Apple has to tread not to cannibalize sales of their iPod Touch (and vice-versa). Make the iPod Touch too good, and people might settle for a cheap phone and an awesome media player; make the iPod Touch too restricted (or too pricey) and people feel like idiots for buying it over the iPhone.
Including A2DP Bluetooth on the iPod would be nice, but letting third-party vendors tackle the feature allows Apple to maintain high marks for battery life.
(Credit: CNET Networks)For someone like me who's around Wi-Fi most of my day, a less expensive iPod Touch with a camera, GPS, and maybe even a speaker, would be an easy win over the iPhone--which is exactly while we'll never see it. The iPhone 3G is the star of the show these days, and Apple won't let it be upstaged by the iPod.
3. Bluetooth (A2DP)
With more and more Bluetooth-enabled speakers, car stereos, and headphones hitting the market, Apple is ripe to finally roll wireless audio capabilities into their iPods, right? Not likely. Bluetooth is everywhere, but it's a big drain on battery life and it still confuses people. If Best Buy is making money by having a Bluetooth-pairing kiosk at its stores, than the technology just isn't ready for prime time on the user-friendly iPod. I'm sure Apple has considered adding Bluetooth to the iPod, but honestly, this is one of those features that's much better for the accessory market to figure out (although we haven't seen a great one yet).
If you want a radio so bad, go buy the Apple Radio Remote accessory. It will never, ever, come included.
(Credit: Apple)4. FM radio
I think most of the people holding their breath for this one have finally collapsed. At this point, Apple has to keep radios out of their iPods simply on principle. They've dismissed the idea of adding an FM radio to the iPod for years, and with the recent accolades over the addition of Internet radio to the iPhone and iPod Touch, Apple can't be feeling much regret over the FM snub. Anyhow, if having a built-in FM radio is such a hot feature, Apple's gotta wonder why radio-wielding competitors haven't made much traction.
5. Song sharing
The wireless device-to-device song-sharing feature on the Microsoft Zune is a brilliant feature stuck on the wrong player. For a feature like this to be any fun, you need to have a critical mass of active users to share with in your daily life. The iPod and its 70 percent domestic market share is really the only MP3 player that can pull off casual device-to-device song sharing--but it never will.
It's not easy to get Social with your Zune's built-in Wi-Fi, because the user base just isn't there. The ubiquitous iPod would be the perfect player for a device-to-device sharing feature, but don't keep your hopes up.
(Credit: CNET Networks)Why? Because pulling off a song-sharing feature requires a shedload of the DRM-encryption Apple is trying so hard to distance itself from; iPod Touch Apps like Last.fm already get the job done without waiting around for files to transfer; and adding Wi-Fi to the Apple Nano or Classic lineup would zap precious battery life.
The sure bets
So what's left for Apple to bring to the table? Well, I think the rumors of a full-point upgrade for iTunes rings true. That behemoth is long-overdue for an upgrade. iTunes has been stuck in Version 7 since 2006! With any luck, Apple will streamline iTunes, boost its performance, and somehow integrate it with their MobileMe service (c'mon remote MP3 locker!).
I also agree with the rumors that Apple will move away from the squat design for the iPod Nano, and go with a sideways screen orientation similar to the Flash Zune. The reason behind this isn't to stop the chubby jokes, but to allow for a wider screen capable of showcasing the iTunes store's increasing amount of widescreen format video content.
Beyond that, the iPod Classic will stay "classic" and probably receive a price drop and the iPod Touch will receive an overdue price slash (I'm thinking 8GB for $199), maybe a slightly bigger screen to differentiate it from the iPhone, and a few bundled Apps and games (Spore, maybe?).
If you've got other predictions, be sure to share them in the comments section.
Donald Bell is CNET Reviews' senior editor for MP3 players and portable audio, and one half of the MP3 Insider blog and weekly podcast. He also likes getting his hands dirty with digital audio tools for musicians and DJs.
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Donald Bell is an electronic musician, a veteran record store employee, and a fearless hardware hacker. He's also CNET's Senior Editor for MP3 and digital audio.
Jasmine France is CNET's resident digital audio doyenne, writing and editing product reviews, crave blogs, and feature stories on all things MP3. And if you need advice on headphones, she's your girl.
--Rick--
As far as song sharing goes, Jobs has it right. Sit next to the cute girl and offer to have her lean close while you share headphones. Only MS would think that social meant a 30 foot anonymous range.
Music subscriptions? To the other ten people holding their breath, you can stop, we didn't notice you before, either.
And finally, Apple making a killing on its music store? Please. They get about $.30 a song. At a billion songs, that's $300 million dollars. Yeah, it's nice, but for a company making 30 BILLION a year, it's chump change.
I think you're missing the point of the article - they agree with you.
Thanks for the chuckle.
I feel that there are a couple reasons that a subcription service won't work with the current model, but could be made possible. First, the existence of such a massive device as a 160GB model iPod means that a user could download thousands of songs and enjoy them without having to come back to the store for some time. I have the 160 classic myself, and I don't use or buy music online at all. I do everything from my cd collection, and as it stands right now, I would need another 160 to even attempt to case my entire collection. I think there are many people with this much music, by whatever means they acquired it.
The point is, right now its .99 per song. 160 GB (like that would be possible) would take forever and would kill the model and profits.
However, a per GB subscription would be a great solution. Offer a 1, 5, and 10 GB per month solution, and offer it at price points that are attractive. This would prompt users to "fill" their quota, reach out to new songs (per suggestions) and discover more music/new artists. This could spur track and album sales. It would also leave users with a sense that they got a "deal." Feeling like you got a deal from Apple is not something I hear much from the current customer base...
Second, the AAC format is crackable. Therefore, GB's of music per month could potentially flood the p2p networks. As if the music is not their already, the music could be advertised as "ipod ready" or some such nonsense that makes a basic user look for "Vista Ready" LCD monitors. Either way, the record companies and Apple are definitely in bed, in such a torrid affair, that anything that isn't mutually gratifying will not be contemplated.
They also need to look at the idea of bringing higher quality audio files to the table. I would humbly suggest that the information that abounds on the internet, and readily available amount of space on current ipods could equate to fewer songs and better quality... Yet another selling point for larger capacity devices and subscription based service, and ultimately, a better user experience.
Also, while if properly done a subscription based service could help album sales, in the short term the results would be disastrous. Artists rarely have an album full of hits, and this means that standard disc sales would (at least be shown to the public) as declining. It's the "woe is our industry" cry all over again, and we don't want to hear that.
Their needs to be an effective solution between record companies and end users. And while this may seem off topic, I would suggest that if the record companies are selling us media where we don't actually have the rights to own the content, then we should be able to return our defective media (scratches/cracks) for brand new discs. Essentially, the record companies believe that my purchase was little more than a permanent rental. If that's the case, then they should replace the media that became defective after proper use and care.
Sorry for the last rant, but I'm tired of feeling cheated by an industry that I have literally invested tens of thousands of dollars in. I mean, at some point they need to realize that that there are some of us (and more than I would guess) that have cars and homes (worth) of money wrapped up in music related purchases. It can be a booming industry, and one that users could be EXTREMELY happy with, if that industry would just reach out to its user base, and give us what we want.
It's our RIGHT as consumers!
The rest of the line could use some work.
Audiobooks. Support for video rentals. Genuine game support. And that's just the regular iPods; the iPod touch actually has meaningful Wi-Fi, a web browser, and an already substantial third-party app library.
And while some of these are likely to be resolved soon, the fact remains that many of the Zune's features are somewhat wasted. How many Zune owners have you even met, let alone shared music with? How often do you track what your friends are listening to? Just having a feature isn't enough -- it has to be readily available and something you'd appreciate daily.
For that matter, where's Microsoft's touchscreen media player?
Otherwise, Apple is becoming more restrictive....
Im hoping the shuffle gets a small oled screen, the nano grows in HDD space (widescreen zunelike please!) , and the classic just increases HDD space and thinner. I also would not mind a small ipod touch-like device, flash mem of course, that would fit in my pocket. As for the iphone, obviously nothing is happening this september, but i eventually see it as becoming more mobile and more custom tailored.
It is the exactly same thing that I feel is plaguing the cell phone industry. They can't figure out how to once and for all create a cell/network with full reception anywhere and 0 dropped calls, so instead we get a sub-par camera, mp3 player, video player, and gps locator to entice us into buying a cell phone that really doesn't perform well as a CELL PHONE.
I know I got off track there, but its important to make that connection to the Cell industry. Now, its not like I am saying that those other features don't improve the overall experience; I just think its high time to strengthen the foundation that all these toys rest on. The following are the innovations that I would like to see the most out of apple in the near future for the iPod brand.
1) The iTunes store receives a make over and begins to sell the DRM-free Apple Lossless Music (At least CD quality). The ability to up convert my purchased cruddy 128kbps songs/albums to Lossless for the same price as the iTunes Plus prices or cheaper.
2) Wi-fi syncing to iTunes and iTunes Store for at least the Classic and Nano
3) the ability to create advanced playlists that dynamically serve up songs that share a particular sound between music you already have. A Pandora style listening experience.
Apple with every generation will add capacity, which is most certainly welcome, but these innovations on top of that could reinvent the brand again and inspire confidence in audiophiles everywhere that the iPod is a music player first, and its King.
-Ken
www.kenstech.com
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by fotark
August 30, 2008 2:10 PM PDT
- troyoverton you got something there but i like to add an idea of my own.
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See all 38 Comments >>how about a steaming system you pay 10$ per mouth add to the at&t bill on the iPhone or just sent to you if you don't have or even like the iphone. to aces a liberty of i tunes songs that kept on a server and is steamed Thur the wifi on the device or computer. when you click on it (like myspace dose). you can put it as a temp file that erase itself when you sync the player. and leave a list on itunes for you to buy at a discounted rate or try out again. Also you can let users put songs into itunes much like YouTube with music (i know you can do that with podcast but i don't know about music) that way i use little hard drive space on the player and no drm loaded songs to give headaches at the same time still being able to gorge yourself away. and remind you that if you want to really have it you can still buy it.