Arrrrrrgh! 80 GB iPod

[Shacklebolt]

So, I've held off for a solid year buying a new iPod, hanging on to my, I think, 2g 20gb iPod (the first 20 gb iPod), with its 3-4 hours of battery life (i'm actually pretty happy with that) and a screen that's now about 1/10th dead pixels, waiting for THIS iPod update, specifically for the T.O.T.L. iPod.

And now, yes, it's a bit cheaper, the display is a bit nicer, the battery life is longer, but - from what we've all been talking about on here - I get the feeling that a HUGE iPod update is going to happen in the near future - widescreen, touch screen, some big new thing. The iPod of today will be in X months (as opposed to years) what the iBook is now (i.e. totally obsolete). I can just feel it in my bones -although, I'm pretty terrible when it comes to predicting these these things.=

Opinions?

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MacBook Pro 2.16ghz/1gb/100gb(7200RPM)
Powerbook 1.67ghz/1gb/100gb
Powermac G4 400mhz/128mb/20gb (1st gen)
Powerbook 5300cs 100mhz/16mb/500mb
Performa 6116 60mhz/40mb/700mb
LC III 25mhz/8mb/160mb
Apple //c 1mhz/128kb/32kb

My lord, we've given them a lot of money.

 

[Shacklebolt]

Btw, I'm well aware that there are a BILLION other threads on almost exactly this, but well, they aren't started by me, so there you go.

 

[miles01110]

if you really want to watch movies on a 5 inch screen then more power to you. For me, as long as it plays music then it is good enough. I was using a first-gen iPod for years until I got a new 30 GB in August.

 

[Lau]

The iPod of today will be in X months (as opposed to years) what the iBook is now (i.e. totally obsolete). I can just feel it in my bones -although, I'm pretty terrible when it comes to predicting these these things.

<covers iBook's eyes> Shhhh, it's ok. Don't listen to the nasty man.

I know what you mean, but to take the iBook/MacBook as an example, we waited ages for them to do something new with it, and when the MacBooks are hardly the pinnacle of reliability. Don't get me wrong, I think they're great machines (when they're working properly), and I do intend to upgrade to one at some point next year. But if I'd said what you're saying now a year ago and waited for the MacBooks, I would have been still waiting now.

I could quite imagine them, at some point in the next year, releasing being some sort of funksome new iPod and it having a few teething problems, and I for one wouldn't buy until they've been ironed out. I certainly wouldn't say older versions are obsolete. I think you're crazy to be using an iPod in the state yours is in and still considering waiting for an update that could be a year or longer in coming. (G5 PowerBooks, anyone? ) I'd buy it now, enjoy it now, and you can always sell it on later if need be.

 

[California]

iBooks aren't obsolete. Especially the last revisions. They are great little machines -- smaller than Macbooks and the top of the PPC line. Sorry, I'm actually going to try to buy a couple of new PPCs if I can still get them new in the box -- another powerbook and an iMac.

 

[Shacklebolt]

I should correct what I said about the iBook.

By no means do I think they're terrible machines. My mom has one, which works perfectly for her (and in fact, is about 5 years of technology beyond what her computing needs are). But Apple is done making them and selling them. The iBook is gone. I'm not saying they're unusable - far from it. But it is obsolete. That's just the way it is.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

The 5.5 is a nice update. Not the ONE we've been hoping for, but that has all been rumor and conjecture anyway. The good news is the general public doesn't pay attention to iPod and Mac updates like we do. There is about a 1-2 week awareness delay between announcement and gen public noticing. That window gives you time to put your old iPod on eBay and still get top dollar. So get the 5.5. Enjoy. When the WS iPod comes (it's got to come, right?) dump the 5.5 immediately. You'll come out great.

 

[dmw007]

Hard to say when the next generation of iPods will come out. But considering that Apple just released the iPod 6G yesterday, I think that you will have to wait for a while yet to see anything newer/better come out.

if you really want to watch movies on a 5 inch screen then more power to you. For me, as long as it plays music then it is good enough.

Good point.

 

[PseudoWoobie]

You know, there will always, ALWAYS, be something new and better on the horizon. When a brand new ipod comes out, ipod developers sit down and ask, "OK, what's the next big thing we can do?" I understand that this is frustrating as a consumer, because we naturally want to have the latest and greatest thing, but when it comes down to it, we need to realize that we can't always stay on top of electronics unless we're willing to buy each and every revision Apple comes up with. Ask yourself this, do you really need a widescreen ipod with a touch screen interface? I'll bet that yes, something along those lines is in the future somewhere, but if you keep waiting and waiting for the next big thing, I'm of the opinion that you'll be waiting a long, long time. Buy a product when you need it and try not to worry about having bragging rights to the newest, hottest toy. They're just electronics, after all.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

You know, there will always, ALWAYS, be something new and better on the horizon. When a brand new ipod comes out, ipod developers sit down and ask, "OK, what's the next big thing we can do?"

It's not clear to me that they were doing this this past year...unless a true Gen 6 player is forthcoming @ MWSF. The new search function didn't take too much effort from Apple, and the 80GB HD is just natural evolution of storage technology. There isn't anything trend setting with the 5.5. If we have to live with the 5.5 for another year untill there is another iPod update that will be truly disappointing and give competitors a little room to play catch up. I sure hope Apple isn't resting on it's laurels here and the 5.5 is just a stop-gap.