Where to begin? I feel like I’m drinking from a firehose on this subject … so here goes.
Engadget has a realtime notes from the announcement. The new iPod records in stereo. Apple has cut a deal with ABC : they will distribute prime time Disney/ABC programming via iTunes for $1.99 a download (the day after the broadcast). Blackfriars specultates that Apple may now have its sights set "on the mess that is home theatre today."
The next big thing: writing the software to make it easy to move your Tivo/Replay recordings from the setbox to the iPod to easily "watch TV" on the bus, train or plane. Disney’s jumping into the distribution game suggests they, like Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart, may be less concerned about "digital rights management" than they are about eyeballs and buzz. After all, it’s not the same experience at 320×240 as it is in your media room. Will "TV viewing" morph from a social endeavor to a solitary one?
I think the price-point is too high for regular viewing – that would be $8 a month for one show. On the other hand, that’s about what a movie costs. No word on whether those downloads will also include commercials. Micropayments – where are you?
There was more news about iMacs, iTunes, G5s and the like. This Forbes article suggests Apple stock could hit $65 — that gives me goose bumps and makes me again (for the umpteenth time) kick myself for not buying more stock at $13. Oh well, I’ll comfort myself with another split, should that happen:
"After testing the new products, we believe that the company now has a compelling solution for using the iPod as a medium for video since its software is simple to use," said Reitzes. "We believe that Apple will expand the content choices over time as technology and partners evolve."
A NY Times columnist laments that print does not have its own iPod:
"The newspaper business is in a horrible state. It’s not that papers don’t make money. They make plenty. But not many people, or at least not many on Wall Street, see a future in them. In an attempt to leave the forest of dead trees and reach the high plains of digital media, every paper in the country is struggling mightily to digitize its content with Web sites, blogs, video and podcasts."
That’s all for now. Clearly not the last word!
