I like to use my iPhone for viewing podcasts. However, managing them through iTunes leaves much to be desired because some podcasts I like to view and then trash them, while others I like to archive and have synced at all times. iTunes does not have an obvious way to set this up.
January, last year, I had thought perhaps my switch to Apple would begin with the first rev iPhone. By the time the iPhone debuted it didn’t provide a good enough value proposition for me then. Fast-forward to July 12th, and you would have found me standing in line to buy an iPhone 3G.
Are you really saving any money? Not really.
| 2-year contract | iPhone (8GB) | iPhone 3G (8GB) |
|---|---|---|
| Phone | $400 | $200 |
| Voice | $960 | $960 |
| Data | $480 | $720 |
| Total | $1840 | $1880 |
So the keynote has come and gone. My prediction like many others didn’t pan out as expected. The MacBook Air is yet one of Apple’s many love-it-or-hate-it products. It appeals to some but certainly not all. I think the biggest problem Apple made is in the pricing. The price just isn’t in line with the raw specs. The general consumer isn’t going to care or even necessarily understand that a hard drive with a smaller form factor is more expensive than a larger one with the same capacity. (e.g. The MacBook Air packs a 1.8″ hard drive and not a typical 2.5″ one.) Especially considering their own base MacBook is 67% faster with 20% more battery life (user-replaceable) for 39% less money and only for 67% more weight (not that 5 lbs is really all that heavy to begin with). Would it really have been that hard for Apple to iMac-ify their entire notebook product line, upgrade the touchpads to use the new multitouch features, put LED backlights across the product line, apply some of the MacBook Air design ideas like dropping the super-drive? That would probably shed a pound off the base MacBook in which case it’s 4 lbs versus MBA’s 3 lbs in the same footprint if not the same volume. Perhaps like the Newton, the MacBook Air is ahead of its time. Then again it may be so off the mark it’ll die a slow death unlike the Palm Folio. Judging from the comments at various sites and forums, I wasn’t the only one hoping for a MacBook redesign which is arguably long overdue. Consumers weren’t the only ones who were disappointed. Wall Street saw a drop in the stock price which I’m sure will be made up sooner or later. On a good note, the Apple TV is more appealing, but I would still rather get a Mac Mini and turn it into a MythTV frontend. So much more versatile. But before that happens I need to finish outfitting my MythTV server.