Two things struck me today with Apple’s iPod announcements. To be perfectly frank, and to sound egotistic, I saw most of this coming. The iPod touch turned out just as I expected, the Apple TV did too. However Apple pulled some strange moves with their Shuffle and nano iPod models.
First off, the new Shuffle was a admittance by Apple, that the buttonless iPod Shuffle was a dud. It must have bombed. The previous buttonless shuffle was introduced in March of 2009. It saw a refresh this time last year, and now it’s gone. The shuffle usually received a major overhaul about once ever 2-2.5 years. The buttonless one made it only 18 months.
I also know why it tanked, I own one, I feel your pain. The very second Apple’s cheap headphones burnt out, specifically the controller on the cord, the whole device was shot. Replacement headphones from any company, not just Apple, ran you about $40. That almost as much as a new shuffle at $59. Make of it what you will, but if it was a success, Apple wouldn’t have had to have backtracked an re-introduce the buttons to the shuffle.
The second announcement, the iPod nano, also told me where Apple is driving the iPod line. That is to day, they are making a push to get everyone on the iOS bandwagon. The shuffle is perfect for athletes and the like, I suspect it will be around for awhile if only in moderation. But the nano has been stripped. Granted the new iPod nano is nifty, but it has removed the camera, and it can’t play video, two features Apple touted heavily with the iPod nano they introduced last year.
They’ve taken the camera away from the nano, and given it to the touch. Only the withering iPod Classic, and the very popular iPod touch can play video now, and only the touch can record video. Couple all of this with the lower and lower prices seen each year, Apple is edging it iPod touch into an area where nearly everyone that wants one can get one. This is a push for iOS, and iOS is clearly the future of Apple.
My point in all of this is one thing: Apple, in very subtle ways, is trying to get it’s iPod customers interested in the iPod touch, which will help expand iOS to become Apple’s primary, if not sole OS into the future. How far into the future? Who knows, but it’s coming.
Continue reading:
- Everything New Apple Just Announced (Septembe
- Apple Watch Pre-Order
- Apple Research Kit launches with 5 Apps
- Apple TV now only $69
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