Thursday, March 28, 2024

Me and My Lust for the iPod Touch

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OK, this is weird. Really weird. For years I’ve been watching Apple release some pretty cool products onto the market and last year I gave in to the hype. I replaced my trusty old Creative audio player for an 8GB iPod nano (and since then I’ve added an iPod shuffle to my collection, and bought family and friends a few iPods, too). But apart from my iPods, I’ve so far managed to resist Apple’s charm.

I’ll be honest with you, I’ve come close on a couple of occasions to picking up a MacBook Pro. Oddly enough, the thing that eventually put me off was a loaner I got from Apple earlier this year – sure, it was a nice machine, but after using it for a few weeks the sex appeal wore off and I realized I could do everything I did with the MacBook on my existing notebook (which cost less than half price of the MacBook Pro). I also managed to shake off my short-lived desire for an iPhone. I was certain that if I could defend against the iPhone’s charm, there was nothing that Apple could release this year that would get me salivating.

ipod touch

iPod Touch

(source: Apple)

And then Apple announced the iPod touch, and I was hooked.

I can vaguely remember how it happened. Steve Jobs was up on stage and he was talking about the updated iPod range. The squat iPod nano – pah. The iPod classic – not interested. Then Steve pulls out Apple’s WMD – the iPod touch. It has everything that I’ve wanted in a portable device – a large touch screen, video, cover flow, WiFi, web and email (only web mail, but that doesn’t matter …). Instantly, I wanted one. Sure, I could dust off my iPAQ and put that back into service since it does about 80% of what the iPod touch does. But, well, it’s not an iPod touch.

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Wanting a new bit of kit isn’t a new thing for me, but the craving usually wanes, going from the “I want one! I want one! I want one!” stage to “that’s pretty cool” stage, then the “yeah, nice but …” stage and finally “I’ll wait for the next version” (then I see something else and the whole process repeats).

What’s likely to get me to actually buy something is if I can justify my purchase. I can easily justify getting an iPod touch. I’ve got about a gigabyte left of free space on my nano, I like the video support, the screen is massive, it’s WiFi enabled, I can access the web and email – Hey, and it’s a work tool! I can use it around the office! It’ll improve my productivity!

The Apple mothership has engaged the tractor beam and pulled me straight into the reality distortion field. I want one! I want one! I want one!

Next page: The worry sets in…

I don’t care about the price, I don’t care that there are alternatives I could choose, I don’t care about the reports that some people are having problems with the screens. I’m willing to overlook the fact that the iPod touch has Safari installed (a lame duck browser that we’ve not seen the likes of since Netscape) and there’s no opportunity to install something sensible like Opera or Firefox on it.

I’m even letting the fact that it doesn’t have a dedicated email client slide. The issues that I had with the built-in battery (when it came to the iPhone) have evaporated. I’m usually a pretty cautious person when it comes to spending money on technology but this time I’m throwing caution to the wind.

Apple Columns

Apple’s iPod Salvo: “Bringing a Cannon to a Knife Fight”

My Top 50 Mac Applications

Linux is Hot, Vista is Not, But What About Leopard?

Tech Comics: “The Consultant’s Handbook”

FREE Tech Newsletters

So we ordered one. Actually it was my wife who ordered it, and she must also be caught up in the reality distortion field because she ordered two. Even though they’ve been ordered online, I’ve called a couple of local Apple stores (by “local” I mean a few hours away) checking for stock, but with no luck. I log onto Amazon daily checking for an updated delivery date, hoping that the pre-order status has changed to “available.” If a local store gets some in stock before Amazon does, I’m more than willing to drive to an Apple store to pick them up. Steve Jobs has me hooked and he’s reeling me in.

To be honest with you I’m starting to get worried. I’ve never been this caught up by an Apple product. I’ve never even bought a 1st gen Apple product before, let alone pre-ordered something. I’ve never been caught up wondering how a new Apple product will make my life easier. I feel that this could be a very slippery slope which could end up costing me a lot of cash in the long run. I’m especially concerned that if I end up going to an Apple store I’ll make some extra crazy purchases. Maybe I should take cash and leave the credit cards at home.

I’ve just checked Amazon again and the delivery date is still unchanged. Maybe it’ll change tomorrow …

Is this how an Apple fanboy is created?

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