Thursday, September 6

Not The Best Day For Apple Inc!

Well the end of the pool season in the Chicagoland area as arrived. 120+ days without a day off, means I am ready for a little rest and relaxation. It also means that now I can do a little blogging again. Hmmm, where to start? Iraq, Bush and the Lemacrats?(That's lemon+Democrats, and I claim that unless proven otherwise) Six nuclear missiles being flown across the country by accident? More hypocritical Republicans? The NAB's attempt to block the Merger of Sirius and XM? Nope, I will start with a more friendly target, Apple!

Yesterday, Apple announced their newest update to the iPod. The design specialists must have hit a roadblock, because all they could come up with was the iPod "Classic". Another little nugget Steve Jobs dropped was a $200 price cut on the iPhone. Great for those who didn't want to pay $599, but a little bit of a slap in the face of the loyal fans who have already purchased the iPhone. Before you say, "This isn't anything new, technology always drops in price over time.", I call bullshit!

Three years ago, when I dropped my PC for my PowerBook, I instantly became a Mac addict. Within a few months after I bought my PowerBook, I purchased my first iPod, and the rest is as they say, history. If you read through my posts about Apple, it's obvious that I drank the Kool-Aid. However, right now I have a real bad taste in my mouth. Not because I feel cheated or swindled, because that is the way of technology and capitalism, but I expected more from Apple Inc. I expected them to be better then Microsoft.

Am I naive? Maybe. But I think if you ask Mac users, they will tell you that Apple has usually worked with the consumer in mind. It costs you more, but those who use their products soon become loyal. So when I dropped over six bills for an iPhone, I accepted that some day it would be cheaper. I just thought it would take longer than two months. But I thought of a way Apple could make this right for those who bought their phone prior to the drop.

Free ringtones for the life of your iPhone! I know this sounds silly, but one of the other announcements was the arrival of ringtones for the iPhone on iTunes. You can now buy a song and take a 30 second clip and make it your ringtone. Apple should give "current" iPhone users this service for free(This should be free anyway if you OWN the song). I won't hold my breath, but I might just hold back my dollars for the next new thing Apple releases.

On a slightly related note. Yesterday I also upgraded to the iLife '08,(bought before yesterdays announcement) and it seems like Apple has begun shutting out non-Intel Macs, sort of. Even though Jobs promised this wouldn't happen, in the new version of iLife, iMovie requires an Intel Mac, Power Mac G5 or an iMac G5. That means anyone using an iBook or PowerBook are shut out from the new iMovie. This is just my opinion, but it was not the best day for Apple Inc!

UPDATE: 5:23 PM Central-Apple Splits The Difference

Apple is actually giving a $100 credit/gift card to iPhone owners who paid $599. Details aren't out yet, but at least they heard the outcry. The taste in my mouth isn't so bad now. I'll still take the ringtones too Steve!