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Facebook99% of people who buy iPods don’t realize several simple things …
December 6th, 2007 | Posted in Podcasting 13 Comments »
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9% of people who buy iPods don’t realize several simple things …
iPod doesn’t mean MP3 player. Even though most people use the term iPod interchangeably to mean MP3 player, iPods are only a brand of MP3 players. Unfortunately, iPod is now a term like Band-Aid or Kleenex. (My wife is often asking me where my iPod is, even though I have an iRiver.)
You can’t get music anywhere with your iPod. With an iPod, you have to use iTunes for your music service. For external audio files not in iTunes, you have to import the file into iTunes to add them to your iPod.
Other MP3 players are comparable and less expensive, and they’re selling well. In the Nov 28 New York Times Tech Talk podcast, the reviewers mention the iRiver Clicks, Sansa View, Creative Zen Vision, and Archos as all good alternatives to the iPod Touch.
The type of device matters less than the content on it. It’s not so much about the hardware at all — it’s about the content you put on it. In the same NYTimes Tech Talk podcast, the reviewers assert that “content is the king for all of this stuff. Hardware isn’t necessarily the big thing. It is what you’re going to be playing on it….” Service providers are becoming more player-agnostic.
You aren’t limited to just music in your iPod. I rarely listen to music on my MP3 player. Pandora, Yahoo Music, and dozens of other online music sites provide all the music I need. Instead, my MP3 player is full of podcasts. Even though it’s an old iRiver (without video) and only half a gig of memory, I probably listen to more podcasts than most.
I know what you are getting at here but there is more to it, I believe, and it’s rooted in WHY the word “iPod” has taken on the “hoover” quality.
I am (on a sliding scale) a highly technical user. I wouldn’t swap my iPod for anything though because (and I’ve tried others) it’s just easier to use than anything else. It is not without flaws, of course, and it has limitations but I’d argue that those 99% of users don’t really care about anything you’ve mentioned. Us geeks are a small minority of MP3 player users…
Ohh and point 2? Not sure what you mean by ‘anywhere’ (as in, it doesn’t have a radio built-in?) but you can use other 3rd party apps for iPods quite happily (if unsupported).
I have an iPod, and I very rarely buy my music from the iTunes store. It’s more expensive than other places, and you can only authorize a song on five computers. I think now you can pay more to buy songs that don’t have these restrictions. I also know you can deauthorize, but in my case, my laptop crashed two times within a month, so there went three autorizations. So I was done with iTunes after that mess…to much of a bother to deal with it.
It’s so easy to get music from other sources onto the iPod, that I hardly think it’s a drawback to the iPod.
I found this really helpful. I am a reader more than a music player – and I honestly hadn’t thought of using an MP3 player to “read” or listen to podcasts.
I also listened to your Captivate podcast interview with Kevin, and it was great.
Your blog just gets better all the time.
Thanks
Thanks for the feedback on the blog and podcast.
What kind of alternative music sources do you use for your iPod?
Thanks for your feedback. I wasn’t trying to attack the iPod, although my tone seems like it. By “anywhere,” I thought that iPods required you to use iTunes to download and manage your music. You can’t use Yahoo Music to download directly into an iPod.
I see iPods everywhere, esp. on the morning metro. You seem pretty happy with your iPod. Do you want to share the model you have and how you download content for it? Do you download podcasts or music, and how many gigs of content is on it?
Hi Tom,
Didn’t think you were attacking it per se…
I have a 4GB Nano (old model) and I DO use iTunes to manage the music on it. But there are 3rd party apps available (one was featured on lifehacker.com recently).
You can download MP3s from anywhere, so iTunes is really just the interface to the iPod (as well as being a pretty good library application… it handles the 100GB of music I have.
Podcast wise I’ve still haven’t gotten into listening to them regularly as I don’t really have the right circumstances. I used to commute by train and used my iPod heavily, but since switching to the car I rely more on radio (I car share so can’t really choose what we all listen to).
Good post, but I’d add a few things to your points.
1. Granted, iPods aren’t the only devices out there, but if enough people call ‘em “MP3 players” the error, albeit a small one, is overlooked. Not a huge blunder, I’d say. This is akin to “Hey, I need a Kleenex” when the tissues are really Costco-branded. No worries.
2. You’re right, you can’t sync your iTunes from a subway, bus, moving car, and the like, but I’m guessing many consumers already understand this. With any luck, the lads in the Apple store address this one before the purchase is done.
3. I’m not so sure other devices are “comparable.” There’s an advantage to buying the original instead of a knock-off. You get award-winning design, decent support, and an instant connection with lots of other Apple followers. Heck, the guy in the mailroom (or, for that matter, the boardroom) can probably answer your question about how to manually sync a playlist.
4. Content matters, but the old “content-is-king” mantra seems a little hackneyed. I’d say enjoyment-slash-information is king. If I can listen to Keith Jarrett and NPR shows on the same device, I’m a happy camper.
5. I would agree, podcasts are fab. Some are better than others, of course, but there’s many good ones out there.
Good points, John. Thanks for the detailed comment. Re #2, I meant to say that iTunes limits you to their music service, not connectivity to the Internet. In other words, if people like Yahoo’s music engine (I can’t really imagine many people do, but if you did …) then they should realize it won’t work with an iPod.
Re the design, you’re right — it’s hard to compare, esp. with the video integration.
When it comes to podcasts, iTunes’ podcast directory is my worst enemy. It stopped updating my feed months ago, and now I can’t figure out how to get it going again. Absolutely no help anywhere on this issue. Lots of podcasters have experienced the same thing. Other directories offer excellent podcasts too — Podcast Pickle, Podcast Ready, Podcast.net, and dozens of others.
Re content is king, it may be hackneyed. I was trying to argue that people over-obsess about the technology more than the content they’re playing. I can listen to excellent content on a 2 year old second-rate MP3 player and still get a lot of enjoyment out of it.
The worst thing about iPods now is that they’re becoming trendy, which goes against their early appeal.
well actually you can use windows media player for ipods i find it much more manageable too. shame.
you need to get a life
nice blog cheers
I like the iPod for audiobooks, which I listen to during my fitness walks. Audible.com, in particular, offers a bookmarking feature for audiobooks played on iPods that is not available on most, if not all, MP3 players. Not all MP3 players play nice with audiobook downloads, but I have yet to find a service that iPods don’t play with.
While I’ve bought some music from the iTunes store, most of the music on my iPod has been ripped from my own CDs. I got tired of carrying CDs back and forth from work, and am not comfortable storing many at the office, and the iPod solved all those problems.