“…Portable music devices and services are as hot as ever, thanks to the success of Apple Computer’s stunning iPod family and iTunes Music Service. In the second installment of this year’s Tech Toys holiday-shopping guide, I’ll examine your portable music gift-giving choices, including Apple and non-Apple options,” Paul Thurrott writes for Connected Home Media.
“Four years ago, Apple introduced a portable digital music player called the iPod that, frankly, didn’t really set the world on fire. Available only to Macintosh users, the original iPod was expensive and FireWire-based, and it required users to rip their music collections to a computer before transferring them to the device. Over the years, Apple steadily improved the iPod, adding new product models, opening it up to Windows users, and introducing the world’s best legal music-download service, the iTunes Music Store. Today, there’s an iPod for every need and budget,” Thurrott writes. “Best of all for gift-givers, however, there’s also a multitude of iPod-related gifts available, so if you’re seeking that perfect gift for a family member, friend, or coworker who already owns one of Apple’s revolutionary devices, fear not: You’ll have no trouble making him or her happy.”
Thurrott writes, “When you consider the iPod lineup with regards to gift-giving, you need to consider cost, of course, but also how well each product model matches the needs of the user. The top-shelf iPod is expensive but features massive storage capacities and video capabilities. The mid-line iPod nano is probably most applicable for the widest range of users and is wonderfully small with a beautiful color screen. And the iPod shuffle is perfect for those on the go, especially for gym rats and those with small music collections.”
Full article here.
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Related articles:
Apple’s new video-capable iPod’s resplendent screen bright, sharp, and colors really pop – December 05, 2005
TV Critic: Apple iPod video strikingly bright, crisp, very fluid; TV will have to reorient itself – October 27, 2005
Thurrott: Apple iPod ‘the new standard by which all are measured – highly recommended’ – October 26, 2005
Chicago Tribune: Apple’s new iPod is a showstopper – October 26, 2005
PC Magazine review gives Apple’s new video-capable iPod 5 out of 5 stars – October 21, 2005
CBS News: New iPod shows ‘Apple will continue to dominate portable digital media player market’ – October 21, 2005
USA Today: Apple’s new iPod + video: world’s foremost portable music players have gotten only better – October 20, 2005
Comprehensive review of Apple’s iPod 5G with Video – October 20, 2005
Ars Technica reviews Apple’s new video-capable iPod – October 20, 2005
NY Times Pogue: ‘watching video on new iPod’s 2.5-inch screen is completely immersive’ – October 19, 2005
Watching episode of ABC’s ‘Lost’ on 2.5-inch iPod screen surprisingly compelling – October 13, 2005
Using QuickTime Pro to create videos for playback in new Apple iPods – October 13, 2005
Apple unveils new 5th generation iPod, now plays music, photos, and video – October 12, 2005
thurrot the hypocrite
asshole
mdn word – thats a ‘fact’
Satan: “It’s getting kinda chilly down here…Knock it off, Paul…”
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hey, here’s to another convert. Thurrot is slowly but surely realizing the truth to his windows world, and it ain’t pretty. Once he is fully assimilated, we will know Apple has done it’s job.
MW: likely
sometimes i think just let the writers in the forum write the takes. THey are hilarious. Good one Al.
I agree. As much as I like good press for Apple, there’s something that feels dirty about accepting a compliment from a guy like Thurrot. I’d almost rather he keep his pie hole shut.
Microsoft’s payoff check to Paul this month is going toward the $32 million M$ has to pay to South Korea. Next month they’ll send him a check and he’ll get back to cooing over the Dell DJ or Creative iPodKiller Model XJ377b545963etc or whatever and be back to his predictable Thurrotten self.
resistance is futile…
MDN word: recent
BG: “Has anyone seen Thurrott’s most recent check stub?”
And to see Thurrott accused of being an Apple shill in that article’s comment section is laughable
One more time Thurrot is not paying complete attention and giving perspective customers falty advice.
“And the iPod shuffle is perfect for those . . . with small music collections.”
The key with the Shuffle is using iTunes. It doesn’t matter how large your colleciton is.
MW “audience” as in MDN probably gives this guy too much of an audience.
Steve,
I like how you accuse him of giving faulty advice and then delete from his quote the part that makes you look like a complete idiot.
Glad to see that Paul is taking his meds again.
The big problem with the iPod shuffle is the complete lack of ability to watch Porn.
Now that’s the truth!
Boy, those are some angry folks. Why all the vitriole for Apple in general? plus, it’s almost certified these people who are dissing Apple and iPods haven’t actually tried one. The one fellow saying that “Wal*Mart sells better players” made me laugh. I wonder if he knows that Wal*Mart also sells iPods? Hmmm….probably not!
Who is he calling a gym rat?
I’ll crush his skull, frigging pussbag.
“Thurrot is slowly but surely realizing the truth to his windows world, and it ain’t pretty.”
Give me a break. The iPod and the “Windows world” are not conflicting forces — you can, believe it or not, get an iPod and use it on Windows.
Funny how one derisive comment added to this story link describes Thurrott as an “Apple Groupie.”
Anyone remember Thurrott’s original writeup of the iPod? He talked and talked about his iRiver Brick or some other generic music player and how it was so good that he’d never get an iPod. Ahh, but then the unthinkable happened – he actually TRIED the iPod and he liked it. I am assuming that the same has happened with his Mac OS X experience. He talked and talked Windows until he actually tried it, and now it’s hard to back down from his original stance. Granted, he’s moving in the right direction, but it’s a long way to go!
Must have gotten lonely out on that limb when Microsoft moved to another tree.
Hey, give Paul a break! He IS coming around. The path from the dark side isn’t always straight and easy, but he is getting there.
MDN word “summer”, as in maybe he’ll get there by summer.
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Thurrott may be coming around but that unbelievable idiot Rob Enderle is a lost, hopeless, clueless cause.
Didn’t set the world on fire? Is he freaking blind?
Of course he’s going to say that. He said it would fail. Remember?
Other’s agreed with him.
– “I still can’t believe this! All this hype for something so ridiculous! Who cares about an MP3 player?”
– “All that hype for an MP3 player? Break-thru digital device? The Reality Distiortion Field is starting to warp Steve’s mind if he thinks for one second that this thing is gonna take off.”
– “Better bring that price down or you wont sell any of these babies”
Comments from clueless readers after the 2001 iPod introduction.
Magic word: “pay”
It’s a good article and I can’t criticise it all. Now the rub…let’s see how Mr Thurott lines up after Vista has been released. I’ll reserve any negative comments until then.
I don’t understand the clearly anti-Thurrot bias here. He may have said some dumb things in the past, but so have we all.
Has anyone actually read his Internet Nexus and/or ITPro articles recently? He’s actually a rather big-spending Apple customer, and especially in the past year he’s been reliably calling it like he sees it. He likes (and owns several) Macs and iPods. He congratulates Apple when they do well, and criticize when they make poor decisions… and does the same for Microsoft.
This was the same guy who described Vista as a “train wreck” and excitedly reported the Intel switch earlier than anyone else I can remember.
…so give the big fella a break, already.
The thing about the iPod is it just works … brilliantly. Every once in a while, Paul feels the need to access one of his more obscure Patsy Cline tracks. So far, the iPod never failed to deliver in seconds, nor failed to repeat-play the track until blissful sleep overtook the happless pundit. It’s hard to resist falling in love in the face of such faithfull service. Paul never forgets to charge “Susy’s” batteries every morning. Every night, he puts her in a silk-lace pouch by his pillow, coos a gentle “goodnight,” and falls asleep to her sweet lullaby.
This has got to be my favorite quote from the forum under that article:
“My other peeve with the iPod is that you cannot just synchronise with a friend’s PC and get all their music in one fell swoop.”
I think my big pet peeve with banks is that they keep all the money locked up so I cannot just walk in and take it.
gym rats….i find that funny.