Event of the Year 2005

Best comments on "iPod innovations (Nano & Video iPods)"

Ryan Jones:

Apple did it again with their new iPod and iPod nano, this time cementing themselves as a market leader in the MP3 market for years to come. Released weeks apart from one another, both of the products in the iPod line drastically affected the portable media world.

Released first, the iPod nano proved to the world that if something works, fix it. The nano replaced its cousin the iPod mini, by far the best selling MP3 player at the time. To keep its product line fresh, its technology cutting edge, and to challenge the term "good enough", Apple brought forth the iPod nano, an insanely small music player that trumped the already wonderful mini. Perhaps the most important part of this deal was the initial Samsung flash memory deal making it impossible for smaller players in the market to contend on the same level. Further, the nano's size has made it distinctive and difficult to replicate at its price.

Second, the new iPod ushered in the portable video revolution. This iPod was the first to offer video capabilities for users as well as a solution to provide users with legal content. iTunes now is the only music store in the world to offer digital video with music videos, TV shows and Pixar shorts all for $1.99. While the iPod revolutionized portable music popularity, the new iPod has once again created a revolution in a somewhat ignored market—video on the go. Since the iPod's launch, over 3 million videos have been sold and many new television shows have been added from its initial selection.

What Apple did with the new iPods, and has always done with it's products is to think first about its consumer and give him or her everything they want and nothing they don't. By far the most powerful aspect of the iPod innovations during the course of this year is the Podcast ability. By giving the individual the power to get his or her message out cheaply and effectively, the iPod has built a community of followers that enjoy the innovation Apple creates along with it's civic involvement.

While many feel the iPod is simply a beautiful product that plays my music perfectly, I feel it is more than that. The iPod/iTunes ecosystem has effectively challenged the status quo and asked users to Think Different, it's company motto. By challenging piracy (through the iTunes Music Store), the music industry (by offering singles and an inexpensive pricing structure in the iTMS), Big Media (with the creation of a popular Podcasting section which updates weekly), the iPod is changing the way we live in major ways that will likely continue as these products mature. To those who appreciate what Apple does, combining utility, innovation and a healthy dose of inquiry about how we should live makes the iPod innovations extremely striking and hopefully influential to all who use the product.

Rob Cottingham:
The MacMini, although cute, wasn't transformative. The Mighty Mouse was just a case of catch-up. And going Intel — shocking as it is to Mac fans — means next to nothing to the end-user until we see cheaper, faster product.
But the Video iPod extended Apple's presence into a whole new business category... while the Nano was, once again, the coolest frickin' toy on the planet.

Raymond Daugherty:
I chose the iPod innovations beacuse there might be a possibility that Steve Jobs could make a future iPod to support satellite radio in the near future, and the newest innovations are steps to push the iPod sector of Apple to a whole new level. With digital video, the recent explosion of fans of PodCasts and the smaller, more compact iPod make Apple a very big share holder in the portable MP3 Player game. Keep an eye out for more impressive improvements heading for the iPod.

Bryan Lewis:
The strategic moves that keep Apple in the spotlight (no pun intended) when it comes to entertainment are changing the public's perception of the company...and thus creating new customers.

Stephen York:
With the always-up-to-date iPod, Apple has brought in a whole new era of users. People who before were afraid to try to use a Mac saw the awesome capabilities of the iPod, and realised that Macs were able to do a whole lot more than rumors claimed they could do. The innovations with the iPod are also helping to introduce the next generation of digital media experiences with the integration into Mac computers, much like we've recently seen with the new iMac G5 and spotlight. Long Live the Mac!

George Providakes:
The transition to INTEL is still a TBD and Tiger while impressive is an extension of Panther - so i think nano and video are the 2005 WOW!

Dan Cross:
Apple goes inTel shook our proverbial "cold day in hell" world. But the Nano and Video iPod truly rocks as the gods of hell fire, in the here and now.

Michael Langfur:
So much is happening, but the iPod's success seems to dwarf all other achievements that his Steveness has accomplished this year. I wish him many, many, many more!

Frank Scudder:
Apple's remarkable creations have put life back into the consumer electronics industry just as it has been doing with computers over and over again.
I don't think anyone has come close to what Apple has done this year in terms of innovative genius.
I think the reason is that these are individual creations done by individuals for individuals. Most innovations come about through individual creativity. Apple has really brought this point home during this past year.

Garth Shaner:
This changed not only Apple, but it is the beginning of a change in every facet of the video industry!
Nicely played, Steve!

Eric Buck:
The release of the updated iPods solidifies Apple's dominance of the portable personal entertainment market. The Nano's size and design refinments and the video capability of the larger pods continues the buzz in the general press just in time to get people into the Apple stores for the shopping season.

P.A.M. Borys:
I love my iPod-it travels with me, entertains me, teaches me (audiobooks), makes me laugh, and inspires car dancing. But when my best friend had a mastectomy and was facing an exhausting regime of chemotherapy, I knew what I had to get her. I bought her a sleek Nano and loaded it up with music from our high school years, audiobooks, and comedy routines. The Nano is tiny enough for her not to feel the added weight, cool enough for her to be envied by her kids, and personalized so that it has meaning for her.

Gail McGovern:
Really made iPod a household word.

Steve Michael:
The Intel move has not happened yet, altho the announcement was huge. Tiger is awesome. The MacMini is "huge." ... but I think the Nano & iPod with Video is the topper because Apple literally topped themselves with 2 iPod models that took an already feature packed iPod family up to new heights. The Nano was the "Honey, I shrunk the iPod" hit of the year, and the iPod with Video has already started another revolution with digital video content access from major content providers (TV networks, etc.) and has already chipped off the massive tip of the downloadable movies iceberg. Both hit the markets like a double-barreled shotgun, hitting us smack-dab in the ears (Nano) and between the eyes (video).

Robert Rubalcaba:
Apple ditches the hard drive in the release of the 2GB and 4GB flash drive ipod nanos. Then apple goes on to sell over a million videos in less than a month after critics were doubtful of any success of the need for a video ipod and the video section of the itms.

Peter Moller:
The video iPod will fundamentally change the way stories are told on film. It will change the way they are written, deisigned, edited and of course distributed. The change is of a greater magnitude than when TV arrived and borrowed story telling techniques from film and theater. The video iPod will change communications much the same way as the printing press did in 1450.

Frances Johnson:
I really enjoy all of Macintiosh and iTunes is on almost always with us! And iPhoto Library is a big help for me, also. Thank you and Merry Christmas.

Josh Walker:
Again, after declaring an impossible fault with an aspect of technology, Apple adopts and embraces it fully. Welcome video to the ranks of iPod. Video content will become a major source of income for Apple. In 2002, as music was illegally running rampant in many facets, Apple introduced the Music Store, providing a legal alternative. Video will be the next medium to make networks bend to accomodate customers and yet again Apple stands in the forefront pioneering the technology.

Betty Larsen:
What excitement in our Apple World and in the media when the Nano and Video iPods hit the news. And the beat goes on...

Peter Botman:
The shuffle and the 60G iPod to me covered the diversity that I was seeking. The intro of the nano & video iPod created a need rather than servicing a need niche. It does help when the products look so good, you have to have them and then subsequently attempt to justify their acquisition.

Wesley Chen:
iPods are everywhere! Try as Creative might to stop Apple, iPods are *the* leading portable music (and now video) players.

Chris Rivera:
I purchased my very first iPod this fall, the fifth generation model. Having used Apple computers for years now, I was not surprised how easy the iPod was to use, but the screen resolution, the size for 30 GB of music, video, and pictures, and the compatibility between the iPod and my computer amazed me. Apple continues to revolutionize the music industry, while the rest of the industry continues to fail to understand why they are successful. So, even as the iPod is five years old, it is still one of the most revolutionary items available, and very much rocks the Macintosh world.

AJ Boonstra:
Love my Nano.

John Parkan:
Nano and Video iPods have made already must have products can't live without's - for fear of missing the next wave in the continuing cultural shift toward ever higher technological integration with life - as necessary as a telephone or internet connection. They turn the 'Halo Effect' nuclear where PC users can't ignore the fact that there's something going on here in the MAC universe. Something miraculous. There's a synergy between software and machine that just doesn't exist in the MicroSoft dominated world and it's causing IT/IS folks to take a look. A vast majority of those worth their salt are heading home to their MACs after a tough days supporting WINDOWS users. This, in turn, has introduced people to MAC OS X, truly one of the top two technological innovations in the last ten years. (If you can't guess, the other one is TIVO). It is changing perceptions of what computers can do, and more specifically, how important a well-written commercial OS is to socie!
ty as a whole. The MS years are rapidly coming to an end and the reasons all began with the iPod.

Judy Morey:
Heck I even bought a nano and am thinking of a Video ipod later...and I am an old fart, so that impressed me the most.

Brandon Harnack:
It made a lot of people see that the Mac was truly and inovative company.

George Wagner:
Video is the medium that will carry the iPods even further.

Timothy J. Collins:
Rocks!

Geir Torkehagen:
...manifesting the iPods as the No.1 portable music player sytstem, and now even with video capability. The iPod palyers with iTMS will safeguard Apples positon in many years to come. A brilliant strategic move form the outset! The business case has become a classic already. All while RIAA still have no clue what is going on, and that is the sad part of it all. Some in the TV industry has obviously understood that it is smart to play with than fight against. Let's see if the film industry is equally smart...

Wayne C. Winquist:
Do you really want me to choose one? The first four are almost equal with each other in significant ways. The Boston Expo was only to those who went to it, and the XBox presentation on a G5 loses significance to non-gamers. The MacMini launch had its significance, but it reminds me alot of the G4 Cube and the iMac's rollout in many ways. Since Tiger still has many issues, I'd hold off on calling this amongst the best thing of the Mac year. Mac going Intel is probably the second best thing this year, mainly due to the fact that we won't see the fruits of this for many years to come. The iPod innovations are probably the best thing this year, in terms of how both will impact not just Macintosh machines, but all computers and media players, in the years to come.

Michael Agresta:
The iPod Video. Just as Apple changed the way many people get their music, they will now change the way many of us get our video.

Ross Kucsera:
The iPods had the most impact on the Mac world in '05. Intel was huge as was Tiger but the iPod is all encompassing. Whether you use a Mac or Windows the iPods would affect you, wheras with the move to Intel(which didn't really have an impact in '05), and the release of Tiger you would need to be a Mac user to be truly impacted. The Nano and Video iPods once again proved Apple as superior in the MP3 market. With the Video iPod came the addition of TV shows, music videos and short clips to the iTunes Music Store, not only making the iPod more desirable but also strengthening the appeal of Apple as a legals source for downloading all kinds of media...legally!!

David Lineberger:
The Video iPod and matching video downloads from iTunes awoke the sleeping giants of network television to a new reality - people will pay for the commercial free video entertainment of their choice if offered at a fair price and it is easily and legally obtainable.

Randy R. Marks:
Steve does the rope-a-dope on the entire entertainment/computer/electronics/software industries.
Transformation Happens!

Bryon Gentile:
So while many will vote that apple going to intel was the most significant change in the Mac world this year, I'd argue that the introduction of the Nano and new Video iPods were groundbreaking. Sure we've heard the arguments before that Apple would never go to intel, or that this is going to bring the Mac computer on a new playing field with Windoze PCs. I don't buy it. It seems that consumers don't really care what type of processor their box contains, but rather what can it do. I think the fear of OS X, simply because it is unfamiliar prevents many people from switching (I know its what kept me away for years). So until Apple does a better job at bringing OS X into the foreground, it really doesn't matter what type of chipset is in the Mac for most people.
Now the Nano and the video iPods are truly ground-breaking. Sure Creative this and Samsung that. It doesn't matter what they can do or what they cant do. What apple has done in the portable market that they haven't done in the PC market is create a buzz-word, "iPod." Just look at the target audience. Its not that a Arcos can play video or a Zen has an FM tuner, the iPod is the only product in most peoples minds. Now that the IPOD can do video and is even smaller, everyones beloved iPod is now even better. Sure some of the others had it first, but for most consumers, the iPod just does it better. In turn, the holiday sales will show this and have already begun to do so. So to boost its profits and secure its domination in the portable audio realm, apple has done it once again with the iPod nano and video, a decision that was its best in 2005.

Sean Ferguson:
the sweetest gadgets in the world. Only Steve could come up with something so amazing - screw you Bill! lol

Charles Wilrycx:
The Halo effect continues...

Otto Jones:
Video iPod for sure. Once they get movies up in the iTunes store, Apple will Smoke Microsoft for good.

Chris Willmott:
The new iPod with video... forget sex, IT PLAYS VIDEO!!!!

Shaun Granato:
Simple, the iPod video is revolutionary and has every journalist, blogger, and competitor chatting about the impact... it's a buzz generator and will drive innovation because it's making people think outside the TV box when distributing content - the release of that one device created new business models, partnerships with major media shops, and a fresh marketing channel for content owners and AD groups - need I say more? Nothing else on that list even comes close.

Jason Williams:
The ability to continue innovating and updating the iPod is the most significant accomplishment for Apple in 2005. Yes, the iPod craze was well under way well before the intro of the nano and gen. 5 iPod. Yet, finding a way to extend and enhance that craze AND move it to a whole new level with video (and those video sales) are what is today, and will prove to be in the long run, why the ingenious iPod innovations of 2005 will continue to rock (both with and without headphones) the Macintosh world.

Rommel Feria:
The so-called Halo effect made sure that people are exposed to the innovation that comes from Apple. This paved the way for consumers to get a Mac for easy iPod integration.

Robb Ottenhoff:
Got brand?

Brian Fries:
While the Intel switch will undoubtedly have the greatest long term impact on the Mac community, it's 2005 impact has been minimal on the typical Apple customer. More of an impact for 2005 has been the continued improvements in the iPod line and related markets.
The iPod with video is a great incremental update, and came as a surprise despite being a long-expected next step, due to the showmanship and timing of Steve Jobs' announcements. The distribution of TV shows through the iTunes Music Store announced at the same time was a masterful stroke - it satisfies Jobs' common comment regarding the lack of legal content to play on a video iPod, and provides the potential to redefine the video distribution market in the same way as iTunes did for audio. This remains potential, however. Time will tell whether this will play out as a long term viable market.
The iPod nano was an even more dramatic move than the iPod with video. At an apparently over-hyped event, Apple totally upstaged the long-anticipated release of the iTunes phone from Motorola with the release of the iPod nano. Ultra-compact, full featured and available in black, the nano leapfrogged anything that competing music player vendors have planned for the next year. Showing extreme innovation despite holding a commanding lead in the marketplace is a bold and surprising move that is paying off by keeping competitors on their heels and tightening the grip on the market in ways that the Apple of 10 years ago couldn't have conceived of.
As Apple applies these same skills in design, innovation and marketing acumen to the Macintosh product line, primarily via the new Intel-based machines, real growth in MacOS market share appears to be a greater possibility than ever before.

Eric Weaver:
I thought Apple was slick but couldn't drop my jaw anymore. Then I saw the Nano and Video iPod...and that old feeling of OH-MY-GOD-I-GOTTA-HAVE-THIS-THING-OF-BEAUTY slapped me upside the head again.

Pete Collins:
Video ipod is going to change things ALL over again !!
Personalized training, presentations, entertainment. It will do for video what ipod did for music. A category killer.

Mike Erickson:
If this were 2006 and Intel Mac's were on the street that would be my choice but it is 2005 so I say the IPOD.

Raymond Luk:
The combination of the iPod Video, iTunes media store and video podcasting is, in keeping with Apple's roots, the metaphoric sledgehammer crashing into the face of Big Brother traditional broadcasting. This triple threat will set the stage for a new era of the Internet, creating new industries, new marketing opportunities, and most importantly, new forums for human communication.

Robert:
Video iPods are the future! First music, now TV, next movies will be downloadable and by making iTunes so easy to use, Apple sets itself up to be the conduit through which all of this will be done in the future.

Bernard Delacruz:
I have to go with the nano and video in terms of sheer publicity outside of the Mac press. Also in the long run, the deals Apple (or should I say Steve Jobs) is cutting to get video content will either spell the death or birth of a major new revenue stream.

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