iOS 5 from an Android owner’s perspective

[bhartman36]

Originally Posted by boswd

did you buy the Lady Gaga for .99 for the free upgrade to 20G on Amazon's cloud? I think the girl is a nut job but for and extra 15G of storage she is allright in my book

I didn't get in on the Lady Gaga deal in time, so I found a 99 cent self-hypnosis album. I even listened to a little of it. Let's just say the 15GB was worth the half hour of my time I'll never get back.

Originally Posted by boswd

I think it's fun to watch the Big 3 and see how this will all play out.

Yeah, it should be fun.

I'm kind of wondering how this will affect the sale of iPods and other standalone MP3 players. If basically anything with an Internet connection and headphones can be a music player now, people aren't going to need to deal with buying 80GB music players. My phone was free with contract, and it'll do just fine as a music player, even if I didn't have a micro-SD card for it.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by bhartman36

I didn't get in on the Lady Gaga deal in time, so I found a 99 cent self-hypnosis album. I even listened to a little of it. Let's just say the 15GB was worth the half hour of my time I'll never get back.



Yeah, it should be fun.

I'm kind of wondering how this will affect the sale of iPods and other standalone MP3 players. If basically anything with an Internet connection and headphones can be a music player now, people aren't going to need to deal with buying 80GB music players. My phone was free with contract, and it'll do just fine as a music player, even if I didn't have a micro-SD card for it.

Ok you just made me spit out my coffee. that was hilarious


Ipod's and other stand alone mp3 players are quickly turning into two groups. One for the exercise/gym. They will always have their place in that market. and two the audiophile that won't give up the medium.

As smartphones become more and more common and even feature phones offering an mp3 player, I think the days of the iPod touch and other non small player will be regulated to the teenage crowd.

but I do still use my Sansa fuze though when commuting. The one thing holding me out on using my Droid X as my primary player when out and about is battery life. I have my Sansa clip+ for working out etc.

I see the nano (current size) being Apple #1 ipod seller in the coming years

I think the shuffle's days are numbered. Once the nano was cut in half, you can see the writing on the wall

the iPod touch will be more of a teenager product with it being more of a niche market to older people.

[bhartman36]

Originally Posted by boswd

I think the shuffle's days are numbered. Once the nano was cut in half, you can see the writing on the wall

Honestly, I don't know why they even bother selling anything other than the iPod Touch (in terms of MP3 players). Both the shuffle and the nano look comically small to me. I mean, I get that people want small, wearable devices for working out, but when you get to the stage where the interface suffers, what's the point?

Originally Posted by boswd

the iPod touch will be more of a teenager product with it being more of a niche market to older people.

I think the touch and similar devices will ultimately be relegated to people who don't trust "the cloud", for whatever reason. For the first group you mentioned, the exercisers, I think streaming music from the cloud is a no-brainer. All they'll need is their cell phones, which they're probably already carrying. And for audiophiles, I think the only missing piece is the bitrate. 256kbs MP3 or AAC probably isn't going to cut it for them, but with enough storage and speed, streaming FLAC becomes a real possibility.

[madsquabbles]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I'll migrate to Android when a competitively priced Android Touch hits the stores.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/14/s...ands-on-video/

it's close, but no word on release.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by bhartman36

Honestly, I don't know why they even bother selling anything other than the iPod Touch (in terms of MP3 players). Both the shuffle and the nano look comically small to me. I mean, I get that people want small, wearable devices for working out, but when you get to the stage where the interface suffers, what's the point?

I agree 100%, I love the Sansa clip+, it's UI is tailored made for easy in and out for working out etc. the new nano is a bit kludgy.
I think the touch and similar devices will ultimately be relegated to people who don't trust "the cloud", for whatever reason. For the first group you mentioned, the exercisers, I think streaming music from the cloud is a no-brainer. All they'll need is their cell phones, which they're probably already carrying. And for audiophiles, I think the only missing piece is the bitrate. 256kbs MP3 or AAC probably isn't going to cut it for them, but with enough storage and speed, streaming FLAC becomes a real possibility.

You are spot on about that, one of the reason why audiophiles tend to snicker at the ipod or look down on it is lack of great audio formats. FLAC and Ogg Voribis etc are a must. I have all my cd's sent to m my sansa's in FLAC.
If streaming lossless becomes reality, it'll be the game changer

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by madsquabbles

http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/14/s...ands-on-video/

it's close, but no word on release.

That's just it, it's still vaporware. The longer they wait to get it into stores, the more it'll outdate. Samsung should be releasing S II WiFi's with dual-core processors at this point and not last year's technology.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by bhartman36

I think the touch and similar devices will ultimately be relegated to people who don't trust "the cloud", for whatever reason.

The touch still has a role as a pocket tablet. Not everyone (me included) wants to shell out $30 a month for a data plan they don't need when WiFi is so readily available.

I use my touch mostly for streaming music and audio. My Clip+ is used for playing my music collection and recorded audio.

[=X=]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

That's just it, it's still vaporware. The longer they wait to get it into stores, the more it'll outdate. Samsung should be releasing S II WiFi's with dual-core processors at this point and not last year's technology.

I don't think it's about specs for that product, I'd be more inclined to believe it's about price.

=X=

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by =X=

I don't think it's about specs for that product, I'd be more inclined to believe it's about price.

Which will be in the touch's range. Therefore, I'm inclined to get the next gen touch (which is just 3 months off) for the same money. Better specs win out. Samsung's loss.

[bhartman36]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

The touch still has a role as a pocket tablet. Not everyone (me included) wants to shell out $30 a month for a data plan they don't need when WiFi is so readily available.

There are Wifi tablets available now. It's true that some people want something pocketable, and for them, the Touch will work as a mini-tablet, I suppose, but I think something a little bit larger (Dell Streak size, at least) would be more useful for tablet-type tasks.

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I use my touch mostly for streaming music and audio. My Clip+ is used for playing my music collection and recorded audio.

For streaming audio, I suppose a Touch would be better, but for streaming video, a screen larger than the Touch's would probably be more enjoyable.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by bhartman36

There are Wifi tablets available now. It's true that some people want something pocketable, and for them, the Touch will work as a mini-tablet, I suppose, but I think something a little bit larger (Dell Streak size, at least) would be more useful for tablet-type tasks.

It absolutely must be smartphone size. How many phone users would readily swap their phones for a large tablet?

For streaming audio, I suppose a Touch would be better, but for streaming video, a screen larger than the Touch's would probably be more enjoyable.

That's why I have a 7" tablet.

Look at it this way; while others have a smartphone and a tablet, I have an iPod touch and a tablet. Same thing, except I'm not paying for a data plan I don't need; and it's that data plan that keeps me from getting a smartphone.

[bhartman36]

Originally Posted by boswd

You are spot on about that, one of the reason why audiophiles tend to snicker at the ipod or look down on it is lack of great audio formats. FLAC and Ogg Voribis etc are a must. I have all my cd's sent to m my sansa's in FLAC.
If streaming lossless becomes reality, it'll be the game changer

I think if lossless streaming becomes a reality, it's basically Game Over for dedicated audio players with storage. There will be very little reason for anyone to bother.

[bhartman36]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

It absolutely must be smartphone size. How many phone users would readily swap their phones for a large tablet?

It's not a matter of swapping. People carry around netbooks or laptops along with their phones. They'd do the same for tablets. Smartphones are too small to do a lot of tablet tasks (e.g., watch video over a long stretch, do word processing, e-mail, etc.).

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

That's why I have a 7" tablet.

Look at it this way; while others have a smartphone and a tablet, I have an iPod touch and a tablet. Same thing, except I'm not paying for a data plan I don't need; and it's that data plan that keeps me from getting a smartphone.

Sure. But I think there are a lot of people who are paying for data plans, and -- especially with unlimited data plans -- they're much more likely to just ditch their storage-based music players and go for the cloud. Of course, if you don't want the data plan, a locally-based storage is the best alternative.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by bhartman36

It's not a matter of swapping. People carry around netbooks or laptops along with their phones. They'd do the same for tablets. Smartphones are too small to do a lot of tablet tasks (e.g., watch video over a long stretch, do word processing, e-mail, etc.).

Which is why I wouldn't consider a tablet in lieu of my touch.

Sure. But I think there are a lot of people who are paying for data plans, and -- especially with unlimited data plans -- they're much more likely to just ditch their storage-based music players and go for the cloud. Of course, if you don't want the data plan, a locally-based storage is the best alternative.

Unlimited data is going the way of the dodo.

My touch doesn't see stored music. It only sees streaming; and I prefer the variety of streaming net radio over streaming stored cloud music.

[RockdaMan]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

The touch still has a role as a pocket tablet. Not everyone (me included) wants to shell out $30 a month for a data plan they don't need when WiFi is so readily available.

Bingo.