Now, I love Apple products as much as the next person. But we all know that Apple comes out with new products or updates on their products so fast that we barely have time to let our older versions outdate. With the constant release of these great products, Apple has developed very die-hard fans that will burn more money on the newer products every time a new one is release. My question is Why does Apple continue to do this? Why is Apple allowed to do this?
Case #1 – iPad
iPads are VERY cool gadgets release by Apple last April. iPad was presented as the end all, be all that could replace people bringing laptops everywhere with them. In fact, all an iPad is is a gigantic iPod Touch. iPad can not replace laptops because they don’t have CD drives, they don’t have a lot of memory, they don’t do half of the things laptops can do. It is a VERY cool gadget, but nothing more than an gadget that is not needed like a laptop is.
List Price: $499
http://www.apple.com/ipad/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipad
Case #2 – MacBook Air
The thing with MacBook Air is how they continue to make them more thin and more thin. Again, this is VERY cool, but you lose specs every time you make it smaller. It can hold less and less memory. Also, MacBook Air does not have a CD drive. Now, when is the last time you bought a computer without a disc drive? When Apple made the design for MacBook Air, he thinness of the MacBook air left no room for the disc drive. Also, there is only one USB drive. This is insane! Now a days, everything that plugs into a computer runs through USB. You can buy adapters that make one USB into four like a power strip. People can not have enough USB drives, but this computer only comes with one! To get a CD drive for the MacBook Air, you have to BUY an external disc drive. Not only is Apple making you spend MORE money, but the disc drive plugs into your ONE AND ONLY USB drive! Again, this is VERY cool, but regular MacBooks cost the same amount, have more memory, a disc drive and better overall functions. This is another cool gadget but not something that is not needed. Buy a regular MacBook.
List Price: $999
http://www.apple.com/macbookair/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacBook_Air
Case#3 – iPod Nano
I don’t even know where to begin on how much I HATE the frequent updates of iPod Nano. Personally I have been several people including my siblings buy iPod Nano and literally 6 months later almost there is an ad for a new one coming soon. Let’s do a short timeline. The iPod Nano was introduced in 2005 as the replacement for the iPod Mini. The latest one is the 6th generation touch screen iPod Nano. A new iPod Nano has literally come out September every year since 2005. Some of the updates are needed such as more memory (to hold more songs.) Between the 1st and 2nd generations, there was little update besides new colors and slight memory update. Some argue the memory update was needed but if people want room for more songs then I say buy a bigger iPod. iPod Nano are useful because they are compact and hold a nice amount of songs for the price. If you want your entire library on it, buy a bigger one. The 3rd generation added the “Cover Flow” feature and video playback. Again, this is VERY cool and I realize the screen was increased but the screen still too small to seriously watch anything on it. The 4th generation switched the orientation of the screen and shape of the iPod and allowed the user to tilt the screen sideways to view video playback in widescreen. Again, this is VERY cool and the screen was increased more but the screen still too small to seriously watch anything on it and significantly smaller than the iPod Classic screen. The 5th generation is the exact same as the 4th generation, but Apple felt the need to add a video camera. NOW….WHY IN THE WORLD DO YOU NEED A VIDEO CAMERA ON YOUR IPOD NANO??? The screen is STILL too small and the recording quality turned out to be very bad. Also, at its release, there were NO OTHER iPods that had this video recording feature. Why did Apple feel the need to add it to only to iPod Nano? Who Knows? Lastly, the 6th (current) generation, Apple decided to shrink the entire device. The current model is slightly bigger than an iPod Shuffle, thus making it the smallest iPod Shuffle yet. This is also the first iPod Nano with a touch screen. However, since the size has been decreased, this model DOES NOT have the video camera or support video playback at all. The only new thing that is significant enough to talk about is the built FM radio function, because there are plug-ins for other iPods but there is not an iPod (besides Touch) with a built in FM radio. Also, this model is being sold for the SAME PRICE as the 5th generation and has none of the video features. The situation of iPod Nano all messed up and is my most disappointing to talk about in this blog.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPod_Nano
http://www.apple.com/ipodnano/
I realize this is simply business and Apple wants to continue to make the best products, but I felt the need to say something because this is getting redundant.
