Here is what I want out of the iPod. This would make it a killer product. It has come damn close to killing the portable MD market in one fell swoop, but there are still some nice features on those units. My idea would give all the advantages to the iPod. And most importantly, its not some pipe dream of having Apple remanufacture the iPod so it has a color, touch sensitive screen, a 48 gig hard drive, and wings. All it would require them to do is a firmware update.
My take on the iPod pricing - its a lot of money, but feature wise, it is competitive pricing in the MP3 player market, which happens to be expensive right now.
Now, here is what I really want. If the iPod had a recording means, it would be badass. At first, I thought they should do an iPod and an iPod Pro (with line in, etc). But then I got to thinking. How annoying is it when you buy the top model, and realize later that you would have been perfectly satisfied with the cheaper model, or vice-versa? I can see a better solution for this.
A firewire expansion unit (ePod?). Sell a little brick that has RCA ins/outs, digital ins/outs, a mic input, a 9V battery, some ok quality A/D and D/A converters (like the kind found in an MD unit - nothing spectacular, but decent), and finally, a jack so you can plug in an AC converter (which could be easily be replaced with a DC plug for your car). Why all this? If this was too much, they could market a simpler version as well with line out/line in and a plug for a power adapter for you car. Don't make the iPod have different capabilities, make the expansion packs have different abilities.
With the first expansion pack described (or any), the iPod merely pipes out audio digitally down the firewire cable into the expansion unit (just like in DV camera). The ext. unit would then convert the output to RCA or digital depending on your taste. Alternately, send signal in through the RCA ins/digital in/Mic and down the firewire cable would (again, just like DV), would allow the iPod to record. Slap a simple firmware update on the iPod to give it a simple recording interface (gain, start, stop). Make sure this ext. unit has a 9V battery or two to help the preamp for the Mic and to give extended recording time (10 hrs of play back is probably only like 2 of recording activity). The addition of the power supply would allow you to do all of this in your car (RCA outs -> car stereo would be better than headphone outs), home (make the iPod a real part of your stereo), or on location (recording live concerts, etc.).
Anyway, I think this would be perfect. Upgrade in audio standards? Upgrade the ext. unit and the iPod firmware and there is no need to buy a new iPod (which would entice more buyers because they know their product would last). And even larger harddrive sizes, while nice, wouldn't be overly important, because 4.6 GB at CD quality sound is around 500 mins of audio - that is a lot.
Why not include a line in on the iPod? It would be cool if they did, but the thing is released. An ext unit gives me all the same functionality, and I can leave the stuff at home if I don't intend on using it. Even with a line in on the iPod itself, you have to remember to bring your mics, etc. all the time. That isn't happening. I also don't have to pay extra if I didn't want the feature. If at some later point down the road, I decided I needed the extra functionality, I could get it. Sell the ext. unit for $100-200. Sounds like a lot, and it is (and it would be cheap to make - if the DV converters, which essentially do what I just describe with the addition of DV codecs and video capabilities, sell for $200-300, surely they could get an audio only version for $100 less). This would mean added value for Apple - instead of scaring everyone away with mega featured & expensive iPod, they could sell the same unit to a lot of people, some of whom would go buy the expansion unit. And the ability to upgrade the iPod would make more people more willing to go buy it, even if they never upgraded (wasn't this one of the arguments on the Cube? And most people never upgrade their computer, but they would like to think they have the option if they wanted to).
Is $150 too much for the expansion unit? We will ignore the cost of any mics, assuming that you would need them for both units. Let's look. Minidiscs are popular because they are small, can store 80 mins at great quality on a tiny disc, and record (live concerts, sound clips, etc.). Problem: even at highest settings, there is some compression. Solution: none. Problem: Concerts are longer than 80 mins sometimes. Solution: switch discs at a good time, or use MDLP, lose quality, and fit the whole show in 160 mins. Problem: you just recorded a digital recording, you now want to transfer it to your computer digitally to edit -> burn CD. Solution: buy a MD deck (for the digital out) and a sound card (for the digital in on your computer).
Price of this (I am underestimating this - believe me, until 2 days ago, I was slowly pursuing this trail):
Decent portable MD recorder: $200
MD Deck with digital out: $150
Mic preamp (for loud concerts): $100
Sound card (digital in for comp): $150
Total: $600
iPod: $400
Ext. unit: $200
Total: $600
Ok, about the same price. Yes, they could get an external unit like this out for around 200. Advantages of iPod solution: 5GB hard drive (500 mins of CD audio). PC connectivity. You can plug your iPod into your Mac and download 500 mins of digital audio in AIFF in 10 mins. Start editing right away. On MD, this transfer would take 500 mins, spread over 7 discs. Never mind the annoyances involved with timing switching discs during the show, etc. Apple could even have the AIFF's saved in a folder accessible to iPod playback and the firewire drive mode, and you could edit right on the mounted iPod - no need to transfer songs over.
Advantages of MD solution: longer battery life.
Both solutions have to deal with the external mic preamp for good recordings, external mics, etc. The MD advantage is also decreased by the limited life of the ext mic preamp battery.
Apple would have a monster on their hands. And it is all ready to go. Just market a little box that did some of this. They wouldn't even have to make it. Update the capabilities of the iPod, and get someone like M-Audio to make the expansion box. Tell me what you think.
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