iPods, Apple TV, and a Musical Social Network That Needs Work

This past Wednesday, Steve Jobs (in a long-sleeved black crewneck, for variety’s sake) held our attention relatively well for one and a half hours talking about shiny, new Apple stuff. In a nutshell, shiny new Apple stuff includes:

1. Shiny new iPods!
   As in, an iPod Touch (“an iPhone without the phone”), touchscreen Nano, and the exceedingly microscopic Shuffle
2. Shiny new Ping!
   Oh, and iTunes Version 10 has a cool new logo. Ping, says Jobs, “[is] a social network for music. It’s like Facebook and Twitter meets iTunes. It’s all about music.”
3. Shiny new Apple TV!
   Apple TV initially launched in 2006, but it ended up the Jan Brady of Apple products: no one cared. (“Not a big hit,” read Steve’s Keynote slide.) Basically, Apple TV streams television shows and movies to your computer and real TV (if you still have one of those outdated machines) for a low, low price per show or movie.

And then a not-so-shiny Chris Martin came out and pounded on some piano keys, because “we love music,” Jobs says.

Well then. Initial thoughts:

1. Boy those iPods are shiny—and tiny.
   The new Touch features a front-facing camera so you can FaceTime your face off. The new Nano is equipped with a nice FM radio. And yes, it’s a touchscreen, so your fat fingers will feel even worse about themselves when they’re trying to navigate a device that is less than an inch and a half tall. But forget about the Shuffle. Now that the Nano is fitted with an innovative clip, the Shuffle’s main useful function is officially overshadowed.
2. Well, sure, I’ll try Ping.
   After all, I am an iTunes user, and what’s another social network to distract me at work? (Just kidding, boss, I’m working. Working really hard on important stuff.) Will Chris Martin use Ping? If so I will definitely block that singing skeleton. (PC World) has a good initial analysis of the program.)
3. Hmmm, Apple TV.
   It does sound interesting (main attributes: “silent, cool and small”). The computer-to-television aspect would be useful if you don’t want to commit to just one form of TV watching, and it doesn’t seem that different from Netflix—which Apple TV will stream. But I’m sure you did it better, Steve!

Yes, Apple proves yet again that it will provide a never-ending supply of items to fuel product lust. And yes, I would like a micro-Nano in blue.