pod break

Okay, the fifth or sixth ipod i got from the apple store to replace my long ago defunct Ipod...went defunt. I gladly moved onto a cheap non Ipod mp3 player by Insignia which is the best buy brand. I have not had it long enough to proclaim my love it it...not just yet. But so far I am highly smitten with it. This is why:

1- it's cheap...coming in under 60 bucks you aren't sweating Ibullets at the check-out (and I made the purchase with a gift card i got from my computer purchase a few months back so it was a token to buy),
2-it's very light, but still has a screen,
3-it has a replaceable battery,
4-i'm out of the itunes prison...

I thought it was going to be a real pain, but it was painless. AAC was converted no problem. So were itunes songs which I didn't think was possible. I made the switch even thinking I was going to lose songs I purchased on Itunes, which was a non-issue...

I am going to go out on an Ilimb and say the Iphone is going to be a bust. A big bust! Not initially. Early adopters will go out in droves to buy the thing, but in this case it's going to be painful to be an early adopter.

I think the consolidation and 'centralization' of your mp3 player, phone and hand held device is a bad idea. If your device goes down (take note...my Ipod did)...then you are not only out your mp3 player, you are without communication, your phone, and you are dead in the water with your files saved on your hand held device. And your wallet is broken as well...because you paid an arm and a leg for the thing in the first place. The thing doesn't even have to get busted...it just has to be misplaced...

No...the future...is seperate devices, but devices that can 'talk' to each other so your devices 'back each' other up. You have an 'ecosystem' (trying to bring that word back to the business world) of devices with no central device that you can't do without.

"Forgot your phone?" no worries, your mp3 player will play backup until you get your phone back...

"sat on your mp3 player?!" No problem...your phone has your fav songs...

Palm is moving in this direction with it's new foleo...

devices need to help one another...not compete with one another...just like their owners...