The rumour mill didn't do Apple any favours at its recent product rollout conference in San Francisco. The iPod Touch was upgraded with a faster processor and a 64 GB model was introduced, as predicted, but the new versions also lacked a camera - a feature that many supposed insiders assured us was going to be included in this generation. Instead, new versions of the smaller iPod Nano were launched with a built-in video camera that shoots at 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, but that can't take still pictures.
Probably the biggest thing to come out of the conference was iTunes 9.0, which among other things has an LP mode (where the albums you buy come with lyrics, cover art, photographs and other special features, and the videos you buy come with additional content), an upgraded Genius feature for generating playlists, and the ability to manage Apps and content on your iPhone or iPod Touch, among other incremental improvements.
There was no Apple tablet, which some people were expecting, although with the general theme of "It's Only Rock and Roll" it is probably being saved for a later date.
While the general consensus of the tech trolls out there is that the event was a disappointment, I wouldn't worry too much about Apple just yet - sales are up in every category, and a line of lower-priced Nanos with cameras and radio can only help their bottom line.
But if there was a real winner last week it was definitely Microsoft. On Sept. 15 the company launched its Zune HD line of portable media devices, an answer to the iPod Touch. Without having a lot of details at this point - touch screen with great picture and resolution, tilt-sensitive accelerometers, HD radio, web access, app store and a lower price than iPod Touch - Microsoft's answer to Apple is expected to sell very, very well. The fact that the iPod Touch didn't come with a camera takes away the one advantage that the iPod Touch was supposed to have over the Zune HD (that is, if you don't consider iTunes integration, the incredible App store and a two-year headstart).
All the tech specs are there at www.apple.ca and www.zune.com and if you want a side-by-side comparison then try www.gizmodo.com or www.engadget.com or www.cnet.com... pretty much every review site is going to compare the Touch and HD.
While I'm on the whole Apple vs. Microsoft thing - a popular theme with the pending release of Windows 7, it's interesting to note that Apple has yet to reply to the growing number of touch screen all-in-one desktop computers that mimic the design of the Apple iMac. HP was first to market, but Dell and Sony weren't far behind and now there are probably a dozen computers out there with touch.
I can understand Apple's hesitation - it's one thing to have a touch-screen iPod Touch where there's no space for a keyboard or mouse, and another to have it on a desktop where you're still going to use your keyboard and mouse most of the time. Other than the ability to use your fingers to browse through your media and some child-friendly games and colouring programs, there's not a lot of use for touch technology - at least not yet.
Games that are an investment
World of Warcraft is a massive, fun and almost endless online role playing game with - imagine this - 11.5 million subscribers around the world. Blizzard, which was acquired by money factory Activision in 2007, rakes in about $15 per month from each subscriber, which adds up to around $172.5 million in revenues each month - not including game sales, conferences, T-shirts, action figures (you can get models made of your custom character) and other stuff.
Your commitment is about $180 a year, which some could argue is a bargain given the potentially hundreds of hours of entertainment to be had.
This week Harmonix released The Beatles on Rockband, inviting people to play 45 different Beatles tracks while singing or "playing" drums and guitar. If you already have the Rock Band set it will set you back about $60 for the game but to get the full kit - microphone, drum set and guitar - you're going to have to shell out about $250 at Future Shop or Best Buy.
Again, hundreds of hours of entertainment potentially, as well as a game that you can enjoy with friends and family instead of alone in a dark room, like World of Warcraft. But $250 is pretty steep, probably twice what I spend on games every year.
Next up is Tony Hawk Ride, also by Activision. Like Rock Band this is a game that also comes with a very expensive peripheral - a full-size skateboard deck with onboard tilt control and infrared sensors that you use to control your player on the screen. The price has not been officially announced, but some retailers have hinted that it will go for around $150 in Canada. That's in Christmas present range for most kids, but it's still a lot of money to spend on a peripheral that works with exactly one game (at this point, although more skateboard and snowboard games will follow, and maybe also surfing and wakeboarding).
