The recent launch of iPod’s newest addition to its impressive ranks, the iPod Touch, caused rambunctious reactions from fans and techies both in and out of the World Wide Web. With the almost undistinguishable features of the iPod Touch from the iPhone, rants and raves from reviews sprouted left and right. A lot of fans simply gushed over the idea of a touch-screen iPod, but when Apple decided to remove a few features from the original advertisements, the buzz really began.
The question is… is the iPod Tuoch the latest in iPod a valuable addition to the iPod lineup, or did they unknowingly created iPhone’s biggest competitor? The latest in iPod includes the almost-identical functionalities as the iPhone. In fact, the description of the iod Touch says “iPod Touch features the same revolutionary interface as iPhone”. The said interface includes features such as a large 3.5-inch display, touch-screen interface, touch-screen QWERTY keyboard, Safari browser, and YouTube.
However, it seems like Apple was still working out the kinks and changed the lineup of features that a few hawk-eyed readers did not miss. In an attempt to make the line dividing iPod Touch and the iPhone more visible, Apple removed the “entering calendar events” feature and also pulled out the Bluetooth functionality just before they launched the iPod Touch.
Apple seemed to want to market the iPod touch as a mere entertainment device and to leave the productivity bits to the iPhone. The latest in iPod news spread like wildfire via blogs–this maneuver caused blog entries questioning the ethical aspect of Apple’s decision to mushroom all over the blogosphere. Many expressed the opinion that Apple risked customer alienation by this move.
According to a few tech fans, the SMS, Bluetooth, EDGE and the phone itself is enough to justify the hundred-dollar gap between the iPod Touch and the iPhone. Limiting a simple piece of software to make buyers go for the iPhone instead is, according to tech fans, a very dodgy un-Apple decision.
Also, some techies apparently see a gaping loophole–more than a few wondered how soon it would be before a hacker could tap into iPod Touch’s wireless capability and get the features that Apple crippled. A few expressed that all it takes is one determined hacker to modify audio in and out and smooth out the glitches, then wifi VOIP would soon be running on the iPod Touch–and voila! A pseudo iPhone is born.
What could have been a golden innovation for the latest in iPod–a mere mp3/mp4 player with the almost-same functions as a PDA–seemed to have turned into a boo-boo instead. By creating the iPod Touch, seems like Apple made a conflict that they did not foresee–they created their own tough competition.