So those who queued for days for an iPhone before its launch on June 29 have now been made to look double doofuses by Apple.
Not only did they wait needlessly when there were plentiful supplies, but a price cut just 10 weeks later means they paid $200 more than necessary.
For those that didn’t really want the phone, but the elements that made it the “best iPod ever” ( Steve Jobs’ description), it’s even worse. They could have saved $300 and got the new 8Gb iPod touch for $299.
The touch looks a winner with its touch-screen and wi-fi that brings internet browsing to a media player.
The new nano also sees Apple finally get it right with its most popular model – it can now play videos, sophisticated games, has more storage, a much better display, a full-metal jacket, better interface, cooler colours and 24-hour battery life for playing music.
The original iPod was renamed the “classic” today, but it is looking more like the “prehistoric” squeezed between the nano and the touch. The only thing in its favour seems to be storage – 160Gb for $349. Jobs emphasised you could store 40,000 songs on it, but who has 40,000 they need to carry around with them?
The only other disappointment in the presentation was the lack of any content announcements – the anticipated availability of the Beatles catalogue failed to materialise.
There were also no new video deals to accompany the nano’s empowerment, only a bitch from Jobs about his row with NBC, which is moving its content to Amazon.
Making an individual ringtone for his iPhone out of John Lennon’s “Give Peace A Chance”, he said: “That’s for when NBC calls.”
