The iPod in 2009: Still Cool, or Commodity?

I can remember the first time I saw a stranger with an iPod. I was jogging with my own iPod at a local park, when I saw the tell-tale white earbuds headed towards me in the ears of a lovely young lady. She smiled, and I smiled, and no it wasn't my exuberant charm, or that she was exceedingly pretty (she was lovely, but not that lovely). No, it was the recognition that we were part of a club. We were part of a small group of people who "got it."

Here we are, 2009, and those iPod headphones have become so ubiquitous that it's numbing. Seeing someone with an iPod is like going to a friend's house and seeing they have cable: you have something in common, but there's nothing intrinsically cool about it. Now if they had cable in the early 80's, well that's a different story.

When I had that iPod, I was the only person in my family (immediate or extended) to own any Apple product. Today, I've troubleshooted iPods for 10 year-old nephews, and Uncles and Aunts of a certain age, as well as my parents. When you buy a cool new gadget, and then see grandma on the treadmill with it, it takes something away.

So what do you think? Is there any "cool" left in the iPod? Is there anything Apple can do to keep it "hip" in addition to ahead of the competitors? Does it even matter if it's "cool"? Can you have anything selling millions of units for years on end, and still feel like you're part of a "club" for having it?

Spore for the iPod Clickwheel Review

There was a lot of buzz over Spore. Heck it took years to finally ship to consoles, and when it headed to the iphone, the buzz started once again. Off the radar of many though, was a quieter release: Spore: Origins for the clickwheel iPod. Despite being the cheapest version of Spore (not counting the free trial for iPhone) the clickwheel version gives the same gameplay as it's more expensive iPhone counterpart. The clickwheel works relatively well to control your creation, athough customization is a little tricky:

Star Trigon for iPod Game Review

While it may seem that the kids with the shiny new iPhones and iPod Touch(es) are having all the fun, let's not forget about the good old click wheel iPod. Macgirl has a quick video review of Star Trigon for the iPod. The short summary of the already short review: Fun, but repetitive:

TDL Live This week: (9/22-9/29)

From the new, new Microsoft ads, to iTunes movies in Germany, we've got you covered in our weekly look at Apple news and rumors: TDL Live

New iPods Announced and We Fall Asleep

Ok maybe that headline is a bit harsh. Certainly today's event was better than the infamous HiFi and leather case debacle of a few years back, but we can't help but wonder why these annual iPod announcements can't be handled via a press release and update to the website. If we take off our cynical hat for a second there are a few things we did learn today.

1) Steve is apparently still alive (and very thin). His first keynote slide jokingly referenced this.

2) Clearly the "fatty" Nano of last year was a mistake. Can an all touch iPod lineup be that far off?

3) Apple has so much power in the industry they can even force NBC's hand.

4) The iPod Classic is on its last leg. 160GB model discontinued.

5) Apple ear buds are now more over priced than ever. $79....ouch

6) iPod Touch owners continue to get screwed with paid software updates.

7) Apple has Nintendo and Sony in their crosshairs. Steve announces "It's the best portable device for playing games." Need for Speed looks hot!

All in all we'll grade this event a B- and focus our attention on early 2009 for some real surprises.