After receiving a very nice E-mail from someone at Apple Japan this morning who suggested we meet and discuss the possibility me doing an in-store presentation at one of their Tokyo boutiques (Weeeee!), I hope this doesn’t ruffle any feathers.
First off, the new video iPod looks beautiful. It won’t be long before we start seeing train commuters zoning out on their iPods instead of their keitai. However, it’s not the only handheld video player out there. I just learned that iRiver has one that’s larger, supports more codecs, has a built-in FM Tuner, can record audio and is in the same price range. I’m looking for something (besides a chloroform-soaked rag or a pair of gag balls) that’ll keep the kids quiet on long trips, and the iRiver, with its larger screen, might be better suited for it.
Second, if you want to sync your ipod to more than one PC, take a look at the freeware iTunes substitute Ephpod. I like to load some podcasts into my iPod in the morning at home, then add/delete some before I leave work. I also like backing up my library up once in a while, and Ephpod will not only dump all your MP3s into a specified directory, but also organize and rename the files based on the ID3 tags. Not only that, it also lets you easily edit the tags of a whole slew of files at once. There are many more very, very useful features it offers, like scanning the iPod for corrupt, orphaned or duplicate files.
I also learned through the Ephpod site that Updater 1.3.1 can be used to reformat a 1st or 2nd generation Mac iPod for Windows, giving my old and busted retro-cool player a new lease on life. Armed with that and an after-market replacement battery, some of you out there might be able to pick up a used model very cheap, since it might not look appealing to eBay’ers, Yahoo’ers and Rakuten’ers who aren’t in on this nifty little hack.
Cool news about the contact with Apple. Seems like it would be good exposure. Hope you do it. I’d like to see your presentation/performance. Might even try to podcast it (with your permission of course).
Excellent news Rich. It was funny when I launched iTunes 6 last night and saw one Adam Curry video in my video folder and over 10 HerroFlomJapan video podcasts in there. Awesome.
And … is that Scott from TokyoCalling? Man, its like a party in here. Hah, I feel like I know you guys because I see/listen to you all each week. Keep up the great work and best of luck to each of you.
Hmmm…some comments disappeared. No idea why. I really need to fix this piece of shit. Yep, that was Scott from Tokyo Calling.
AC’s video was underwhelming. I was really hoping for something better. If he did a short 5 min. videocast, say, once a week, even with just an iSight, I’d take the time to watch it.
I lived on the same street as the CEO of iRiver , He drove a Hummer with the iRiver logo on it , a Mercedes and a Acura NSX , I drive a Honda : ) and I like my ipod just fine !
Sorry to not put this comment in a more pertinent entry, but I wanted to just tell you that I found your podcast while playing around with the yahoo podcast search beta (which I don’t really like all that much). I love your recordings. I don’t think I quite got them all on my player, but that is just a matter of playing with my podcast software a little bit. Keep up the shows and I’ll keep on listening. I am a college student and my first 2 years of school I lived in a dorm with a half japanese half american guy that lived in japan from the age of about 4 until he was about 14 or 15. He got me very interested in more of the actual japanese cultural besides the normal anime and manga that americans are exposed to. Anyway, I just wanted to say that it is great to hear the sounds of Japan in your podcast and I also really like the shows you do with your kids. Anyway, thanks again.
Chris
Are you sure we’ll see people watching stuff on the trains? Isn’t the battery life of the Video Playback something like only 2.5 hours, and according to a poster in my local JR train, the average commute time is nearly 2 hours per day, so the chance of your battery running out is rather high.
Anyway, the PSP is a much more suitable device, IMO, for watching stuff, and as it has an external slot, you might be able to rip stuff straight off your PVR to Memory Stick – I know you can do that with a DIGA.
I’d pay money to the first company to come out with a device the size and weight of an iPod with one face being the screen, and an SD slot for storing contents; the Video iPod is merely a gimmick.
The battery life most certainly does suck, especially when you consider that’s the expected life of a brand new battery, not a six month old one. Why couldn’t they keep the thickness of the iPod the same and add a bigger battery? No matter, someone will come out with an external battery pack.
The video content that will be available for the iPod is what will make it a success. I’m hoping that The Discovery Channel will sign on.
For now, no doubt Apple really wants podcasters to start producing video, but from what I’ve read on Podcast Alley, there aren’t many podcasters willing to go through the trouble. All that means, really, is that videocasting will attract a new breed of attention-seekers.
Is two hours really the length of the average commute? That sounds to me like the very high end of the curve. When I was commuting daily between Koga and Tokyo, most people thought I was nuts.
Every time some new technology comes out, there are always people who dismiss it as a gimmick. Sometimes they’re right, sometimes they’re wrong. I don’t think personal video players are a gimmick–it’s just that the video iPod is just a first attempt.
As for the size of the screen, next time you’re watching TV in your living room, frame the screen with your fingers and see how small the image is. A 320 x 240 display held up to your face might not be much smaller.