iPod - what are apple thinking of??

[Spud1]

This is a bit of a ranty post i'm afraid, but there is a point

My housemate has recieved his shiny new iPod from apple, and we've been having a play and comparing to my old 4G one (plays music, monochrome screen etc).

The first thing that I saw was the tiny packaging it came in relative to the chunky box I had - ok so its great that apple are reducing packaging, helping the environment etc - but when you are paying nearly £200 for something it would be nice to have the nicely designed pretty boxes of old.

Then we unpack it - and there is no A/C adapter! This is the real reason for this post, I just cannot understand how apple can get away with this..the iPod is now a portable music player only if you are going within a few hours of a PC or Mac..So if i want to take my iPod on holiday I can't charge it up without buying a separate charger..if the battery was user changable again i could understand this, but as its not..

The design of the ipod itself has changed for the worse too, the headphone socket has moved and lost its control port (grr) and the locks gone to the other side..not a big issue but it does mean replacing certain accessories if i want to upgrade (and losing out on my headphone control).

In reality I know the answer to my own question - apple can do this because they save money and 99% of customers won't care and will still buy it anyway (because its an apple product). Don't get me wrong i do like apple products, love my macbook and my current 4G ipod (still going strong!), but when it comes to replacing this iPod..maybe I will have to look elsewhere ;/

[HelldiverS]

What do you mean its lost its control port?

Removing the AC adapter is a way of making more money. Not everyone wants it and those that so will have to buy it.

[Spud1]

By control port i mean the socket that is around the headphone jack - used for some types of headphones to let you use an in-line remote for controlling playback.

[5lab]

the smaller players often only charge off usb - my creative is certainly like that, and i know a mates is the same. an adapter only costs a couple of quid..

[herulach]

apple havent been shipping a/c adaptors for a long while. I suppose its the same logic that ends up with pc world making more money from sellling you a usb cable than the printer its to work

[HelldiverS]

By control port i mean the socket that is around the headphone jack - used for some types of headphones to let you use an in-line remote for controlling playback.

There is a remote for the new iPods isn't there? So the connections are there somewhere. Apple are well known for their forced obsolescence. They do it all the time with their computers.

[trashcanmonkey]

not a very fair argument. They supply everything one needs, so no adapter but its not as if theyre not giving any way to charge it, and yes third party chargers are dirt cheap.

i like the new boxes, and if it helps the environment then rock on.

About the control port, (the new ones have it integrated through the headphone jack) Technology moves on...... stuff has to change sometime. sacrifices with backwards compatibility have to be made in order to free up space for new stuff, this is the same with every company in every field.

just get over it and enjoy your nice new player!

[da.Guvna]

Whatever you do mate, don't get any of the new Sony players.

I've got an NW-A3000......it's nice in some areas, but with hindsight I wouldn't buy another.