New iPod Nano and iTunes Revealed

iTunes and NBC have made up and are back in a new contract to showcase their shows. This is just one of the many revealed news that Steve Jobs has given us. The new iPod Nano is returning to its original design being rectangular with a larger screen. It will have the capability to flip horiztonal and vertical directions when you turn the iPod (much like the iPhone and iTouch), and will also have a new software feature called “Genius” which will recommend songs or movies based off of the chocies you make with your current music or playlists. It will also shuffle your songs if you shake the device. What is even more impressive is that an 8 gig model will cost only $150, which was the price for a 1 gig model two years ago.

Many have worried that Apple will begin to phase out the iPods due to being possibly obsolete with the invention of the iPhone. However, with these new models being created, it seems they have no intention of killing off the series anytime soon. And, to be honest, why would they? There are still millions of people who don’t have an iPhone and probably never intend to get one. Besides, the iPhone only holds 8 gigs of space, and some people (like myself) need a lot more to hold all the music and videos that they have.

Bottom line, Apple just keeps on ticking and improving their products and technology. I personally like that they went back to the original design of the Nano, especially the fun features they tacked on to it (shaking it to make it shuffle is a sweet idea). I am also glad to hear that they brought back ties to NBC. It felt empty without The Office on iTunes.

Posted by Alcamadus

The New Seinfeld-Vista Ad

In a previous blog, kingdaved made clear his distain for all things Microsoft and their new ad campaign with huge comedian Jerry Seinfeld. Well, that new ad has been released and to say the least: it sucks. 

I have to give it to them, they definitely play off of Seinfeld’s strengths by making the ad about nothing. But, that is the main problem of the ad in itself, you are expecting something. When you get nothing you feel disappointed, especially when you aren’t even laughing. Seinfeld sadly acts like a big goof, and Bill Gates tries his best at acting. While this is a huge ad campaign for Vista, it is never mentioned in the ad and only a small Windows symbol is shown at the end for five seconds. Personally, I think it failed and miserably. If they wanted to bring a war to Apple, they showed up with knives to a tank fight and got blowed up….real quick. The one thing that I definitely noticed about the ad was how old Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld have become. It doesn’t help Windows much when big red letters keep flashing “Windows is an old, out-dated pile of trash.” Ok, that didn’t happen, but that is what I saw when I see Bill Gates looking like Father Time. They even show his age even more when they slip in a small id picture of him when he was a teenager. 

Here’s the real kicker, they spent millions on Jerry Seinfeld, for this? How depressing. They should really consider getting better writers and getting rid of Bill Gates. The best case scenario would be if they did some kind of Seinfeld stand up bit attacking Apple, but Microsoft knows they don’t have to go on the offensive because they already own the market, but doing ads like this is just pathetic. I hope the next one is better, because this was just awful. Awful. 

 

…awful

Posted by Alcamadus