From Slate: "Apple Computer and XM Radio both unveiled hot, next-generation portable music players this morning.
Apple's upgraded iPod Photo has 60 gigs of storage capacity, a color screen, and new software that lets you bloat it with photos as well as music... XM's new MyFi player is, in short, the first satellite radio Walkman. It can tune into 130-plus channels of digital radio and even store five hours of programming for you to play back at your leisure...
"My instant take on today's game of whiz-bang one-upmanship is that both companies lost... This new iPod Photo is the same iPod we're already sick of hearing about. The 2-inch color screen isn't the start of any digital revolution — all it does is turn your iPod into a camera phone that can't take pictures or make phone calls...
"The biggest problem with XM right now, though, is content. It's got 130 channels that I don't want to listen to. There's no
Howard Stern, no Car Talk, no Rush Limbaugh. If XM has ever played Fischerspooner or Trooper, I missed it. If you want your music, stick to the iPod...
"Apple's player is the only way to go if you suddenly want to listen to a Clash song from 25 years ago, but if you need to find out the news from five minutes ago, your iPod is useless. You're better off with MyFi or even a clunky, AM-only boom box. Forget that new U2 tune — the iPod theme song should be 'Dancing With Myself.'..
"Is it just me, or is it obvious that these companies should get together? What I really want is a wireless iPod that can suck down live
updates or a MyFi that lets me play every track that XM has ever broadcast. Instead, I'm forced to choose between immediacy and control — or forced to spend $700 to have both. I'll save my money and hope they solve my dilemma for me."
Read this entire article online here.
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