SPIN CYCLE : iPod makes bothersome technology so portable
Posted on Sunday, September 24, 2006
I was so excited when I bought my iPod two years ago.
I could enjoy my whole CD collection ! I could hear the newest music ! All the time and everywhere, like even on the subway !
And then after spending several hundred dollars on the portable music player, it occurred to me that I never really listen to most of my CD collection. I don’t like all that much new music. And we don’t have a subway.
I rarely had the energy, hours or desire to spend importing old stuff and uploading new stuff on it. And when I did have the energy, hours and desire, the iPod didn’t — the battery would inevitably need serious charging time. I never used it, and I vowed not to buy such a thing in the future.
Then iPod introduced something new, a portable music player that doubled as a video player !
I could enjoy television shows ! I could see the newest movies ! I could use it to store photos ! All the time and anywhere, like even on an airplane !
And then after spending several more hundred dollars on yet another iPod, it occurred to me I still don’t listen to that much music, and I’d have to pay to watch television. I could barely see the not-so-newest movies on that tiny iPod screen. I already have a digital camera, camera phone and computer if I want to store photos. And planes are really noisy.
All of the above was discovered on a recent trip when I depended on my video iPod for my in-flight entertainment on a two-hour trip. I excitedly clicked through iTunes’ menus to plan what programs and movies to watch and prepared to be the envy of the plane with my new toy.
While I was pleased to see fun options like The Daily Show With John Stewart and Project Runway, I wasn’t thrilled about the price. Watching the super small-screen iTunes version of these programs costs $ 1. 99 each plus tax. Like one doesn’t already pay enough of a monthly fee to watch the same shows at home.
But downloading shows is a bargain compared to buying iPod movies. Want to watch Grosse Point Blank, The English Patient or Good Will Hunting ? (Well, maybe I did back in the 1990 s. While there are a few newer selections like Eight Below, a large majority of available movies are definitely dated. ) It costs $ 9. 99 plus tax. Never did a date to the cinema seem so reasonable !
Going to a cinema is a lot less complicated and time consuming, I found out, while downloading the somewhat recent Casanova. It took ages for the computer to receive the movie, additional ages for the computer to receive the movie again after a hiccup interrupted the first attempt and then even more ages for the movie to load on to the iPod.
For the same price as the iPod movie, I could have had a much better time with some adult beverages and the Sky Mall magazine (and not because of the movie, although one reviewer quoted on www. rottentoma toes. com had this to say about the 2005 film: “What’s meant to evoke Shakespeare in Love ends up more often evoking Saved By The Bell” ). My eyes hurt squinting at the 2. 5-inch color screen, and even with the earphones adjusted to the highest volume, I couldn’t easily make out what the actors were saying over the plane’s whir and passengers’ prattle (although maybe that was less the fault of the iPod and more the fault of Australian actor Heath Ledger using an English accent in a movie set in Venice ).
Eventually I did get my hearing and vision somewhat accustomed to the device, right about the time we were directed to stow away electronics for landing. Had I been on a longer flight, I still probably wouldn’t have seen the ending, as the burdened battery that was full at takeoff indicated it was about ready to quit.
Ah well, at least I was the envy of the plane.
Well, I would have been if the people around me weren’t so busy watching movies on their larger-screen portable DVD players and laptops. Good will e-mailing: jchristman@arkansasonline. com Spin Cycle is a weekly smirk at pop culture.
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