Movies
iPods on a plane
Update, 16 Nov: as David points out, some of the airlines named in the Think Secret story are denying everything…
I mentioned this story - Apple signs a deal to put iPods in planes - in the Zune comments thread, but I reckon it deserves a post in its own right. It’s a vivid illustration of why Apple’s such a fascinating firm to watch, because the story made my jaw drop.
According to Think Secret, Apple is working with six major airlines to put iPod connectivity in their planes. It sounds like they’ll be using iPod docks, and the result is that you’ll not only be able to keep your iPod powered on long flights, but you’ll also be able to display clips from your iPod Video on the seat-back screen. As Squander Two put it: “In one fell swoop, the Video iPod is transformed from pointless gimmick into rather useful thing.”
He’s not wrong. It also turns iTunes movie downloads into something considerably more attractive. If you’ve ever been stuck with the in-flight entertainment on a long haul flight you’ll know just how bad it can be, and the iPod alternative - choose what you want to watch before you fly, stick it on your iPod and watch it on a decent sized screen - is a great idea. Mobile video is a fairly niche product, because unlike music you need to be able to give it your full attention. And when you’re stuck on a plane, you’ve plenty of attention to give.
Let’s imagine the war of the MP3 players as a game of chess. Apple’s made some moves, Microsoft’s made some moves, then Apple’s made a minor move - redesigned Nanos, etc - before Microsoft plays the Zune. Apple doesn’t react, and while Microsoft keeps a poker face, inside it’s going “woo-hoo! The game is mine!” - but then Apple makes its airplane move. It’s not so much a case of taking one of Microsoft’s pieces off the board; rather, it’s akin to attacking the entire board with a rocket launcher and then dancing on Microsoft’s head in football boots.
Hmmm. Maybe the chess analogy isn’t the best one.
Anyway. If, as seems to be the case, the airline deal means iPod docks rather than a couple of bog standard connectors, Apple’s completely outflanked Microsoft (and Creative, and Sony, and…) on this one. Sure, you can take a Zune on a plane, or a network walkman (or whatever Sony’s calling their MP3 players these days). But only the iPod is actually integrated. It’s the same with cars: sure, some systems have an aux plug that lets you plug anything in. But the nice stuff, the control-your-player-from-the-steering-wheel stuff, that’s iPod-only. How long before Apple announces a similar deal to integrate iPods with in-car video systems? With Zune, Microsoft’s going after the player in your pocket. But Apple’s already thinking of bigger things.
Incidentally, how long do you think it’ll be between the launch of in-flight iPods and the first newspaper story featuring appalled passengers who’ve been subjected to some idiot’s porn collection? I reckon a few weeks, tops.
TV and movies coming to the Xbox
Apple isn’t the only firm flogging TV shows and movie downloads: Microsoft’s getting in on the act too.
Beginning on its first anniversary, November 22, Xbox 360 will become the first gaming console in history to provide HD TV shows and movies directly to gamers in their own living rooms. Xbox 360 gamers will be able to download full-length TV shows to own, and will be able to rent movies via download from the Xbox Live® network, the world leader in online distribution of high-definition gaming and entertainment content.
It’s not really a surprise - MS has been offering shows for download on Media Center PCs for a while, and the Xbox Live service has offered video downloads from the get-go - but it’s yet more proof that Microsoft’s vision for the Xbox is as an all-singing, all-dancing home entertainment system rather than just a console.
The November launch is US-only, and it’s unclear whether Microsoft will offer a similar service over here.
Freakishly thin bodies with giant, tottering heads
Information Week has published a nice opinion piece by Cory Doctorow on High Definition TV. He’s not impressed, and his op-ed takes in excessive DRM, daft hardware specifications and the aforementioned giant tottering heads.
Six-word film review escapes from underneath Deadline Mountain
Children of Men is pretty good.
Zune launches today
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Engadget has (most of) the details, although somehow I don’t think the launch will attract quite as much online attention as this week’s iPod stuff. Still, looks quite nifty with good file format support and a nice screen. Until we know the price, though, it’s hard to say whether it’ll fall into the “want one!” category.
Interesting colours, too. Brown, anyone?
Update
Microsoft’s main emphasis with Zune is on social networking, so the idea is that you’ll be able to beam tracks to your pals for them to check out. They’ll be able to listen three times to those tracks, and when they get home they can - of course - go online to buy the songs. It’s not clear yet whether that sharing applies to all your MP3s or just your purchased ones; if it’s the latter, it’s considerably less interesting.
The thought that immediately springs to mind is that Zune exists to sell music. That’s very different from Apple, whose iTunes basically exists to sell iPods (the figures of paid downloads per iPod are still tiny - 20ish per player. Most music is ripped, with illegal downloads coming second and legal music a good bit behind).
Update, 15th Sept.
Still no news of pricing - Microsoft says “competitive” - or battery life (still testing that, apparently), but it seems the sharing feature applies to all your music. Unfortunately that means unprotected files you share will be DRMed before they land on someone else’s Zune.
Interestingly, Zune Marketplace will use Microsoft Points, the currency currently used on Xbox Live. Points will be interchangeable between Xbox and Zune.
Apple video: it’s not about the iPod
As expected, Apple revamped the iPod range yesterday; however, the expected video iPod didn’t appear. Instead, Apple provided a sneak peek of a product due in early 2007 dubbed “iTV” - which, to me at least, is more important than a video iPod.
Portable music makes sense because it’s the soundtrack to whatever you’re doing, whether that’s jogging, sitting on a bus or mowing the lawn. Portable video, though, is a much trickier proposition. It needs your full attention or it’s pointless, and unless you’re doing serious travelling then there aren’t many times when you’ll sit and watch a film on a portable device. For most people, movies are things you watch from your sofa.
iTV (terrible name, which Jobs promises to change) is designed for sofa watching, and it acts as a bridge between iTunes and your TV. The idea makes sense to me - I’ve got a Mac Mini under the telly, which I use as a jukebox and a player for bittorrent videos of programmes I’ve forgotten to watch. But it makes sense for Apple’s movie ambitions too.
Video on iPods is a fairly minor business, but video on your TV is a much bigger opportunity. I suspect that’s why Apple announced the iTV early: the initial iTunes video line-up is Disney, Disney, Disney, and iPod-only video is a market the other film studios can afford to ignore. But if Apple can do serious business in living rooms then that changes the game considerably. If iTV is a success, it could enable Apple to pull off the iTunes trick a second time, with a video service so popular that the studios need to be part of it.
Will that happen? I’ve no idea. I’m not convinced by the pricing of Apple’s movie downloads and suspect the UK prices will be horrific, especially compared to the cost of a DVD in Tesco. Then again, I don’t buy music from iTunes because I don’t like the format, the price or the DRM, and that clearly makes me unusual among Mac owners. What I do know is that Apple’s taking a big gamble here, and it’s moves like this one that make it such an interesting company to watch.
As for the rest of the keynote: iTunes 7 is nifty, the incomprehensibly popular Shuffle is even smaller, the new Nanos are great and the combination of increased storage and reduced prices make the current iPods better value for money than ever.
Zune: Microsoft’s doing an Xbox
More details on Zune are starting to appear, and while there’s still no hard information on what the device will actually do (although the message from Microsoft is that it ain’t a portable Xbox; it’s a caring, sharing media playback device) the big picture is starting to emerge. I’m particularly interested in this snippet from Zune Zone:
Microsoft are not looking at payback from the Zune project until 3 to 5 years down the line, said Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s entertainment and devices division, today at Microsoft’s annual analyst meeting.
To me, that sounds like Microsoft’s doing an Xbox. You probably know this already, but just in case: the original Xbox lost Microsoft a whopping $4 billion over four years, but presumably Microsoft thought it was worth it to get 20% of the console market. And now, it seems as if it’s taking the same approach to Zune.
This isn’t a new approach. Amazon.com did it for years, losing as much as 30% on every sale until it had wiped out the competition and developed sufficient muscle to demand big discounts from retailers. While it was building up market share it lost a fortune, but in the long term that paid off. I think the same will ultimately happen with the Xbox - provided it eventually pays, that is; I can’t imagine a third-gen console from Microsoft if the 360 doesn’t get the games division back into the black. So if Microsoft is taking the same approach with the Zune, things could get interesting.
Of course, you can’t polish a turd, and no amount of discounting or long-term courage will persuade punters to buy a product if it sucks. But if we can leave Apple vs Microsoft fanboyism out of the picture for a moment, it’s important to acknowledge what Microsoft does. Yes, it rushes products to market; yes, sometimes it backs the wrong horse. But Microsoft is very good at learning from its mistakes, and it has both the determination and the cash reserves to stand by projects until they work. If the first Zune is good, then hurrah - even if you’re a die-hard Apple fan, competition is good because it’ll make Apple raise their game. And if the first Zune is bad? If Microsoft’s committed to losing money for three to five years, you can be sure that it’ll keep refining the device until it *is* good.
I’ve said before that Apple owes some of its iPod success to the complete inability of its competitors to get their shit together. I think that’s still true in many ways - Sony’s MP3 players are superb of late, but they still have Sony’s horrible software; some PlaysForSure devices are pretty nifty, but the vital spark (for me at least) is missing; Portable Media Centers are a nice idea, but not very attractive in reality, and so on.
Where Apple’s approach to digital music is icy cool and rather aloof - “We made this. We’re geniuses. Of course you’ll love it” - Microsoft’s more puppyish: “is this cute?” “What about now?” “Now?” “How about now?” “Love me love me love me love me!” And each time Microsoft tries, it tries that little bit harder, and it does things that little bit better - so for example, Windows Media player has evolved over its 11 iterations from something that really, really sucked to something that’s really very impressive. Windows Mobile did the same - used to suck, now it’s excellent - and while Microsoft’s forays into the portable media market haven’t been perfect so far, odds are they’ll get it right eventually.
I’m fascinated by this, and I really hope the Zune is as good as Microsoft clearly thinks it is - as I say, even if you hate Microsoft, an intense war between MS and Apple means both firms will raise their game. We’ll find out in the next couple of weeks when the device is finally revealed.
Naturally if it’s a piece of crap I’ll pretend I predicted that all along…
Microsoft admits: the Zune “iPod killer” exists. Hype time!
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Microsoft has finally confirmed that its iPod-killer project, Zune, exists. Engadget has a good write-up of what we know, what we think we know and what we don’t know for sure, and the insider blogs have already appeared: ZuneInsider and Madison & Pine.
It’s all very interesting. More hype here and here.
Prefab populism
Paul pointed me towards an excellent Esquire article on the problems of populism: The Snakes On A Plane Problem. It’s an interesting piece on the dangers of pandering to blog opinion, and the problem of working out what exactly audiences/readers/whatever want. And it contains this superb anecdote:
True story: My friend Jenny is in law school, and one of her classmates went to a movie in April. When the coming attractions started, the first image was of dozens of unsuspecting plane passengers sitting in the cabin of an airborne 757. The moment he saw this, the mischievous law student yelled, “Snakes on a plane!” presumably to amuse and unify the other patrons. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a trailer for United 93, which significantly reduced the hilarity of his outburst.
Little thoughts
…none of which justifies an entire blog post:
* I traded in a bunch of 360 games at the weekend: PDZ (because it sucks), Ghost Recon (because it’s too difficult) and Far Cry: Predator (because I’ve already played it on Xbox and can’t be bothered with the new mission). Result? Nearly sixty quid, which I put to use by buying two pre-owned games. In the shiny, DRM-protected download future, I won’t be able to do that.
* Pirates of the Caribbean 2 is an hour too long, like every sodding film seems to be these days. At two and a half hours films stop being entertainment and become bladder abuse, with added numb-arse syndrome (and if you’re a smoker, thoughts of murder). As for the film itself, I was mildly entertained but can’t really remember anything about it. But - sad internet type that I am - I had to restrain myself from punching the air when the trailer for Snakes on a Plane appeared.
* There weren’t any anti-online-piracy ads before Pirates… a missed opportunity, not least because it would have been the first time I could have shouted “Yarrrrr” without being out of context.
* There were anti-fake-DVD ads though. At last they seem to have abandoned the “if you buy these, you’re funding Osama Bin Laden” approach and started stating the bleedin’ obvious: fake DVDs suck.
* Red Eye (Cillian Murphy film) is ace. And the DVD’s cheap.
* The new Thom Yorke and Muse albums are really rather good.
* Every time I hear Snow Patrol’s “Run”, I get really angry. I’ll come back to this soon.
* Prey (the game) is all right. If you like that sort of thing, it’s the sort of thing you’ll like.
* British men - me included - really can’t do summer clothes.
* Tim Dorsey has a new book out, The Big Bamboo. I’m halfway through it and it’s as demented as his other stuff.