(Maybe leave this here in General, though it deals with the capabilities in the latest version of iPhone 2.0 software - which can also be used in Touch.)
I believe that manufacturers of hifi and mobile phones around the world are scrambling now, and I can well understand why Bill Gates recently chose to step down. Apple have placed a mark so high as to what's possible that people must be on their way back from vacations to figure out how to respond.
The iPhone is not just a phone. The entire concept is devastatingly effective.
An example. I installed a free application called Shazam. It listens to music that you want to tag - you can be seated in a café, in front of your radio or television. Takes about eight seconds, and Shazam identifies the music - this is also available for other mobile phones, what comes next isn't: Shazam then finds out whether the piece of music you listened to has films on YouTube, and also links to iTunes Store, where you can purchase the music. You can instantly play videos, etc. related to the music.
Another program: BoxOffice. You give it your zip-code (versions for locations outside the U.S. are coming.)
Then you specify how many miles you're willing to travel - 5, 10, 15.
And it will find either specific movies, or all movies showing in theatres within the radius of that circle. With times when they are showing, and the addresses of the movie theatres.
AND - it also ranks the movies according to the scores they have received over at www.rottentomatoes.com - and gives you a small capsule review, as well as links to full reviews.
Of course, you can use the built-in GPS to plot a course from where you are to where the movie is showing.
Tuner - one of several internet radio playback and control applications, many of which are free.
NetNewsWire - which connects to RSS and other feeds you have specified, making following these easy as pie.
The point being - 25.000 developers applied, and 4.000 were approved. There's a deluge of AppStore applications -- many free and incredibly good, and many for sale -- and they are providing unbelievable enhancements to this "phone".
I've previously mentioned that I was more than pleased with Remote, which is free and which gave me control of iTunes playback of movies and music; and there are other applications, both available now and coming, that will provide hardware control.
In essence, there are very few limits to what the iPhone and the iPod Touch can do now - with the iPhone having the most capabilities of the two, and with the iPhone having become so powerful that you'll probably often just leave your laptop behind.
As people begin savouring the world of what AppStore applications are making possible, coupled with the amazing features of the iPhone itself, the bar has been raised to a point far above whatever else is out on the market today.
Implications for hifi, B&O and others?
For one, Squeezebox and Sonos were just made obsolete. With an iPod Touch or iPhone you now have full, multi-room control of playback of both movies and music, as well as other digital files. Remote can access various libraries throughout your house, associated with different Macs or storage devices, and can initiate and control playback from these - of both audio and video that has been stored digitally.
Which means that the sensible thing to do is to simply accept that Apple has just cleared the roost as far as the storage and playback control of digital content is concerned - when hardware control is added to the equation, you'll simply want to control everything with a Touch or iPhone, and you will expect your hifi-company to simply deliver solutions that accept the output from Apple's devices. (Windows machines can also be controlled by iPhone and iPod Touch, for those who wonder.)
AppleTV added HDMI 1080p resolution as one of the possible choices in the video settings menu in the latest update, which means that ATV should soon be giving us access to Full-HD content. (HD-content available now is 1080i with 5.1 Dolby Digital).
It's possible to output high resolution video and audio from their computers (they're used by both the music and video industries ...), which means that we can have that same resolution in our living rooms, if we wish.
And that takes me to my point: I really think that it's going to be very, very difficult to outsmart or outdo Apple when it comes to convenient computer control of digital content. HiFi manufacturers should simply recognise that, and work with what these components are making possible, rather than trying to come up with an alternative.
Just imagine, there are 4.000 approved AppStore developers (companies and individuals) creating applications now - from apps that let you track every one of BA's flights, to sophisticated scientific apps, and a smattering of truly fun games and interactions.
The game just changed, and everything is different from now on. B&O should truly focus on creating the best possible speakers and screens, as well as other hardware required to make playback of content from Apple's units as brillliant as possible ... the company from One Infinity Loop is just too far ahead of everyone else ...
Thoughts?
