Due to a leap year bug, which Tony has identified, many Microsoft Zunes stopped working yesterday and have resumed working today.
If no publicity is bad publicity then this “crisis” was actually quite excellent for Microsoft. The Zune has gotten more media coverage in the past couple days than all of last year!
When the iPod Touch first came out, I wrote that I wasn’t going to buy one (I Will Not Be Spending $400). But as they’ve become more and more ubiquitous, I can’t help but really start to like the device. The price has dropped now, the App Store is up and running, and the Touch is one powerful device. But it still seems a device aimed at entertainment, not productivity. And while rumors fly about a potential 7 or 9 inch Touch to be released September 2009, here are the features that I need if I’m ever going to buy one.
1. Better productivity apps.
I take my laptop down to campus every day. It’s not that heavy, but every once and a while, when my bag is filled with books, I really wish there was something else. For this reason, I’ve considered an Asus EeePC, but find that having two computers is a dreadful hassle. If the Touch was built with some productivity in mind, it might do very well for my purposes. How about some software to read and edit word processing documents? I want a Touch version of Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. Then let them automatically backup on my computer when docking the Touch.
2. Easy connection to a projector.
Picture this – I know for class I will have to show some slides on the big screen. I take out my Touch, plug in the adaptor, and BAM!, Keynote opens up and starts my slideshow. I can flick through the slides with my finger and the students are all wowed. It’s easy to show web pages as well, thanks to the excellent Safari browser. Even if I did bring my laptop down, it can stay in my office. My Touch takes care of everything. I’ve read some reports of how this might be done, but they all seem hack-ish and I’ve read no reports of anyone doing it successfully.
3. Bluetooth!
I will not buy an iPod Touch (well… you never know) without Bluetooth! I must be able to connect a Bluetooth keyboard to the Touch. Imagine this – I sit down at the Union, pull out my Touch, connect to this here blog, unfold my Bluetooth keyboard, and now I’m blogging without having to use the somewhat clumsy (or at least, not especially quick) onscreen keyboard. And come to think of it, the keyboard solution doesn’t need to involve Bluetooth (though I think that would be the most elegant). I’ll take a keyboard that plugs into the data port. Whatever the solution, I need something better than the onscreen keyboard.
I think Apple needs to start thinking about the Touch as a laptop partner. Every hero needs a sidekick. Why can’t I have a mini-laptop partner for on-the-go? I don’t need to have all my music, documents, and pictures with me all the time, but I do need those few basic things listed above. For that reason, I cart around my laptop. If Apple would put in place these simple productivity suggestions, a price tag of $400 wouldn’t seem so high.