Apple Running Out Of Ideas

Whenever Apple has a press conference, it's usually to introduce some groundbreaking piece of technology. Like when they introduced the first iMac, or any of the dozen iterations of the iPod, or, most recently, the introduction of Apple computers with the next generation of Intel processors. This is all great technology, and people get pretty excited about it.

So, it was with a lot of anticipation that, last week, Apple introduced their newest product, the iPod Hi-Fi, which is basically a stand-alone stereo system for the iPod. This would actually be a really great product, if only a half dozen companies didn't already make the same fucking thing.

Take, for example, the Bose SoundDock, which Bose has made since the iPod came out. It's smaller, cheaper, and doesn't have a fucking iPod sticking out of the top of it. (They should call it the iPod Toaster, because that's what the Hi-Fi looks like.) Plus, it's Bose, and you just can't top on that. But, Apple thinks they can, I guess.

I always thought the idea was to innovate, not duplicate. Sure, there were computers and mp3 players on the market before Apple got there, but what they did was different from everything else out there. But this Hi-Fi is exactly the same as what's out there. It may not even be as good as what's out there. What's next for Apple? Maybe the iPhone, a iPod that doubles as a phone? Or the iPlay, a hand-held gaming system that also plays music and videos? Good ideas all, but someone else already beat them to it (and they're pretty good products to boot).

We'll see what Apple comes up with next. Hopefully, it will be something cool that everybody wants, and not something that everyone already owns.