Shiny Toy

The Almighty Steve sang his siren song last week and compelled me towards the dangerous rocks of San Francisco's Apple store. Ravenous cash registers scarfed down my cash and spit out a black 80-gig iPod and the stave-off-any-problems AppleCare extension. (Without it, Apple devices seem to have problems about 13 months after you buy them, which always makes me think the salespeople should push the additional coverage in tough-guy accents: "That sure is a nice device you got there; it'd be a real shame if anything bad were to happen to it.")

The much-improved iTunes 7 and the beefed-up battery life pushed me over a brink that I've approached since Apple released the video iPod a year after I bought my iPod Photo. I don't know when I'd buy a $15 movie from the iTunes Store to watch on my iPod, but the possibility gives me that variant of smugness peculiar to Apple zealots such as myself.

I moved my one video blog subscription (the show with ze frank) to iTunes, bought a game from the iTunes Store just to try it out (Vortex, a 3D version of Breakout), and downloaded a TV episode to check out the video (Melissa and I will watch the show on the iMac, but I might consider getting the AV kit to hook it up to our TV). So far I'm happy with the new device, though I might keep my old one around because I use it for recording interviews, and I'm not quite ready for the $70 replacement that fits in the new models. It looks like iTunes can handle multiple devices, so that shouldn't be a problem.

The new ability to purchase games (including two ports from video-crack maker PopCap) suggests the possibility of a toolkit for other third-party applications. Anyone know of an SDK in the works? I don't believe one has existed to date. I don't have specific ideas for an application, and the minimal data entry capabilities don't allow for a wide application suite, but I always enjoy fiddling with programs on new platforms.

The form factor is the same as my iPod Photo, except that a flat black slab replaces the puffy white "classic" look and slims the little device by a bit. The screen is crisp and pleasantly larger than the older models, and I plan to do a better job of protecting it. Scratches and scuffs on my old iPod tell the tale of my device abuse.