Apple, the iPod Isn’t Finished!

What’s on my iPod wish list? Full color screen? Video playback? Solitaire? Try none of the above. If I wanted a color screen, I would buy a Palm Pilot. If I wanted video playback, I would get an iPaq. A Gameboy Advance would be perfect for games. The iPod is about music. That’s what it started out as, and that’s the way it should stay.

iPod forums around the internet are flooded with suggestions for new iPod improvements and accessories. But I feel Apple still has more work to do with the iPod before these third-party companies do the work for them in a cheaper, uglier way. I have compiled a short list of suggestions of how to fix and improve the iPod. My criteria are that the fix be feasible, address a current problem, and be in the spirit of the iPod vision.

Suggestion #1: Get Rid of Gaps Between Tracks
This issue has come up in many user forums. With albums where there are no gaps of silence between tracks the playback is interrupted by obnoxious pockets of silence. This occurs across many genres of music including classical, jazz, and electronica. This also occurs in live recordings where crowd noise and applause connects the ending of one song to the beginning of the next. I personally find it most annoying on some electronica albums. I have already started getting into the next track when suddenly there is a spurt of groove killing silence. Ideally, I would like to hear the album the way I hear it on my home stereo, but I would settle for cross-fading between songs. Why is it that you can cross-fade in iTunes but not on the iPod? By the way, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon sounds horrible on the iPod because of this very issue.

Suggestion #2: Encoding Double Albums
This is probably more of an iTunes issue but it meets the criteria. When you put in a double disc album in iTunes, it will tag it under the Album Name column as “Album Name (Disc1)”. The thing that bothers me is that I would like to hear the double album continuously and because of this I can’t. This is not a problem when the double album is the only album for that artist, I just play all, but when it is not the only album, I need to re-tag the album to be the same. This now presents a track numbering issue as you now have 2 songs tagged 1 of X. Now it will play song 1 disc 1, then song 1 disc 2 unless I renumber them all. Playlists will work as well but I personally save my playlists for various artists compilations or mixes that I have compiled. Is there an AppleScript that addresses this issue?

Suggestion #3: New Headphones
I am not an ear bud kind of guy. I prefer my leather-lined DJ headphones but they aren’t too practical on my commute. The ear buds that came with the iPod are certainly of ample quality for the casual listener, but I think Apple should release an upgrade to them. Preferably headphones instead of ear buds. They should stay white in color to match the iPod and should be branded with the Apple logo in some way (not branded like those ugly Rio headphones, branded in the Apple way). I am not saying they should come standard. The current ear buds are already better than the foam earmuffs the other MP3 players come with. I would be willing to pay extra to upgrade my headphones. After all, the sound is only as good as your earpiece. I love walking around with my white iPod headphones, letting other iPod owners that I am one of them too. Having a good set of Apple-branded headphones would let people know I am a proud iPod owner while increasing my listening satisfaction.

Suggestion #4: Battery Replacement
Another hot issue flooding user forums like the one on iPodlounge.com, are people complaining about battery loss and rumors flying about Apple’s stance on the issue of battery replacement. There are many products that I feel, if taken care of (and barring any unforeseen tragedies), should last forever. With the $500 iPod price tag, this should be one of them. Like the trusty old Discman, although I no longer use mine, it still works just as well as it did the day I bought it. There has to be an Apple Approved method of replacing the battery. The line given of “By the time the battery dies, you will be upgrading anyway?” is insulting. We the consumer, should make that decision of when to upgrade, not Apple.

Suggestion #5: A better Case
When I first bought my iPod the packaging first dazzled me. Then when I opened it and set eyes on my iPod, it was all I could see. I couldn’t bear to take my eyes off of it. After my initial euphoria wore off, I looked at the carrying case. Was this a joke? I was holding in my hands the most beautiful MP3 player on the market with its sleek lines and breathtaking shine and Apple is giving me something to cover it up? That’s like taking a supermodel out on a date and making her wear a potato sack. It astonishes me that Apple would produce such an amazing product and then seemingly slack off with the design of the case. Many cases on the market including the Groove Jacket (my personal fave) have proven you can protect your iPod and still enjoy its beautiful design. And like the ear bud issue, it is not like Apple has a better model available for an additional cost.

Apple, please make these changes. I don’t want to accessorize my iPod with non-Apple items, but you have left me no choice.

Am I alone here on these issues? Did I leave anything out? I welcome your comments.