I’ve got five hundred dollars sitting around that I’d planned to spend
on the 4G iPod. Now I don’t know what to do with it. I was jazzed when
I read about the new control scheme. I was happy to read about the
improved battery life. I was even keen on the idea of playing back
audiobooks at increased speed. Then there was the “new and improved
price point.” But what I don’t like; What I do in fact positively
loathe, is having my intelligence insulted.

Can Apple really expect people not to notice that the new price of the
iPod no longer includes a case or a wired remote control? These
accessories, which I consider pretty important, will now cost you US$78
plus tax to obtain. So the much-touted US$100 price drop of the iPod now
comes closer to US$20, which isn’t nearly so impressive, especially to
those of us who consider the case and remote to be essential
accessories.

An e-mail to Steve Jobs met with an encouraging response, which I’m sure
was shared with a couple of hundred other people who shared my
concerns. In it, he writes simply, “Sorry we couldn’t please you.
We’ll still be here if you ever want to buy an iPod again. The new
ones are terrific!” I agree with him that their features seem pretty
appealing, but I’m still insulted by Apple’s assumption that people
willing to shell out premium dollars for a music player lack the basic
skills of addition and subtraction. I’ll be holding out until I can get
a 60 GB player now, so the iPod will have another chance with me, but
if someone else manages to pull off any significant fraction of the
ease of use of the iPod, they’ll likely earn my dollars. I’m hoping
that enough of us expressed our displeasure that Apple will return to
the full-featured package they offered with the 3G iPods when they next
revise the product. [Joseph T. Manning]