Apple Going Bad?

Well I don't know how everyone else feels about the recent Apple announcements, but I was underwhelmed by a lot of them. Not all, but most of them. The video iPod got a bigger hard drive, a brighter screen, longer battery life, some games, and search functionality [oh and it's $50 cheaper]. That's nice, but it's still not the touch-screen and wireless enabled iPod most of us had hoped for. The new iPod Nanos look like the older iPod Mini and Nano got busy in bed. It got a few upgrades as well, but looks a little to retro for my tastes. The iTunes Store gets movies [finally?] and iTunes 7 is working with a bag of new tricks. Too bad most of those tricks will only amuse small children and maybe an animal or two. Really folks this has useless DRM written all over it. On the bright side of things, the new iPod Shuffle looks pretty slick. Watch as it shrinks before your very eyes [lets just hope it isn't so small that it disappears before your very eyes]. The upcoming iTV is the most interesting though, with it's wireless and HD capabilities bringing the iPod experience to the television. But once again, DRM could very well chain it to Apple Store walls for me to laugh at come Q1 2007.

I hate to say this about such a great company, but Apple could be loosing some of it's luster these days. It's looking more and more like Palm was not long ago. It won't fade into the wind, but the leaves on this Apple tree are taking a beating. Maybe some strong competition could do them some good. The question remains who will do it? Google? Microsoft? I doubt it. Until they come with a better offering, Apple today keeps this buyer away. I'm open todiscussion on the topic, so give me your best shot.