The Colored iPod mini, iLife '04, and Prospects for GarageBand

Remember the fruit colored iMacs? Strawberry, tangerine, mime, etc. Well now we have colored iPods. 5 in all. Silver, gold, blue, pink, and avocado. That last one takes you right back - but hey, I guess retro is in these days.

So is small, apparently, because the new iPod mini, delivers size over capacity. It's only 4 GB and costs almost as much as a 10 GB standard size iPod. What makes it so special is that it's about two-thirds the size of the regular iPod, and I thought that was small. I do question, though, who would actually buy a 4 GB iPod when larger ones are available for only $50 more, even if they are a tiny bit bigger size-wise.

It also doesn't really offer anything for those wishing to replace their first generation iPods. The older 5 GB models offer essentially the same features as the new ones when it comes to music playing capabilities. Owners of older 5 GB iPods looking to replace theirs would probably end up looking to a standard size iPod anyway, as it is smaller than what they already have, yet offers larger capacity drives.

What about iLife '04? Basically, iTunes remains the same - no new version.

iPhoto has been updated, and it's latest improvement seems to be speed. At least that's what Apple says. "Smart Albums" let you have albums that automatically add photos that meet a certain set of criteria that you have already specified. Want your pictures from San Diego in one album? You don't have to manually add them anymore. You can also include multiple songs in one slideshow, which is a nice feature. If you're trying to show an especially large album, hearing one song repeat over and over gets a bit monotonous.

iMovie also is apparently faster and now allows you to trim audio and video clips directly in the Timeline. A bit of a time saver, I'd say. Movies can now be exported to iDVD, which itself has been updated with new themes, slideshow options, and also allows you to create better long-length DVDs.

The new addition to iLife is GarageBand. GarageBand is basically like a "Cubase Lite" (or closer yet, a Mac OS X version of ProTools Free) - you can record yourself playing an instrument,add in other loops (repeating sound segments), and come up with your own song. You might call it "multitracking for the rest of us."

It seems like a great idea, although knowing Apple (think OS X 10.0) it might take another version for them to get it "just right." It also isn't too low-end friendly, requiring a 600 MHz processor and a G4 for the software sound effects. Considering ProTools Free works fine on my 266 MHz G3 tower, those are some pretty steep requirements.

I do think, that the new, colorful iPod minis may end up going the way of the multicolored iMacs unless the line is added onto. One 4 GB model just doesn't seem like enough. I like the concept, but 4 GB is too small a capacity for a new MP3 player in 2004, as compact as it is.

As for iLife '04, I'm not planning on buying it. iTunes is a free download, I don't have a digital video camera (so I have no need for iMovie), my PowerBook doesn't have a DVD-R drive, and I don't use iPhoto (because I don't take very many digital photos). I already have Cubase on my PowerBook, so what would GarageBand do for me, other than downgrade my current capabilities?

I do understand the market iMovie, iPhoto, and iDVD are catering to, but I think the market for GarageBand might be more limited. My mom, who, if she ever decided to buy a digital camera, would probably use iPhoto to sort her photos and probably wouldn't have any interest in making music with the computer. She doesn't even listen to music on the computer, and I'm sure that if she ever wanted to record anything (she plays guitar and piano) would prefer recording the old fashioned way - with an old 4-track machine or just directly onto an audio tape.

I also suspect most serious musicians wanting to do some recording and MIDI sequencing would probably invest in something like ProTools, Cubase, or Logic Audio. While GarageBand would give them a taste of what they can do, it almost certainly wouldn't be enough.