As regular readers may know, I’m not the biggest fan of the Apple iPod.
Maybe it’s because I tend to do my commuting by car, but I’ve never really ‘got’ the appeal of having all my music in my pocket, ready for instant access.
Or maybe it’s because I’m old-fashioned enough to believe that music is something requiring you sit down and give your entire attention, not to form the backdrop to something else.
After all, you wouldn’t carry versions of great paintings around with you, just to have a swift glance now and then, would you? Music while you work?
No thanks – I find it to be a serious distraction.
That’s probably why all the news about the new iPhone – it’s now less expensive, and has ‘3G’ capability, among other features – leaves me rather cold. Yes, I carry a mobile phone around with me – it’s a company one, so I kind of have to – but the idea of using it to browse the internet while listening to music and making a call seems just too much.
And however exciting the touch-screen interface may be to the committed Apple fans, surely having to haul the thing out of your pocket just to change the volume level is more or less inviting a mugging in some of the more dangerous parts of the world?
Nevertheless, I'm sure we'll see queues outside Apple stores as the product goes on sale; after all, the day the new iPhone was announced the radio was awash with people talking about the product in terms roughly akin to the Second Coming.
But I’ll stick to phones that are phones, and music as it's meant to be enjoyed.
In calm, and quiet.
