You know, I’ve seen some weird and unintentionally funny things in my time. I’ve seen Latin music rise and fall. I’ve seen “Barbie Girl” become popular. But I think the iPod might be jumping the shark… when Levi’s announces iPod-compatible jeans. Did you hear me? Jeans!
So these pants have a special iPod pocket (built in cradle, I kid you not) and integrated controls. Too bad there’s no place to plug in the headphones.
“Hey, what are you listening to?”
“My pants!”
Anyway… it’s pretty silly. And it won’t be useful until I can watch the iPod’s video screen in my pants.
Posted in Just Plain Odd
Marcus Mackey September 24, 2006, 6:56 am
Hypercolor t-shirts gone seriously wrong mannnn…. ::said like Dennis Hopper on acid::
If they figure out a way to give you the iTunes visualizer on a shirt though… I think they’re seriously onto something. I’d hate to see a Phish concert reunion though. :-\
I don’t know about jumping the shark, because I don’t believe a technology such as this can jump the shark itself, especially when I consider the tech a phenomenon that no one has been able to seriously challenge (and I have my doubts on Zune; the things are ugly compared to the best Samsung, Sandisk, and Creative had had to offer). It’d be like telling someone that because of Microsoft’s OS blunders, that the Intel PC has jumped the shark even though I’m sure a 1,001 Slashdot penguin-heads would take offense as would Steve Jobs and the Mac addicts in this day and age.
I do believe people can and will take things in directions that are seriously beyond the scopes of mere sanity though. Not that the iPod speakers shaped like little stick figure people or dog heads (I think it was called iWoofer) weren’t on this same level, and they came about around the time the iPod took the world by storm. Suffice it to say, I think this could very well be one of those things as well that is just a bit out there and is pushing too hard to look innovative/chic/clever.
As I told a friend of mine… I’ve been considering between an iPod Shuffle (the new clip) and the new iPod Nano (Lime Green of course) and my rationale towards the Shuffle is that it’s cheap, it holds (more than) enough songs for my walks around the hood, it’s compact, and since I already have an MP3/WMA CD Head unit in my car… I’m not sure I really need a Nano.
Although, I do believe having something sizable to carry a large portion of my music library would also be nice as I could take a much larger selection of songs on the road and save myself swapping MP3 CD’s in my car… I don’t think a Nano would hold all of my library, the iPod videos are a bit pricey and provide features I’m not sure I want/need to justify the cost (video on that small of a screen hasn’t sold me), and while they would work great in the car… on a walk around the hood, having a big soap bar piece of expensive electronics that via popularity is well known amongst the public, and that’s not discreet nor easy to stuff in a pants pocket (especially with all that I carry with me typically) compared to the Nano or Shuffle sort of renders it problematic.
iPod clothes pockets could be a nice addition to help those with iPod videos better conceal them, making them more practical in a # of environments. Yet, that requires purchasing of a new wardrobe to cover the need and that doesn’t seem palatable either IMHO. The Shuffle, despite having no screen (which 2 of my iPod owning friends take issue with, but whom aren’t the type to go for an hourlong walk as I do frequently nor who would they likely be content with the iTunes Autofill as much as I can see myself being), actually fits the needs well and is affordable enough of a technology that it’s almost disposable in case of any loss sustained. By the time the battery is killed from natural use, it might be cheaper to upgrade to the next Shuffle or Nano or iPod Micron or iPod Quark by that time than to replace the battery.
For the cost of a nano though… it starts to become a bit outside of the disposable income bracket, and while it’s sizing is nicer than the iPod video for walks… it’s still something with enough size that many pockets will be snug with other items in them, whereas the Shuffle can clip on you anywhere. The fact the new Shuffle clips onto whatever you wear, is ingenious vs. having to buy 7 pairs of iPod jeans (on top of the seasonal iPod jean shorts) just so you have a fresh pair for everyday you walk around your ‘hood.