Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Divorcing Apple


When iTunes first came out, I bought an iPod Classic. Back then, iTunes was truly a wonderful thing. The ability to stream music and download it into a library changed the way I listened to music forever. But then I lost my iPod, and so Verizon talked me into getting a 64GB iPhone 4s. And I loved it.The ability to sync my music automatically to my iPhone and PC made purchasing music easy and fun.

I even bought a pair of Bose Q3 headphones to make my listening experience even that much more enjoyable. The Bose headphones have a jack that is compatible with most of the iPhone's functionality.

I am a Salsa aficionado. My Salsa collection is truly vast, but I soon found out that iTune's Latin collection is incomplete at best. I don't buy just single cuts. I want the whole album, and I certainly want to complete my collection of artists I really love. But in many cases that is not possible on iTunes. I have invested hundreds of dollars into my iTunes collection, only to be frustrated by an acute lack of choices where Salsa is concerned.

When the iPhone 5s came out I was furious. I was eligible for an upgrade, but there was no way I would take it. The iPhone 5s was the biggest disappointment from Apple that I have seen yet. Although it is a faster phone, the only real benefit is the improved camera, which isn't enough to warrant an upgrade.

Then Spotify came out. At first I was morally against paying 9.99 per month for unlimited downloads because many artists I know feel that Spotify is rather usurious for musicians. But then I found out that putting iTunes on a Droid is impossible. Plus Spotify's Latin collection is much more extensive. Aside from my iPhone, I also have a Samsung Galaxy Nexus. I mostly use the iPhone for my music, but I love my Samsung.

I know of some apps for the Droid that will import your iTunes library into a the Google music player, complete with album art and titles. That's one way around Apple. The problem with Spotify is that it will import your iTunes music, but there is no easy way to organize it once it is imported, unless you are willing to build endless playlists.

The Samsung has so many great features that the iPhone lacks. Apple has once again backed itself into a corner by not opening iTunes to other platforms, like they have in the past on multiple occasions. Still unable to part with my iPhone because of my music, I finally got a premium Spotify account.

A few regrettable limitations with Spotify is that you can only have an account registered with three devices, and out of those three devices, you can only play music on one device at a time. I put Spotify on my home computer, work machine, and on my iPhone. So, now I download all my music from Spotify. Why should I pay .99 cents for a single cut on iTunes, and between $6.00 and $9.00 for an album, when Spotify charges $9.99 per month for all the music I want. Beyond that, I have found a way to import my iTunes library to a Droid, if I ditch Apple.

Apple has announced that iOS 8 is coming out this November. No doubt they will unveil the next generation of the iPhone before Christmas. If the new iPhone does not completely rock, Apple's stock is going to tank. I'm not the only person frustrated with Apple.

So, I am faced with a dilemma. Do I wait for the next generation iPhone and take the upgrade? Or do I ditch Apple altogether and get a new Samsung? Time will tell. It is a tough decision, but a really innovative new iPhone and a dramatic change in policy with iTunes are probably the only things that will save Apple. And I am certainly not going down with a sinking ship.

All my love!

James M. Weil


2 comments:

  1. I think apple should come out as not only a better way to stream and listen to music, but also make it more futuristic. For example, i could imagine in the next couple of years that whenever we type it would be on a projector that comes out of the camera instead of on a keyboard in the phone.

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