Portable Media Explosion
By Rob Safuto on Jan 9, 2007 in Mobile, Podcasting, Social Media | Tags: Apple , iPhone , Macworld-2007 , Podcasting
The Apple iPhone has been officially announced at Macworld 2007. If this thing lives up to the specs presented by Steve Jobs then 2007 may be the year that portable social media takes off.
The implications for podcasting are clear. With iTunes integration, a Safari browser and enough hard drive space (4GB or 8GB) to store plenty of media, the iPhone may be the first fully integrated portable podcasting platform. This is great news for people who love to consumer portable digital content. What about goodies for content producers?
There’s a 2 megapixel camera and a microphone input. Integrated WiFi means you can create, then upload to a central server for editing or immediate distribution. The operating system running Mac OS X means a robust platform that can support rich media.
Apple has thrown down the gauntlet here. And this could mean that other hardware manufacturers will wake up and start building mobile phones that integrate better with standard software and accessories. Apple has a standard 3.5mm jack for earphones on this thing. My new Samsung BlackJack requires that you purchase a $30 set of custom earbuds which provide decent sound.
There are other snazzy features included with the iPhone including that huge touch screen. The point is that the sum of the features makes for a device that makes consuming, creating and distributing media over the web easy and fun. That’s a big win for everyone.
Now all Apple needs to do is actually deliver with a production device that works as well as the demo version. We’ll see in June of this year when the iPhone is scheduled to begin shipping.
[tags]Social Media, Podcasting, Apple, iPhone, Macworld 2007[/tags]
