Memo to Macworld San Francisco: iWant my iStereo

by Hadley Stern Jan 02, 2003

imageForget MTV. Forget Compact Disc players. Forget tape players, LP’s, and 8-tracks. I want my iStereo Apple and iWant it now! Currently I have 500+ CDs that I have dutifully ripped to mp3 for use on my beloved iPod. So now I have music in two formats and in two locations in my apartment. Great. The only time I use my CDs is when I use my stereo. But I miss my playlists, my ability to shuffle and have my own radio station. One solution is to hook my iPod up to my stereo but this doesnt work because not all my CDs fit on my iPod (I have a ten gig). What I want is an Apple stereo component that lets me play my mp3s through my stereo. It should have an iPod-like interface (with a remote of course) that could be displayed on my TV. It should have a huge internal HD and a CD drive for ripping CDs. The iPod should dock seamlessly into the iStereo, allowing for easy transfer of music. I would also like to have smaller players that I could have in other rooms of my house that, over airport, would let me access the music on my iStereo (Apple could even make a water-proof one for the shower!).

Apple could take this whole business one step further and have a DVD-drive as well as Tivo-like capabilities (recorded in QuickTime, of course). Heck, it could even have airport for connecting to iTunes radio stations and networking with other machines. I could have my iCal and iAddress book displayed on my TV, even have web-surfing capabilities a la WebTV. The possibilities are really endless. The point is that this is a perfect growth opportunity for Apple. If Apple sensibly integrates this product with the iPod both from a design and usability standpoint all the iPod users out there will want one. Apple has solved the mp3 player issues with the stunningly designed iPod, now it needs to complete the story with a stereo component. What do you think? Would you buy an iStereo?

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Comments

  • Sign me up! I want one now! Especially if my iPod can connect with it. Kind of like those old skool box radios that had a detachable walkman. Remember those?

    contrloptionme had this to say on Jan 02, 2003 Posts: 6

  • I already have one.

    I took my formerly beige, now black G3, and added a big hard drive and some RAM. The audio out goes into my receiver and I play MP3s via iTunes. I use my TV as the display. The mouse and keyboard are hidden in the cabinet below the TV and I use a Keyspan USB remote (I had to add a USB card, I chose one with Firewire as well so I can dock my iPod). So far I’ve ripped 202 of my 500+ CDs. I’ve also converted a couple of my LPs to MP3. The G3 is connected via ethernet to my home network and can download CDDB data, browse the web, etc. As I already have a Replay TV and a DVD player I didn’t add any of the video capabilities you mention. But my unit can do pretty much everything you’ve asked for.

    Possible upgrades would be wireless networking, DVD drive, a better sound card (for 5.1 or better audio), iTV (or is it eyeTV?) for PVR functions. Perhaps more importantly I can upgrade my ‘iStereo’ as I see fit, not as Apple wants.

    Not counting the cost of the G3, which was just gathering dust, I assembled my iStereo for under $500. This was less than half of the then available home stereo MP3 components.

    So if Apple doesn’t come out with an iStereo you might want to pick up an older PowerMac and roll your own.

    Steve M

    SteveM had this to say on Jan 03, 2003 Posts: 5

  • That’s a great idea Steve M. I have an old beige G3 266 with a firewire port put in. It’s just gathering dust I might as well use it. I can hook that up straight into my stereo and run my iPod through it too. Does the remote work well with iTunes?

    contrloptionme had this to say on Jan 03, 2003 Posts: 6

  • ctrl opt u,

    The software included with the remote has settings for iTunes right out of the box. I used said software to tweak them making navigating a bit easier. The only thing I can’t do,  because I ran out of buttons, is scroll thru the artist list, I have to step through artist by artist.

    Steve M

    SteveM had this to say on Jan 03, 2003 Posts: 5

  • try qcast (http://www.qcast.com) by Broadq.  Using a Playstation2 with network adaptor, you can access the iTunes or iPhoto files on any computer on your network and play or view them on your home theater, stereo or tv.  Sound quality is truly awesome.

    Neil Goldstein had this to say on Jan 05, 2003 Posts: 1

  • The other thing that wasn’t noted is what the warranty coverage on this jacket is.  For example, when I pay US$400+ for a Northface Ice Climbing Jacket I expect it to be replaced if it fails - and as a matter of fact it has been - TWICE in 5 years, no questions asked.

    What type of warranty does this jacket have for the new fangled tech?

    razorjack had this to say on Jan 12, 2003 Posts: 3

  • whoops - wring thread mods pls delete

    razorjack had this to say on Jan 12, 2003 Posts: 3
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