What is it about Apple?

I read in a recent news article that there were two kinds of fans at the just-completed MacWorld conference in San Francisco: the long-time, counter-culture fans that have always bought Macintosh computers, and the relative newbies who have fallen in love with the trendy iPod. I'm definitely not in the first group, having never used a Mac computer. I would count myself in that second group, however. There are now four iPods in our household (a mini, shuffle, nano, and video), and it seems that I promote iPods at work more than people would care.

Does this make me a fan of Apple?

As I have started thinking more about technology, the "digital lifestyle" that Apple has been promoting with its newest products has really made me consider buying into Mac computers. For instance, I like the looks of the iLife suite that now comes with Macs. Apple understands what more and more people want to do, which is to share their experiences with other people via the Web. This has been important to me for the past several years as I have been living in Asia. I can share photos and stories about my kids, my job, my vacations, and my future aspirations with the people I care about around the world.

The new Mac computers look very exciting. The MacBook Pro notebook and the new iMac desktop, both using Intel processors, are supposed to be faster than ever before.

But this isn't really about evaluating the Mac. What I'm getting at here is a strategy. Where I think Apple is doing things better than other tech companies is forming a vision of what lifestyles are becoming. More and more, people are untethering themselves from their home computers and bringing their personal technology with them wherever they go. A lot of what may be called 'computing' is now being done away from the home or work office. It is being done with ultra portable notebooks, PDA's, cell phones, and - yes - the iPod.

In reading this article today, there was a suggestion that Apple shouldn't try to rely much longer on the success of the iPod, that Steve Jobs and co. will need to refocus on Macs. This may be true. But I think that suggestion might be missing the larger picture. The iPod isn't finished evolving, not by a longshot. It started out four years ago as a portable music player. By the fall of 2005, through various iterations, the iPod had evolved into a portable media device, capable of playing not only your entire music collection but also carrying all your digital photos, podcasts, audiobooks, and videos. It also contains a number of other features such as an address book synced with MS Outlook, games, clocks, an alarm clock, and so on. In other words, the iPod has developed into a device that lets you take much of your digital media with you wherever you go.

From having kept my eye on stories predicting the future of portable media, and through my own futurist thinking, I expect the iPod to evolve further. Eventually, it might become a wireless device. If it can access the Internet, then it will be possible to do even more things. In other words, the iPod could become the ultimate on-the-go media/computing device -- an extension of our home computer.

Which brings me back to Macs for a moment. Those notebooks look pretty slick, but I think if I were to go for a new computer I'd probably look for something that could be easily upgradable. Notebooks are not usually upgradable, and for all the extra money you pay, the main benefit is its portability. BUT, what if the iPod becomes the ultimate portable device, allowing you to have always-on contact with your home Mac? Could this happen? Could we see the day that a truly portable (meaning 'handheld') device allows us remote access to our home computer? This is the direction I see Apple moving towards.

So, I think that Apple is doing more than any other company to lead the revolution in digital lifestyle. This is not to say that other companies don't make good computers or software, or that all other portable devices fail to impress me. The difference is simply that Apple integrates all of these factors into its vision. It makes the hardware, the software, and the media content, and it does it all in a user-friendly and trendy way. It is definitely cool to use Apple products these days.

So, yes, I love my iPods. And imagining what we'll be able to do with them in the future is very exciting.