Think of Prince’s songs on an iPod (yes, that iPod of yesteryear). What if, what if Apple was able to get the rights to all of Prince’s available music and package them on a commemorative iPod? Since Prince had essentially removed all his songs from online services, finding them in a digital format isn’t easy or convenient. So if music fans are willing to purchase and listen to Prince’s music catalog, why not an iPod Price Edition?

Until then, it’ll be like this.

Loading up the CD changer with #Prince #throwingitback

A photo posted by @geewhy on Apr 22, 2016 at 10:49am PDT

Related to the Nike+iPod Sports Kit, I was an early adopter of the Nike Amp+ watch. This short lived product acted as a remote control for the iPod which made it more convenient to control your tunes while running, and hey, the Amp+ even told time (albeit poorly).

In April 2012, I had my next interaction with wearables, pledging to the Pebble watch Kickstarter project. Not completely convinced this watch could be become a reality, I became a believer.

Later in 2012, I took another step in my journey supporting the Misfit Shine project. I intended this activity tracker to capture more of my life, thinking I would more conveniently wear this tiny monitor. But after close calls almost losing the Shine and it being washed, I became more conservative with it, not taking it everywhere.

Over the years, most of my wearable tech has gone by the wayside. My Nike+iPod Sports Kit sits idle with the malfunction of my iPod Nano. Even then, my GPS-enabled iPhone 6 has improved and integrated geo-tracking, making the Sports Kit obsolete. My Misfit Shine is still with me, battery-less eating up CR batteries much too quickly. My Amp+ was a poor timepiece, ate batteries, and was eventually stolen. Only my Pebble watch remains viable, even gaining functionality with updates and apps.

Now, here comes the Apple Watch. At the low end price point of $349/$399, the Apple Watch is cost comparable to the first iPod, going for $399 for a 5GB model. With its functionality and growth potential, how can I not get the Apple Watch?

Along with the Alexa voice command feature, the Echo contains 360-degree audio speakers to fill a room with music, a solid addition for a living room hub. For Amazon, a very relevant aspect is Echo’s potential to create grocery lists. I can easily see an Echo in or near a kitchen. As your pantry empties out, asking Alexa to add items to a grocery list is a great convenience then having the ability for Amazon to fulfill your order, now that’s scarily possible.

While the Echo is still a new product with mixed reviews, there are definite futures for this device, and maybe your next iPod will be spelled E-c-h-o.

Remember times past when the sales of iPods led to Windows users switching to Macs? I wonder if a similar situation will occur with the Apple Watch and the iPhone. Because you need an iPhone to link with an Apple Watch, will this spur more iPhone converts as the Apple Watch gains momentum?

And before you pooh pooh the starting price tag of $350 for the Apple Watch, just remember how much iPods used to cost.

• March 2002 – Original (non-touch) Wheel 10GB $499
• September 2003 – 20GB and 40GB for $399 and $499
• September 2006 – iPod Video 30GB, 80GB for $249 and $349

iPod purchases led to purchases of $1000+ Macs, so could a $350 Apple Watch lead buyers to a $650 (unsubsidized) iPhone 6?

So why not revamp the iPod line? Keep the iconic name but repurpose its ambiguous name. How about a multipurpose home device? One that acts like a WiFi basestation or extender. Supports Time Machine backups over the air? For certain models, why not? Include speakers? That could be possible to act as an AirPlay end point.

Charging station… now this has some promise. How many Apple chargers and cables do you have. Enough right? I have a basket of assorted cables and chargers to rummage through. How about the “new” iPod acting as the central charger that has USB cables to connecting your Lightning or 30-pin connector cable? Wireless charging anyone? Perchance the iWatch? You want yet another charging station for the iWatch or an integration of all the charging systems?

And of course, while charging your iPhone with the new iPod, the iPhone is backing itself up to the internal iPod storage then to iCloud (over time). How about caching new app updates to the iPod storage? Instead of reaching out to the Internet for updates, your iDevices just need to connect to your high speed, household Wifi to pull in the recent updates.

Yup, the iPod can ride again.

Since @abaggy is temporarily out of the loop, there’s no one to mancrush on. So instead, I’m turning my attention to someone else I’ll call Q-chi. What’s so great about Q-chi? It’s his confidence. He’s so confident that he leaves his classic iPod on his desk in plain sight even when he’s not around.

This shows that he’s confident with the security in the workplace, knowing no one will steal his prize. Or, he exudes confidence that no one will ridicule his use of this archaic iPod. But hey, who am I to talk? I still rock my old fat iPod Nano and Klondike!

With the new Lightning connector for the iPhone 5, my five year old iPod Nano has new life. In order to listen to tunes while driving, I need the Nano and its old school dock connector.

Looks like I’ll be buying a bunch of Lightning cables and accessories in the near future.

Nike sounded off with thunder, and now, Apple strikes with Lightning. Historically, Nike has offered Thunder and Lightning shoe sets, namely for the Air Jordan 4 in 2006. Oddly, Nike is retro-ing only the black Thunders in the upcoming months. There is no mention of the Lightnings?

Lo and behold, here comes Apple’s special event. The new iPhone/iPod 8-pin connector? It’s named Lightning. And Lightning is available right now since everyone knows lightning comes before thunder.

This Nike thunder and Apple lightning pairing is just too coincidental. How can Apple and Nike not be sharing playbooks? As I ponder this, I must drink some thunder and lightning coffee.

Back in May of 2005, when Nike joined forces with Apple, could you have imagined this?

In 2005, the Nike+ system debuted strictly to track running. Back then you had to use the Sports Kit with a shoe sensor and a receiver for your iPod Nano. The iPhone did not exist in 2005. In his third year in the NBA, a 21-year old LeBron James averaged a personal best 31.4 ppg with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Forward to 2012 and look at this. Nike+ continued its evolution with more Nike+ products, the FuelBand, and the ability to track workouts and basketball activities. A key component continues to be Apple products such as the iPhone and iPods. Now 27-years old, LeBron James is a NBA champion and Finals MVP for the Miami Heat. Could you have imagined this trio of champions?

Though Firewire is no longer supported on newer iPods and iPhones, these old iPod cables featuring both Firewire and USB still work. Well, just the USB cable anyways. Might as rock’em if you got’em.

From Time magazine. I love the infographic’s design and stats on how Apple’s products have a definite economic impact. The full article and infographic are behind Time’s paywall.

Juicies is a Hawaii-based startup and is leveraging Kickstarter.com to generate financial backing. For the first 2000 pledgers, you can name your price for one of these colorful cables or you can pledge other fixed amounts. The project needs to raise $5000 by May 23 in order for pledgers to get their Juicies. So what are you waiting for? Your Juicies await!

This is very cool and hopefully available before the Holidays. The Slap by Griffin Technologies makes your new iPod Nano into a wristwatch. Available in a rainbow of colors, the Slap silicon shell protects your Nano and adds more value to this lilliputian device.

And yes, these boxers are also compatible with Android devices.  Just make sure that the extra camera you installed in your Droid phone isn’t recording by accident.

Since I seriously think my customized iPod Nano is really, really zapped, I’m looking at using an iPod Touch, 2nd generation, during my runs. The Touch is much bigger than the Nano, and it does support the Nike+ running sensor and the new Nike+ GPS app (sans the GPS part for a Touch).

Now I need to find an armband for running. This Belkin DualFit armband looks okay and has good reviews.

Hmmm, I got my Nano in September 2007 and before that, a Shuffle in August 2005. Now in September 2010, my Nano is flailing. What’s with the months of August and September and faltering iPods?

Then I saw the Mac OS X warning message about improperly removing a disk. Whoops. No problem I though, I’ll just reconnect, and things will be fine. Not so much this time. The Nano still works but wasn’t recognized by iTunes. iTunes wanted me to restore the Nano to factory defaults. So I did.

I had to repick my music playlists, movies, etc., but now, the Nano keeps restarting itself when trying to apply the settings.

Limited time offer and while iPod supplies last.

Looking at cases for iPhones and iPods.  So many choices out there.  Fortunately, iLounge has their 2010 Buyers’ Guide available with reviews and all kinds of useful tidbits.  Recommendations from the iLounge Buyers’ Guide include the DLO Videoshell (which seems like it’s on clearance for less than $2) and the Speck CandyShell cases.