Apple Nails Simplicity with iTunes Videos

David Card | October 12, 2005, 03:40 PM

Linking to colleague Michael Gartenberg for detail. Personally, I don't think there's much reason to combine video and music in the same application. Seems to me the experiences are very different -- and you risk compromising them -- and the user interface -- by mingling them. Wait till recommendations engines make suggestions with radio and clips that scroll by as you watch passively. That might be tough to blend. The way Tivo handles music is awful compared to its elegant program guide. And check out the jarring transition at the iTunes store when it puts you into a podcast directory-like holding tank, sorted by genre, for TV shows. Where are the networks? The stars?

That said, what Apple got most right was simplicity. Common pricing at $1.99 that's not too expensive. No subscriptions (yet, even though I like the idea for video as well as music). One copy/purchase that plays on a bigger screen and on the portable device. Simplicity helps a lot when launching a new market.