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CNN Sunday Morning
Interview With Narasu Rebbapragada
Aired February 22, 2004 - 08:15 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: MP3 technology, it has revolutionized the popular music industry. And the big player in that market has been the iPod music player from Apple Computer. On Friday, a smaller, cheaper version went on sale in the U.S. And you can read about it at iPod Mini -- the iPod Mini, in "MacAddict" magazine.
Senior editor Narasu Rebbapragada is with us from San Francisco to explain whether smaller is better.
Good morning to you. Thanks for being with us on a Sunday morning.
NARASU REBBAPRAGADA, SENIOR EDITOR "MACADDICT": Sure, thanks. Thank you.
SAVIDGE: Well, explain to us for the uninitiated -- and I do know what they are, thank you very much. But for those who may not, what exactly is an iPod?
REBBAPRAGADA: Well, an iPod, it basically works like your Walkman did way back in the day. But it's a little hard disk in a pretty sturdy case. You plug it into your computer, or your Mac or PC. Your Mac or PC recognizes it, downloads files on to your iPod, and then that's it. You can go wherever you want and listen to it.
SAVIDGE: So unlike the Walkman, say, you can just create the music track of your life? In other words, you're not listening to a CD that you are stuck with.
REBBAPRAGADA: Nope. You can reorder the tracks, you can make mixed a play list. You can do whatever you want.
SAVIDGE: OK. Why should we be excited that there's a new version on the market today? A smaller -- obviously cheaper is a good thing.
REBBAPRAGADA: Well, yes, it is a little bit cheaper. But the main thing it's smaller, it's more portable. The iPod was already the number one portable music player when Apple announced the iPod Mini. But for some, it was still overkill.
The regular iPod holds something like up to 8,000 to 10,000 songs. That's a lot of songs. The iPod Mini is a little bit smaller. It's a four gigabyte hard drive, so it can hold maybe 800 to a 1,000 songs, which is still a lot, but more manageable. Portable, you know, a jogger can take it on a run with him or her. So that's really the appeal of the smaller iPod. And, yes, it is a little cheaper.
SAVIDGE: OK. And is there anything else they had to cut back on besides the size, space of music you can load?
REBBAPRAGADA: No, not really. It has all the same features. It's the same interface; it works with your Mac or PC the exact same way.
SAVIDGE: What else do you have to buy? Now, I read in this article that some of the stuff you think might comes with it doesn't.
REBBAPRAGADA: That's right. For example, if you want an armband to go running with, you are going to have to buy that separately. It comes with the cable, so you can right out of the box sync it up with your Mac or PC.
SAVIDGE: What's that going to cost you for the additional connection?
REBBAPRAGADA: About $25 to $30.
SAVIDGE: And has Apple got a lot of excitement over this -- this new one, I mean?
REBBAPRAGADA: Sure. Sure thing. They announced it in January. And as you mentioned, they just started shipping it last week. And they already have 100,000 preorders to sell.
SAVIDGE: And the reviews professionally, have they been good?
REBBAPRAGADA: Oh, yes, so far. People are just starting to get them tested and review them. Again, it is a hard disk player, so, you know, I wouldn't take it under water or anything. However, it is -- it's got skip protection, it's shock proof. It's very scratch resistant exterior. So yes, it's pretty durable.
SAVIDGE: Well, you do see them everywhere, there's no question about that. Narasu Rebbapragada, thank you very much for joining us this morning...
REBBAPRAGADA: Sure. Thank you.
SAVIDGE: ... talking about the new Mini iPod. And I bet you they will have one soon that you can take under water. Not that I listen to a lot of music under water. But thank you very much.
REBBAPRAGADA: Thank you.
SAVIDGE: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired February 22, 2004 - 08:15 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: MP3 technology, it has revolutionized the popular music industry. And the big player in that market has been the iPod music player from Apple Computer. On Friday, a smaller, cheaper version went on sale in the U.S. And you can read about it at iPod Mini -- the iPod Mini, in "MacAddict" magazine.
Senior editor Narasu Rebbapragada is with us from San Francisco to explain whether smaller is better.
Good morning to you. Thanks for being with us on a Sunday morning.
NARASU REBBAPRAGADA, SENIOR EDITOR "MACADDICT": Sure, thanks. Thank you.
SAVIDGE: Well, explain to us for the uninitiated -- and I do know what they are, thank you very much. But for those who may not, what exactly is an iPod?
REBBAPRAGADA: Well, an iPod, it basically works like your Walkman did way back in the day. But it's a little hard disk in a pretty sturdy case. You plug it into your computer, or your Mac or PC. Your Mac or PC recognizes it, downloads files on to your iPod, and then that's it. You can go wherever you want and listen to it.
SAVIDGE: So unlike the Walkman, say, you can just create the music track of your life? In other words, you're not listening to a CD that you are stuck with.
REBBAPRAGADA: Nope. You can reorder the tracks, you can make mixed a play list. You can do whatever you want.
SAVIDGE: OK. Why should we be excited that there's a new version on the market today? A smaller -- obviously cheaper is a good thing.
REBBAPRAGADA: Well, yes, it is a little bit cheaper. But the main thing it's smaller, it's more portable. The iPod was already the number one portable music player when Apple announced the iPod Mini. But for some, it was still overkill.
The regular iPod holds something like up to 8,000 to 10,000 songs. That's a lot of songs. The iPod Mini is a little bit smaller. It's a four gigabyte hard drive, so it can hold maybe 800 to a 1,000 songs, which is still a lot, but more manageable. Portable, you know, a jogger can take it on a run with him or her. So that's really the appeal of the smaller iPod. And, yes, it is a little cheaper.
SAVIDGE: OK. And is there anything else they had to cut back on besides the size, space of music you can load?
REBBAPRAGADA: No, not really. It has all the same features. It's the same interface; it works with your Mac or PC the exact same way.
SAVIDGE: What else do you have to buy? Now, I read in this article that some of the stuff you think might comes with it doesn't.
REBBAPRAGADA: That's right. For example, if you want an armband to go running with, you are going to have to buy that separately. It comes with the cable, so you can right out of the box sync it up with your Mac or PC.
SAVIDGE: What's that going to cost you for the additional connection?
REBBAPRAGADA: About $25 to $30.
SAVIDGE: And has Apple got a lot of excitement over this -- this new one, I mean?
REBBAPRAGADA: Sure. Sure thing. They announced it in January. And as you mentioned, they just started shipping it last week. And they already have 100,000 preorders to sell.
SAVIDGE: And the reviews professionally, have they been good?
REBBAPRAGADA: Oh, yes, so far. People are just starting to get them tested and review them. Again, it is a hard disk player, so, you know, I wouldn't take it under water or anything. However, it is -- it's got skip protection, it's shock proof. It's very scratch resistant exterior. So yes, it's pretty durable.
SAVIDGE: Well, you do see them everywhere, there's no question about that. Narasu Rebbapragada, thank you very much for joining us this morning...
REBBAPRAGADA: Sure. Thank you.
SAVIDGE: ... talking about the new Mini iPod. And I bet you they will have one soon that you can take under water. Not that I listen to a lot of music under water. But thank you very much.
REBBAPRAGADA: Thank you.
SAVIDGE: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
