My iPod is a parasite

I didn't quite realize that it is three months since I blogged. It's very unusual for me. I got really busy at work with multiple products going into the market and the nitty gritties associated with those.

So, here's my thought for the day, month and the decade that iPod is going to dominate dumb minds. Oh yeah, I got cynical only after using the iPod. I didnt buy the iPod but got the latest generation device gifted by my brother and everyone on seeing that said 'wow'. I will tell you why it doesn't 'wow' me at all.

1. First of all, the iPod is a parasite. It clings on to the laptop/PC or that mother device and feeds off from it. Does anyone know of an iPod that can update itself without those cables?
2. I stopped using the laptop at home, after work, about two years back. I use my mobile for almost everything one would use for after work. Reading and responding to mails, reviewing document and even editing PPTs, setting, accepting or declining meetings, reading various web feeds, stock updates, political or economical updates and read news and sports. I even read all my spiritual stuff via my mobile. So when the mobile is the device of choice for the upwardly mobile and when the laptop is reaching a stage when it's going to be used only for serious, heavy duty work it appears strange to me that Steve Jobs and co. think that everybody would switch on the laptops and connect to the internet for the podcasts to automatically be updated? Integration is key to me and any device I use must be able to communicate with other similar devices that the user with the same profile uses. This profile matching has not happened with iPod. Maybe it's not meant for me but to a larger audience who value simple and traditional ways of updates.
3. The battery - if I forget to charge my iPod for two days, the battery is low. If I have to charge the iPod with power, I need that propreitary cable which means that I carry not only the iPod but also carry the long cables, travel adapters and what not. If only the cable was not propreitary I could have fed power off from any USB port. Devices should be flexible for use and not be monopolistic.

4. Sleekness and aesthetics. Okay, I concede here. However there are other sleek models out there in the market and you get sleek phone cum MP3 players which serve the same purpose of the iPod. Yes, I got the podcast software Juice and that automatically updates podcasts to my Phone or pendrive or any device as long as that is connected to the USB drive. My phone (used as a podcast player) can also update itself via GSM/GPRS. Checkout Nokia's podcast software for example.

Ahem! I'm not young any more and perhaps that has influenced my priorities. However, come on everybody, are iPods for Dumb college goers or for traditional heavy laptop users? I'm ofcourse assuming that iPods are used for podcasts. The case is worsened if it is used just for static music.