Nate Lanxon
Nate is CNET.co.uk's expert on digital music and portable media. He was born just long enough before the beginning of the digital age to grow up with it, become one with it and then be utterly consumed by it. 'Geek by profession' has been his career goal for two decades.
Wednesday 2 January 2008, 2:16pm
Apple needs 'Save For Later' feature in iTunes Store
Apple should implement a 'Save For Later' feature in the iTunes Store that functions like the one in Google Reader.
I'm currently enjoying the final few hours of my Christmas and New Year break. After ordering several CDs from Amazon, I browsed iTunes for two or three songs I've discovered over 2007's eggnog season. Now I don't usually use the iTunes Store. But when my preferred download store for ad hoc downloads fails to satisfy my needs, I'm left with few options.
The problem is that I'm not on my home computer and I don't want to buy these songs until I'm home. In Google Reader -- the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle of RSS readers -- when I spot something I want to read later, I click the little yellow star and it'll be saved for future reading. It's a simple technology: a small, scintillating sun sitting on our screen rarely fails to grab our attention. So why in the name of all that's sacred hasn't iTunes got such a feature?
No, really. The store's got over six million tracks on offer. How in Jobs' name am I supposed to remember what random song I discovered while I was high on mulled wine? What, write it down? Email myself? Buy it here and put the file on the memory sticks I have loads of? Maybe you've been using your new Christmas crack pipe a little too much -- I want Ajax stars, dammit! This is 2008.
When flash memory is as cheap as it is, I shouldn't need to memorise anything more than my address and where to buy new underpants. Please, give me 'memory stars' in the iTunes Store.
Comments on this post
Nate, You should do what I do, activate the shopping cart in preferences and select all the songs you like from any computer thats logged in with your itunes account and you should be able to buy it later from any computer.
Posted by Imran on Wed 2 January, 2008 4:44 PM
Offensive? Inappropriate? Report this comment
damn he beat me too it :)
Posted by Andy on Thu 3 January, 2008 10:15 PM
Offensive? Inappropriate? Report this comment
Articles by Nate Lanxon
Sennheiser IE 7 sound-isolating earphones
Review If you read our reviews, you'll know that as far as mid-range sound-isolating earphones go, we have a soft spot for the Klipsch Custom-3s. Well, now we have been introduced to the Sennheiser IE 7s, and boy are they giving the Klipsches a run for their money. The IE 7s are reasonably-priced, superb all-rounders
Sennheiser IE 8 sound-isolating earphones
Review We loved the way the Sennheiser IE 8 sound-isolating earphones added warmth and depth to our broad music collection. With the added bonus of being able to manually adjust the bass, these earphones are more than worthy competitors to the Shure SE530s. Be prepared to have your music rocked
Photos: Hands-on with the Sony Ericsson W705 Walkman
Photo We've got Sony Ericsson's latest Walkman phone in-house -- the beautiful W705 -- and this one is for sure a hot contender for sexiest phone of the year
Woo Audio WA2 headphone amplifier
Review To put it simply, the Woo Audio WA2 is the best headphone amplifier in its price category by a mile. It provides an experience that is completely luscious -- deep, smooth bass, rich vocal reproduction, and a sweet, spacious, notably airy treble that's smashing for live classical performances, although can handle anything you throw its way. Superb
PURE Digital Avanti Flow: Slick Net and DAB radio
Crave PURE Digital's latest DAB radio is the second Net radio-enabled system from the company, and it could make one hell of a good gift for the Consumermas season.
Apple releases iPhone 2.2 firmware
Crave The brand new firmware for Apple's iPhone is out, and it includes Google's Street View service and wireless podcast downloading, among a heap of performance improvements
Sony NWZ-S639F Walkman
Review Sony's NWZ-S639F Walkman S series is an affordable model that delivers. It supports BBC iPlayer downloads, so you can take full advantage of its crisp -- albeit small -- screen. Its stylish design and incredibly easy-to-use navigation system is coupled with superb Sony sound quality, making this MP3 player music to our ears
Photos: Ears-on with the wireless Sleek Audio SA6 earphones
Photo Sleek Audio's high-end SA6 earphones are now available with Kleer wireless technology, and it's a whole load better than Bluetooth. Here's why
