iLou Minatti observes that the retail channel looks to be full of Apple consumer products and don't appear to be selling as well as he thinks they should. Truth is a little more complicated; iPods are "suffering" from two forces. On good, one bad. First Apple deliberately overlapped products. Too many models too similar and no clear price performance leader. They did this for two reasons; to block out any competitor who might establish a niche and to literally use the market to reveal consumer preference. They knew some models would fail.
Second, Apple is a victim of bad planning. This is an exact repeat of Chrysler's convertible syndrome. When Chrysler reintroduced the convertible to the mass market the reaction was huge. Many times greater than projections. Everybody jumped on board at the same time it was discovered it was years and years of pent up demand. Everybody has an iPod, there's nobody waiting for the end of November to get one that also comes with a free rubber protective case.
Don't worry about Apple, if they need to "cut" prices expect iTunes Music Store credits to be thrown in.
40 comments:
iFirst the new Zune firmware update !
but don't worry, I close iSecond my lovely iPod for its gapless classical music capabilities....
What they really need to throw in is a Hide-a-Pod for theft prevention. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to buy more iProducts.
iPod iSchmod.
I much prefer my Sandisk Sansa.
$400 for 16GB and you can't even use it as a portable hard drive. But Fry's is now bundling it with a free case and charger. Toss in more stuff but keep the price the same. What a bargain. The Touch is the new PSP. Kewl but so overpriced and so lacking key features that few are buying it.
Apple cannot have a repeat of the iPhone price cut fiasco, but they will have no choice. The devices are sitting on the shelves gathering dust, just like the Zune.
It's funny how the iPod saved Apple's bacon, and now it looks like the resurgent Mac is now going to save Apple again.
BTW, Hollywood writers are set to strike. Doesn't anyone care about the damage done to this vital industry?
(crickets)
Lou, I do...it will affect folks like me bigtime if the strike persists.
The Touch is the new PSP. Kewl but so overpriced and so lacking key features that few are buying it.
Gotta disagree there. I bought a PSP and hardly use it. It looks beautiful, but that goddamn nub controller makes playing anything more complicated than pacman an exercise in frustration, and ripping movies is more trouble than it's worth.
The iTouch is the way it should be done. I was watching a podcast on it yesterday when I heard something mentioned that I was unsure about, paused video, checked out the details on wikipedia using WiFi, watched a quick video tutorial on YouTube, and then went back to the podcast.
For just a little while I felt like I was living in the future.
Totally worth the money IMHO.
@driftwood
Are we still talking about a device that lets me listen to music on the go? Yours sounds like a mini laptop that I can do whatever on.
I just think most people associate iPod with listening to music and have that as their main objective.
Why the hell would I spend $500 nowadays on a portable music player????
And internet access over wireless on the iPod? WTF. Thats something for serious geeks.Half-ass geeks like me will pull out their laptops to do the same thing in the first place and regular people NEVER use it. (heck it doesn't even synch over wireless!!)
IMHO it's an expensive gadget for rich people and geeks and will have a hard time owning the market at the current price point.....
iLoo: The properly British toilet from Apple.
Sorry, Dolph. I didn't mean to be a dick. Sometimes it's easy to laugh at Hollywood without considering that the strike will harm people personally.
The writer's strike absolutely has to persist. The producers don't understand anything. Longtime observers can put this in two sentences.
• The producers want to pay in monkey points.
• The producers want to control downstream revenues.
Any questions? The writers have their own problems of moribund union old-think that doesn't make it any easier but the bottom line is that they aren't being paid for their product either upfront or down the line.
It's too bad Fry's isn't bundling these with the iPod:
OhMiBod Music Powered Vibrator
Don't forget about the iRack:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcjLEwZqcQI
I like my Creative Zen-W 30gb. Nice big screen to watch my xvid-format stuff on. And only $150 after rebate. :)
I can get a 19" tv for less than $200, why would I pay twice as much for one with a tiny 2" screen?
Edgar, you can get a desktop for $249. Why get a laptop for $499?
Edgar, you can get a desktop for $249. Why get a laptop for $499?
Exactly! You Calis have way too much damn money.
When it comes to wasting money on a lot of things I'm pretty cheap, but the mobility and compact size of a laptop makes it well worth twice the price of a desktop.
Hi akubi!
Do you enjoy playing with your funky pseudo mouse? ;-)
Has anyone here paid $9000 for a television? iRob?
Comments removed from FHB. Hate speech equals any legal discussion of loan fraud.
@Edgar,
I hate those damn pseudo-mouses and only use them in transit. At home, I plug in the real thing.
@Lou,
As far as I'm concerned a $9K TV represents the downfall of western civilization.
@Lost Cause,
Casey and Moose-head remind me of Beavis and Butt-head.
Speaking of which, there's a 6 Degrees of Casey Serin to Dick Cheney game to be played. Woohoo!
To further complicate the matter can YOU include terms like the following in your degrees...?
"what is the daily recommended intake of froot loops"
"percent of vitamins in frosted flakes"
For those seeking a more laid back approach to their evening check out Zillow Book's latest features.
"The iTouch is the way it should be done. I was watching a podcast on it yesterday when I heard something mentioned that I was unsure about, paused video, checked out the details on wikipedia using WiFi, watched a quick video tutorial on YouTube, and then went back to the podcast."
My PSP can do all of that. Why can't yours?
PSP?
My LSD can do a hell of a lot more!
I am generation Kool-Aid hear me spout nonesense!
"My PSP can do all of that. Why can't yours?"
PSP's are $169.00. Now if Sony would quit with the proprietary BS they might be king of the hill again. They didn't learn from the Betamax, they didn't learn from the Memory Stick, they didn't learn with Blue Ray. Hard drives are dirt-cheap now. How 'bout a PSP with an 80GB hard drive and no proprietary formats. I bet that would sell at $199.00.
Can you carry your desktop in a briefcase? No. That's why you get a notebook.
As far as pulling out a notebook instead of a handheld, are you always carrying your notebook? I doubt it.
I only use desktops for the server and stations at home. A notebook is my primary computer. I use a PSP when I want something that'll fit in my pocket. I've never used my PSP for games. Running PSP WinXP it's quite functional.
I only have a 3g Nano Ipod. I got it for free from a Key Bank promo. Macs are physically pieces of shit and overpriced for what they are. I wouldn't pay for anything Apple. The chinese knockoff Iphones and Ipods are just as nice and in many cases more featured and functional.
I'm holding Dec 185 puts.
Why do I need 80gb on my PSP? I only use 20gb on my notebook and it's fully loaded.
I just don't keep media on my mobile devices(except my modded and custom flashed moto L7). I'm not a gamer either.
I have a 500gb server at home running all the time. I have 200+ dvd movies, lots of mp3s, applications, etc on it. This also runs my video cam surveillance/alarm system. I just remote in on a VPN to watch a movie or whatever.
If you're just using a PSP for net and apps, a 4gb stick is plenty.
My PSP can do all of that. Why can't yours?
It probably could if I spent the time and energy to make it happen.
But friggin around with various bits of software to make it all work is not for me. I'm not technically orientated and I don't have the time.
Why the hell would I spend $500 nowadays on a portable music player????
To be honest, listening to music comes fourth after video, photos and the net.
The iTouch works as advertised out of the box. It's an effective and portable bit of kit that I can stick in my pocket and use when required. And at £269 it ain't THAT expensive.
If it weren't for Dick Cheney Wyoming would be a fine state to inhabit.
When I was heading into the shower this evening I just so happened to find my Flower Power Handcrafted Goatmilk Soap (with soy and koi and stuff) that I purchased at a WY farmer's market and realized it was all good. Red states and blue states are one and the same in the end.
Nonetheless, why can't Keana cut her bangs properly?
Fill your head with BS, itsallgood kidz!
My PSP can do all of that. Why can't yours?
I have heard that if you take too much PSP it will rot your brain.
9:14 AM, Lou Minatti said...
$400 for 16GB and you can't even use it as a portable hard drive
This is FUD. Of course you can use it as a portable hard drive.
People go to apple stores to buy iPods. They don't go to shit boxes like Fry's. Fry's will give you a shiny new case for the iPod or whatever else they want to bundle, so you don't go to the apple store to buy your iPod. It is the same reason that a catalog like macmall will sell you an iMac and throw in a printer. It's the same iMac as the one at the apple store but people think, hey free printer.
12 Billion dollars. Apple will be fine. Stop spreading FUD.
"This is FUD. Of course you can use it as a portable hard drive."
"The ability to use the Touch as an external storage drive like the iPod Nano and iPod Classic would also be a plus."
http://reviews.cnet.com/portable-video-players-pvps/apple-ipod-touch-16gb/4505-6499_7-32595956.html
Lou, nah it's cool. The content owners (studios) are being unreasonable. There is tons of crap that should never get produced.
What sucks for me is my main line of business (what butters my bread) is tied to movie productions. Lack of "product" means less revenue for me (without giving too much away).
And Rob...you are 100% right about this strike.
@lou minatti
You don't buy an iPod with a flash memory drive, if you want to use it as external hard drive. You buy an iPod with solid state memory.
I closed out all of those AAPL puts for now. That was a sweet nearly 300% gain in week.
Make a ringtone on your phone, with the RingtoneCutterOnline website
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