12 years ago: iPod announced. Forumites jaded, unimpressed.

Started by Syt, October 23, 2013, 11:32:59 AM

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Syt

As sourced by The Atlantic:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=500

QuoteGreat just what the world needs, another freaking MP3 player. Go Steve! Where's the Newton?!

QuoteSounds very revolutionary to me.    :mad:

hey - heres an idea Apple - rather than enter the world of gimmicks and toys, why dont you spend a little more time sorting out your pathetically expensive and crap server line up? 
or are you really aiming to become a glorified consumer gimmicks firm?   :mad:

QuoteI still can't believe this! All this hype for something so ridiculous! Who cares about an MP3 player? I want something new! I want them to think differently!
Why oh why would they do this?! It's so wrong! It's so stupid!

QuoteIt's now at the online Apple Store!

$400 for an Mp3 Player!

I'd call it the Cube 2.0 as it wont sell, and be killed off in a short time...and it's not really functional.

Uuhh Steve, can I have a PDA now?

[Edited by elitemacor on 10-23-2001 at 02:33 PM]

Quotetrully revolutionary MY ASSSS!


http://www.americas.creative.com/pro...MainCategory=2

Creative NOMAD® Jukebox player
Capacity: 20GB hard drive (up to 340 hours at 128kbps MP3 encoding)

GO APPLEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

Quotebummer

http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/electronics/5784.shtml

20 gig drive and its only $349

sorry apple, yer cool styling and faster transfer rate only count for so much

btw... for $100 bucks more you can buy an imac. Better bring that price down or you wont sell any of these babies

QuoteAny way you spin this it is:
1. Not revolutionary. Big capacity mp3 players already exist. With Creative Labs' entrance into the firewire arena, future nomads will have similar specs and better prices.
2. A bad fit. This product is outside Apple's core competancy - computing devices. When many are calling for a pda, they release an MP3 player.
3. Without a future. This Christmas you will see mp3 players be commoditized. Meaning that the players from Korea will be way less expensive tha iPod. The real money is in DRM and distribution (ala Real Musicnet). If Apple were smart they would be focusing on high gross revenue from services rather than a playback device.




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derspiess

As anti-Apple as I've been at times, I can remember actually thinking it would be a successful product-- at least, once they made it PC-compatible.
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The Larch

Quoteor are you really aiming to become a glorified consumer gimmicks firm?

This guy might be on to something there.

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Ed Anger

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The Minsky Moment

Most of the those comments make good points.

The original iPod was a suboptimal device in terms of price and performance.  It didn't sell a ton either.
The ipod really didn't hit its stride until around the 4th gen or so. 

The other thing to keep in mind is that Apple's ultimate success was due in significant part to the catastrophic failure of the recording industry to get its act together.  Granted that wasn't entirely a suprising development, but things could have easily evolved in another direction.
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Barrister

Quote from: The Minsky Moment on October 23, 2013, 01:37:11 PM
Most of the those comments make good points.

The original iPod was a suboptimal device in terms of price and performance.  It didn't sell a ton either.
The ipod really didn't hit its stride until around the 4th gen or so. 

The other thing to keep in mind is that Apple's ultimate success was due in significant part to the catastrophic failure of the recording industry to get its act together.  Granted that wasn't entirely a suprising development, but things could have easily evolved in another direction.

What made Apple successful was the iPod / iTunes store combo.  Record companies only licensed their music to iTunes because it was limited to Mac users, a fairly small market at the time.
Posts here are my own private opinions.  I do not speak for my employer.

garbon

Quote from: Barrister on October 23, 2013, 01:47:27 PM
Quote from: The Minsky Moment on October 23, 2013, 01:37:11 PM
Most of the those comments make good points.

The original iPod was a suboptimal device in terms of price and performance.  It didn't sell a ton either.
The ipod really didn't hit its stride until around the 4th gen or so. 

The other thing to keep in mind is that Apple's ultimate success was due in significant part to the catastrophic failure of the recording industry to get its act together.  Granted that wasn't entirely a suprising development, but things could have easily evolved in another direction.

What made Apple successful was the iPod / iTunes store combo.  Record companies only licensed their music to iTunes because it was limited to Mac users, a fairly small market at the time.

:hmm:

I thought the iTunes store was available for windows, pretty shortly after its mac launch.  Wiki-check says about 5-6 months after.
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Barrister

Quote from: garbon on October 23, 2013, 01:53:43 PM
Quote from: Barrister on October 23, 2013, 01:47:27 PM
Quote from: The Minsky Moment on October 23, 2013, 01:37:11 PM
Most of the those comments make good points.

The original iPod was a suboptimal device in terms of price and performance.  It didn't sell a ton either.
The ipod really didn't hit its stride until around the 4th gen or so. 

The other thing to keep in mind is that Apple's ultimate success was due in significant part to the catastrophic failure of the recording industry to get its act together.  Granted that wasn't entirely a suprising development, but things could have easily evolved in another direction.

What made Apple successful was the iPod / iTunes store combo.  Record companies only licensed their music to iTunes because it was limited to Mac users, a fairly small market at the time.

:hmm:

I thought the iTunes store was available for windows, pretty shortly after its mac launch.  Wiki-check says about 5-6 months after.

But that's the point - when it opened (and more importantly, when Apple negotiated licensing rights) it was Mac-only.  However their contracts didn't specify that it would always remain Mac-only...
Posts here are my own private opinions.  I do not speak for my employer.

garbon

Quote from: Barrister on October 23, 2013, 02:08:56 PM
Quote from: garbon on October 23, 2013, 01:53:43 PM
Quote from: Barrister on October 23, 2013, 01:47:27 PM
Quote from: The Minsky Moment on October 23, 2013, 01:37:11 PM
Most of the those comments make good points.

The original iPod was a suboptimal device in terms of price and performance.  It didn't sell a ton either.
The ipod really didn't hit its stride until around the 4th gen or so. 

The other thing to keep in mind is that Apple's ultimate success was due in significant part to the catastrophic failure of the recording industry to get its act together.  Granted that wasn't entirely a suprising development, but things could have easily evolved in another direction.

What made Apple successful was the iPod / iTunes store combo.  Record companies only licensed their music to iTunes because it was limited to Mac users, a fairly small market at the time.

:hmm:

I thought the iTunes store was available for windows, pretty shortly after its mac launch.  Wiki-check says about 5-6 months after.

But that's the point - when it opened (and more importantly, when Apple negotiated licensing rights) it was Mac-only.  However their contracts didn't specify that it would always remain Mac-only...

I'll defer to you on this but it seems like those would have been rather silly negotiations if there had been no consideration to what might happen. Particularly given that iPods had been functional with Windows since about a year before the iTunes store debuted.
"I've never been quite sure what the point of a eunuch is, if truth be told. It seems to me they're only men with the useful bits cut off."
I drank because I wanted to drown my sorrows, but now the damned things have learned to swim.

Sheilbh

Yeah. But the fact that they were negotiations by the music industry makes it sound more plausible :P
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Malthus

I remember when the iPad came out. Again, failure was widely predicted. As I recall, people were complaining that the device name sounded like something used for menstrual sanitation.  :D
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Barrister

Quote from: Malthus on October 23, 2013, 03:32:30 PM
I remember when the iPad came out. Again, failure was widely predicted. As I recall, people were complaining that the device name sounded like something used for menstrual sanitation.  :D

I don't recall anyone thinking it would flop (though there were sani pad jokes a-plenty).
Posts here are my own private opinions.  I do not speak for my employer.