I'm really confused by the bit where he says 'I remember when everyone wanted the Sony Walkman, and where's the Walkman now'. Surely the Sony Walkman was one of the most successful consumer products in history, only dying out because technology eventually overtook it?
This seems a bit like saying "yeah, the Ford Model T was popular in its time, but where is it now?"
I would think the demand for iPod is going to eventually go down, you only need one, I got one, I don't plan on buying another, unless mine breaks, then I would be pissed. I still don't think Apple will be in trouble because of it.
Is it just me, or isn't it pretty rare that someone big from the PC world comments on Apple?
This guy hasn't a clue, imo. he compares the iPod to the Sony walkman among other things...
This comparison would be spot on, if the guy knew anything about walkmen, or anything about iPods, or anything about the portable music market period. No wonder Dell's offerings tanked.
For those as unenlightened: the Walkman defined a whole new category of product, after 15 years of unrivalled brand awareness--people said "I want a walkman" even if they weren't buying Sony--, it was superceded as a product by the Minidisc Walkman (in Japan and Europe) and the Discman, both products evolutions coming from the same company and building on the same brand awareness.
The Walkman brand died only recently, when it was killed by a combination of Sony's inability to embrace mp3 due to their becoming a Movie and Music content company, and Apple's iPod (as both a product category and a brand) taking it's place.
Trying to diss Apple by comparing it to a decades-long brand powerhouse that was eclipsed primarily by Apple's own success is just perverse.
I would think the demand for iPod is going to eventually go down, you only need one, I got one, I don't plan on buying another, unless mine breaks, then I would be pissed. I still don't think Apple will be in trouble because of it.
Is it just me, or isn't it pretty rare that someone big from the PC world comments on Apple?
think of walkmans, people replace walkmans every 3 years on average so the ipod reup cycle is about to begin and think about it they are cheaper, smaller and hold more than the units sold in late 2001/2002 just think, the first batch of ipods could be easily replaced by a 4g 20 gig or a mini...and plenty of ipod owners are going to want the mini - fads dont last, the fact that ipod has been king of the hill by a longshot since its introduction shows that it is not a fad, want a fad, look at windows "playforsure", they change their scheme every 6 months, i predict todays drmed windows files eill not play anywhere in 2 years
people call my iPod a "walkman" even. When i am at work whenever they refer to me just listening to music they always say "using your walkman" so if a decade from now people refer to mobile music players as "your ipod" that should show a lot of longevity.
The ipod itself does take off right where the walkman left off. With a lot of different models like the walkman CD player, the jogging model, the AM/FM model. with the mini, shuffle, photo, regular, its a market in itself.
I am waiting for the day when apple gives up on having keynotes that show us the iPOd market share compared to the other companies. Instead more or less shows the mini's market share in comparison to the ipod Photo :-D
The bottom line is that most higher-ups in the industry are intelligent people. With Mike Dell it is obvious that his current position is more of a result of luck than fate, or for that matter, ability.
Do you really think people are just going to constantly need large capacity players? Why would people need to buy new ones?
The average life span of consumer electronics is 3 to 5 years. Granted most last longer, I've got a 16 yr old t.v. that still works. But a good portion of the population will need a new ipod due to use and abuse and another portion will just want the latest greatest ipod as soon as it is released. Include the ones that have scraped their pennies or late adopters, you have the potential for future growth of sales.
I actually think the iPod is sort of a fad, in that it can't sustain growth from bigger -- or smaller, players alone. I think though that the iTMS has to be accounted for, and Apple IMO is obviously not resting on its laurels regarding its success, trying to take advantage of its popularity with Macs, and someday other media. But to dismiss the iPod as a fad sort of ignores the things Apple has going for it aside from the iPod hardware.
Do you really think people are just going to constantly need large capacity players? Why would people need to buy new ones?
I bought a new walkman every so often but they never increased in capacity. They did get smaller and smaller though until they were basically the size of a cassette tape. Then I got a portable minidisc player because it had better functionality and againg bought a few models, each getting smaller until they were basically the size of a minidisc.
What's interesting is that with an iPod there is no core size or shape so who knows what will happen.
Apple has all kinds of directions to go in with the iPod. When the hardware gets fast enough and the software robust enough, they can turn it into a platform. When they can score 4GB of flash memory cheap, the iPod mini gets thinner and lighter and its battery life doubles. When the hard drives get big enough, the iPod becomes "your life to go"—in other words, it backs your account up (or whatever parts you want) to its drive, so that your music, pictures and movies are all right there, and your documents, and you can log into any random Mac and have your stuff there.
I'm just thinking out loud, and I'm sure there are lots of people in Cupertino thinking out loud. But when you consider that the iTMS has a fraction of a percent of the worldwide market for recorded music, the potential for growth of just the iPod-as-music-player is astounding, and the demand for portable music players is incredibly durable. People shouldered boom boxes before the Walkman, and GM wasted all kinds of time and money trying to shoehorn turntables into cars. The demand is there, and it has always been there, and it will always be there.
This is a bit of a stretch... Dell is somewhat jealous of S. Jobs' status as a "media" darling. Sour grapes. Big Billy Gates suffers from the same thing. Despite the fact that both Dell and Gates have bigger personal bank accounts, they just don't get the "love" that Stevie J gets.
Even big powerful alpha males can feel the sting of neglect...
Comments
This seems a bit like saying "yeah, the Ford Model T was popular in its time, but where is it now?"
Originally posted by ipodandimac
i hate dell. almost as much as MS.
I hate them both more - I have 2 windows boxes - 1 is a dell, I service them...hence why I am getting a mac mini.
Is it just me, or isn't it pretty rare that someone big from the PC world comments on Apple?
Originally posted by burningwheel
Link
This guy hasn't a clue, imo. he compares the iPod to the Sony walkman among other things...
This comparison would be spot on, if the guy knew anything about walkmen, or anything about iPods, or anything about the portable music market period. No wonder Dell's offerings tanked.
For those as unenlightened: the Walkman defined a whole new category of product, after 15 years of unrivalled brand awareness--people said "I want a walkman" even if they weren't buying Sony--, it was superceded as a product by the Minidisc Walkman (in Japan and Europe) and the Discman, both products evolutions coming from the same company and building on the same brand awareness.
The Walkman brand died only recently, when it was killed by a combination of Sony's inability to embrace mp3 due to their becoming a Movie and Music content company, and Apple's iPod (as both a product category and a brand) taking it's place.
Trying to diss Apple by comparing it to a decades-long brand powerhouse that was eclipsed primarily by Apple's own success is just perverse.
Originally posted by mynameis
I would think the demand for iPod is going to eventually go down, you only need one, I got one, I don't plan on buying another, unless mine breaks, then I would be pissed. I still don't think Apple will be in trouble because of it.
Is it just me, or isn't it pretty rare that someone big from the PC world comments on Apple?
think of walkmans, people replace walkmans every 3 years on average so the ipod reup cycle is about to begin and think about it they are cheaper, smaller and hold more than the units sold in late 2001/2002 just think, the first batch of ipods could be easily replaced by a 4g 20 gig or a mini...and plenty of ipod owners are going to want the mini - fads dont last, the fact that ipod has been king of the hill by a longshot since its introduction shows that it is not a fad, want a fad, look at windows "playforsure", they change their scheme every 6 months, i predict todays drmed windows files eill not play anywhere in 2 years
The ipod itself does take off right where the walkman left off. With a lot of different models like the walkman CD player, the jogging model, the AM/FM model. with the mini, shuffle, photo, regular, its a market in itself.
I am waiting for the day when apple gives up on having keynotes that show us the iPOd market share compared to the other companies. Instead more or less shows the mini's market share in comparison to the ipod Photo :-D
Originally posted by a_greer
think of walkmans, people replace walkmans every 3 years on average so the ipod reup cycle is about to begin
Do you really think people are just going to constantly need large capacity players? Why would people need to buy new ones?
Somebody's been biting his nails.
Do you really think people are just going to constantly need large capacity players? Why would people need to buy new ones?
The average life span of consumer electronics is 3 to 5 years. Granted most last longer, I've got a 16 yr old t.v. that still works. But a good portion of the population will need a new ipod due to use and abuse and another portion will just want the latest greatest ipod as soon as it is released. Include the ones that have scraped their pennies or late adopters, you have the potential for future growth of sales.
Originally posted by mynameis
Do you really think people are just going to constantly need large capacity players? Why would people need to buy new ones?
I bought a new walkman every so often but they never increased in capacity. They did get smaller and smaller though until they were basically the size of a cassette tape. Then I got a portable minidisc player because it had better functionality and againg bought a few models, each getting smaller until they were basically the size of a minidisc.
What's interesting is that with an iPod there is no core size or shape so who knows what will happen.
I'm just thinking out loud, and I'm sure there are lots of people in Cupertino thinking out loud. But when you consider that the iTMS has a fraction of a percent of the worldwide market for recorded music, the potential for growth of just the iPod-as-music-player is astounding, and the demand for portable music players is incredibly durable. People shouldered boom boxes before the Walkman, and GM wasted all kinds of time and money trying to shoehorn turntables into cars. The demand is there, and it has always been there, and it will always be there.
Even big powerful alpha males can feel the sting of neglect...
In that way he is right about the ipod: it revolutionised the personal stereo and generated numerous spinn offs and copies.
Originally posted by burningwheel
Link
this guy hasn't a clue, imo. he compares the iPod to the Sony walkman among other things...
Originally posted by stupider...likeafox
Trying to diss Apple by comparing it to a decades-long brand powerhouse that was eclipsed primarily by Apple's own success is just perverse.
World's greatest statement. Ever.