Capacity increase in the shuffle is pointless. I expect that Apple will substantially lower the price around mid-late November.
I wouldn't exactly say pointless, but I see what you mean.
I agree that a price drop would probably be more appealing to most people, but if apple wanted to avoid a price drop bumping the size would be better than nothing. It's just not a great bang for buck now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JeffDM
Keep in mind that for the last three years, the competitors have almost always had a product of similar or more functionality and capacity for $50 less, so it's not necessarily double the space for the same price, although you can think of it that way.
While that's generally true, I think the gap for the shuffle is bigger than ever. And while everything else has had price drops or feature/capacity bumps in the same timeframe, the shuffle hasn't kept up.
Is there some sort of faction trying to bring down Apple.
Maybe the one based in Redmond?
Of course! Apple have become 'The Man' and everyone always tries to bring down 'The Man'
I'm not convinced by any of these 'costs' they're just journalistic nonsense. The key point of difference with iPods (& it seems iPhones) is design & software I'm sure most of the components can be found elsewhere. Both are very expensive and in Apple's case must be regularly engaged for updates & refreshes the BOMs always neglect these and sweep them under the carpet - a trick that I'm sure Apple's CFO would love to know.
Regardless of the margin, I believed that Apple cut some serious corners in these new products that will come back and bite them in the but. I owned the nano for a couple of days before returning it. Just try to use Cover Flow on the new nano and classic. The fundamental problem is the cheap, underpowered processors they used. No firmware update will ever fix it. It would not be as big of an issue if SJ did not boast so much about this feature. Not to put too fine a point on it, Cover Flow is a total disaster on these new units. This is one of those occasions where profit margin was more important to Apple than maintaining the integrity of a product. In addition, there are other defects with the new nanos. Apple is going to take a bath over this after Christmas. I wouldn't be surprised to see a class action lawsuit over the issue and I think I would actually support it. Apple has truly screwed the consumer with these new products. They pulled a total MS and I am not with them on this one.
No firmware update will ever fix it. It would not be as big of an issue if SJ did not boast so much about this feature. Not to put too fine a point on it, Cover Flow is a total disaster on these new units.
One thing that amazes me about my Macs is that even though they're both over 5 years old and take forever to convert video, they still feel really snappy. For the 'feel' part of look & feel, Apple have timing built into the design (they originally slowed down window opening to improve the user experience). This isn't a result of fast hardware, it's the ability to apply the right amount power to the right task at the right time - realtime. In other words, I'd have a bit more faith as to what software updates will bring as this is the bit they can change.
Have you checked other new iPods to see if you don't have a dud?
Does anyone else find these reports from iSuppli to be almost worthless?
I'm not just being a devil's advocate here. I honestly feel that iSuppli's BOM reports are media mongering guesswork with little if any utility. Their margin of error is far greater than any trending effect or difference between rival products.
Sure, it's nice to see a rough estimate of off the shelf component costs. But anything past that is complete bullshit.
In my opinion, journalists reporting iSuppli numbers should forgo mentioning margins. Or if margins are mentioned, it should be only to point out margin estimates based upon iSuppli numbers are completely make-believe and have no bearing on reality whatsoever. None.
Have you checked other new iPods to see if you don't have a dud?
McD
Yes. After returning mine, I looked at every display unit. I also spent a good bit of time after the update looking at them. You see, I really wanted one in the worst kind of way. The Apple Genius is the one who told me that this is a limitation of the hardware and simply cannot be fixed. He suggested using it without Cover Flow. As an iPhone owner, I have come to love Cover Flow. CF on the iPhone is like using it on the Mac, only better. The new iPods are just not ready for it.
Comments
Capacity increase in the shuffle is pointless. I expect that Apple will substantially lower the price around mid-late November.
I wouldn't exactly say pointless, but I see what you mean.
I agree that a price drop would probably be more appealing to most people, but if apple wanted to avoid a price drop bumping the size would be better than nothing. It's just not a great bang for buck now.
Keep in mind that for the last three years, the competitors have almost always had a product of similar or more functionality and capacity for $50 less, so it's not necessarily double the space for the same price, although you can think of it that way.
While that's generally true, I think the gap for the shuffle is bigger than ever. And while everything else has had price drops or feature/capacity bumps in the same timeframe, the shuffle hasn't kept up.
Sony products have always been expensive, yet I don't see anyone breaking down component costs on Sony products.
Maybe because they are busy looking for the latest rootkits in Sony CDs?
Is there some sort of faction trying to bring down Apple.
Maybe the one based in Redmond?
Of course! Apple have become 'The Man' and everyone always tries to bring down 'The Man'
I'm not convinced by any of these 'costs' they're just journalistic nonsense. The key point of difference with iPods (& it seems iPhones) is design & software I'm sure most of the components can be found elsewhere. Both are very expensive and in Apple's case must be regularly engaged for updates & refreshes the BOMs always neglect these and sweep them under the carpet - a trick that I'm sure Apple's CFO would love to know.
McD
No firmware update will ever fix it. It would not be as big of an issue if SJ did not boast so much about this feature. Not to put too fine a point on it, Cover Flow is a total disaster on these new units.
One thing that amazes me about my Macs is that even though they're both over 5 years old and take forever to convert video, they still feel really snappy. For the 'feel' part of look & feel, Apple have timing built into the design (they originally slowed down window opening to improve the user experience). This isn't a result of fast hardware, it's the ability to apply the right amount power to the right task at the right time - realtime. In other words, I'd have a bit more faith as to what software updates will bring as this is the bit they can change.
Have you checked other new iPods to see if you don't have a dud?
McD
I'm not just being a devil's advocate here. I honestly feel that iSuppli's BOM reports are media mongering guesswork with little if any utility. Their margin of error is far greater than any trending effect or difference between rival products.
Sure, it's nice to see a rough estimate of off the shelf component costs. But anything past that is complete bullshit.
In my opinion, journalists reporting iSuppli numbers should forgo mentioning margins. Or if margins are mentioned, it should be only to point out margin estimates based upon iSuppli numbers are completely make-believe and have no bearing on reality whatsoever. None.
Have you checked other new iPods to see if you don't have a dud?
McD
Yes. After returning mine, I looked at every display unit. I also spent a good bit of time after the update looking at them. You see, I really wanted one in the worst kind of way. The Apple Genius is the one who told me that this is a limitation of the hardware and simply cannot be fixed. He suggested using it without Cover Flow. As an iPhone owner, I have come to love Cover Flow. CF on the iPhone is like using it on the Mac, only better. The new iPods are just not ready for it.