iPod's disappearance from top of Apple website signals further slide into obscurity

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Comments

  • Reply 41 of 69
    numba1numba1 Posts: 23member

    Of course the analysts will now say Apple's profits and therefore stock price will tank because of the declining revenue from the iPod.

  • Reply 42 of 69
    ike17055ike17055 Posts: 121member
    But they have thrown almost nothing at it for years. Its development cycle is basically complete. The profit margin would be high even though its totoal revenue will be very low for a company the size of Apple.
  • Reply 43 of 69
    ike17055ike17055 Posts: 121member
    If it is the same product, there is nothing to sully except maybe customer service and that would be seen as fault of Sony (or whomever) the same way that say, Walmart or Target would suffer if it provided lousy sales support for the devices it sells but does not produce. An alternative would be for Apple merely to license some if the proprietary components, like the click wheel, or the software interface, which would distance the apple name from a device that would then be only partially Apple. Sony would love to have the clickwheel, but right now. NOBODY has it. Businesses are creative. There are a hundred ways to keep this technology available profitably for customers who would buy it.
  • Reply 44 of 69
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by WestCoastStar View Post



    All my kids have had an iPod, some still do. I don't know what they would do without it.

    Listen to Nature like kids did long ago... Talk to each other ... archaic but social on a level only to be dreamed about. The possibilities are endless...

  • Reply 45 of 69

    Apple will never drop the iPod ... there's too much danger Microsoft would revive the Zune.  /s

  • Reply 46 of 69
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Ike17055 View Post

    Sony and Creative and others are still trying to design something a fraction as good, and they obviously believe they can make money on a music device.

    Believe it or not but buggy whips are still being manufactured, buy one, it will make your car run faster...

     

    What makes the iPhone so compelling is that the music stops when the phone rings ... no running to turn the sound down before picking up the receiver.

  • Reply 47 of 69
    yoyo2222yoyo2222 Posts: 144member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TheWhiteFalcon View Post

     



    Match sticks around. It's now under the "iCloud Music Library" banner. It's listed as "separate but complimentary" to Apple Music.




    Except, here is a quote from the Apple-Music-Discover page that seems to indicate that ?Music will be capable of replacing Match (and with no mention of the 25K Match track limit).

     

    "Your entire library lives in iCloud when you’re an Apple Music member. First, we identify all the tracks in your personal collection and compare them to the Apple Music library to see if we have copies. If we do, we make them instantly available in iCloud across all your devices. If you have music that’s not in the Apple Music library, we upload those songs from iTunes on your Mac or PC. And because it’s all stored in iCloud, it won’t take up any space on your devices."

  • Reply 48 of 69
    Believe it or not but buggy whips are still being manufactured, buy one, it will make your car run faster...

    What makes the iPhone so compelling is that the music stops when the phone rings ... no running to turn the sound down before picking up the receiver.

    Not to mention that you don't need to carry two devices or switch headphones. Just answer the call. If Apple had not put a music player in the iPhone, it would be the #1 feature request.
    ike17055 wrote: »
    Ok. Old man rant. Why, apple, why? Apple, if you are giving up on iPod, then sell it off to someone who will continue to make them.

    You jumped the gun there and gave a eulogy for a current product.
  • Reply 49 of 69
    hillstoneshillstones Posts: 1,490member

    Inaccurate headline.  Moving iPods under the Music topic is appropriate because an iPod plays music.  An Apple Watch could never replace an iPod.  Sorry, but 8GB fails to compare to a 64GB iPod Touch or 160GB iPod Classic.  People still love to carry their entire library with them for use in the car or on vacation.  People will retain their iPhone 6 128GB models and use them as iPods now that the classic is gone.  I would love a 256GB iPod Touch for my entire library, which would give plenty of room for many tracks in Apple Lossless.  The cloud is a joke.  Not many have unlimited plans, and not many want to rely on internet access (which is not always available everywhere, especially on a road trip) to listen to their music.  iTunes Radio has not been popular since the catalog is rather limited and you hear the same songs after about an hour.  Even the fanboys complained about repeating tracks.  Apple Music...why would anyone pay $10/month when you can listen to Pandora or Spotify for free?  iTunes Match is great for upgrading lower quality tracks to higher quality tracks, but I never listen to iTunes Radio because of the limited catalog.

  • Reply 50 of 69
    ecatsecats Posts: 272member
    I noticed this as well, but it seems an obvious one - the focus is streaming services, iPods have even less relevance there.
  • Reply 51 of 69
    nightskynightsky Posts: 43member
    There are plenty of things Apple could do to rejuvenate iPod sales but instead they've chosen to let the product slide in obsecurity which is a real shame IMO. It's only a matter of time before they kill it off. The Shuffle will probably be the first to go later this year.
  • Reply 52 of 69
    ike17055ike17055 Posts: 121member
    Stupid remark. Its old but it works. Most specialized decices work better and most multi-use devices involve compromises. I want my ipod connected to the sound system, and i still want to have my phone by my side. Forget blutooth. It is never as reliable or as good as hard wired. And the phone does not output or store of the size or quantity of the ipod classic. Buggy whips have nothing to do with it. It is a question of pure functionality without compromises that the swiss army knife approach rarely suceeds fully with.
  • Reply 53 of 69
    ike17055ike17055 Posts: 121member
    The ipod classic is a discontinued product. It is e device i referenced. It is the only real ipod. The rest are toys.
  • Reply 54 of 69
    ike17055ike17055 Posts: 121member
    Try reading the whole post. I have no internet access to stream in many places, nor the desire to max out a data plan. iPod classic has the capacity to store up to 160 gb. No iphone does that. And i can afford four ipods for the price of one iphone with maximum capacity, (still well short of the ipod classic) and i would still pay through the nose for more data. Ipod classic is increasingly a niche device -- a dedicated media player with high capacity and quality audio electronics -- but it is a profitable niche for some companies, if not Apple. Thus, the point, sell off the ipod line to another company that still cares about music, and doesn't just say it does. Sometimes change for the sake of change makes little sense except in pushing demand for more product sales. I happen to think downloads are more desirable than streaming, others will prefer streaming. This is a case where the push to streaming is a step backwards if it comes at the cost of compromising the highly successful download model. Apple should address both markets, and there are myriad ways to do so.
  • Reply 55 of 69
    jkichlinejkichline Posts: 1,369member
    I say make a 5.5" version of the iPhone 6 plus without cellular and call it the iPad Nano. Done.
  • Reply 56 of 69
    tonestertonester Posts: 56member
    That's really too bad Apple doesnt have the vision to see a contuing market for a flash based iPod classic. People want a high storage capacity music only player without the need for apps and other crap. We have iPhones for that other stuff!
  • Reply 57 of 69

    I really hoped the Nano would support Apple Music. Apple Music + FM is a very, very nice proposition.

  • Reply 58 of 69
    If Apple [I]really[/I] wanted to knock it out of the park and get nearly everyone to buy into their new streaming music service, they would:

    1) Shock the world and make headlines by opening the Apple war chest to make their largest acquisition yet (much bigger than Beats) and purchase either AT&T mobile or Verizon mobile! (They'll start in America first, naturally).
    2) Provide cellular service to customers at a very reasonable price (lower than current rates) while offering superior cellular service as well as superior customer service with that cellular service. (That's one thing I think we ALL can agree is needed badly and something Apple could help with - cellular customer service.)
    3) Sell people on the idea of using a portion of the money they saved on their very reasonable "? CELLULAR" service bill and applying it toward an ? MUSIC subscription. (And it [I]still[/I] comes out cheaper than just the other guys' cellular bill alone!)
    4) Give the customer the option to have the recurring $9.99 ? MUSIC fee lumped in with their cellular bill.
    5) Make it so that streaming music via ? MUSIC doesn't count as data usage on their ? CELLULAR plan. (Big value point!)
    6) The ultimate mission and goal would be to provide the customer with a rich, superior mobile device ownership experience, from end to end, at a reasonable yet competitive price.
    7) Continue to offer at least one WiFi-connected iPod for those that don't want an iPhone. (Small but important market!)

    BOOM! -- ? MUSIC wins. Apple wins. Customer wins. Game over.

    - Expand by purchasing one telco at a time internationally. Add revenue streams down the road by offering additional services over cellular that haven't even been invented yet. (I have some interesting ideas in this area, as well.)

    - Expansion, expansion, expansion. Eventually Apple will become a money making machine on nearly every level we can imagine - tech hardware, cellular service, music and video streaming, vehicle audio systems, etc., etc. The list would go on and on.

    - Offer customers even more value by letting them bundle several Apple services together on their cellular bill at a discount. Allow customers to pay their ? CELLULAR bill with either auto-billing to their credit card on file with Apple, or the very convenient, one-touch ? PAY.

    I'll be right here in Virginia awaiting your call, Tim (or Jeff or Eddy or Phil). My mobile phone number is listed with my Apple ID of the same name. I'd be glad to help Apple explore and expand upon these ideas. If anyone can do it, and do it well, it's Apple. ;)
  • Reply 59 of 69
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rockarollr View Post



    If Apple really wanted to knock it out of the park and get nearly everyone to buy into their new streaming music service, they would:



    1) Shock the world and make headlines by opening the Apple war chest to make their largest acquisition yet (much bigger than Beats) and purchase either AT&T mobile or Verizon mobile! (They'll start in America first, naturally).

    That's a perfect way to make all the other cellular providers drop Apple products... become their competitor.

     

    That's such a BAD idea it should win some kind of boobie prize...

  • Reply 60 of 69
    sflagelsflagel Posts: 803member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ike17055 View Post



    Stupid remark. Its old but it works. Most specialized decices work better and most multi-use devices involve compromises. I want my ipod connected to the sound system, and i still want to have my phone by my side. Forget blutooth. It is never as reliable or as good as hard wired. And the phone does not output or store of the size or quantity of the ipod classic. Buggy whips have nothing to do with it. It is a question of pure functionality without compromises that the swiss army knife approach rarely suceeds fully with.

    You are right. The problem with all LTE, streaming, AirPlay, Bluetooth, etc is that it just doesn't work. 4G is not always available (there is no mobile coverage at all in large parts of Britain; no mobile in the tube; heck, I don't even get a decent phone signal in Canary Wharf, the largest international financial centre in the world; etc.); AirPlay drops out constantly, it is almost unusable; connecting to Bluetooth speakers is awkward (Bluetooth devices are not included in Control Centre). Unconnecting from Bluetooth speakers even more so (it is actually not possible, you have to turn Bluetooth off and on).

     

    It would be better to have a dedicated music storage device that is hardwired into the sound system at home, which automatically downloads all newly purchased music (or downloaded music after Apple Music launches) and makes it available without relying on the crappy wireless "solutions", none of which work properly.

     

    I truly hope they upgrade the iPod, it is expensive for what it does, but it is useful. And it is perfect for kids (especially since you don't have to have YouTube on it).

     

    Or how about an AirportExpress with built in memory for music?

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