ipod is a crap name also, in the end with penitration it ends up just being a name.
And that's the problem with Zune. iPod already has penetration in the same way 'Walkman' did or 'Hoover' does for vacuum cleaners. People go in to shops and ask for 'iPods' meaning any old mp3 player or they'll ask you 'What's on your iPod?' even if you're listening to something else.
I always thought 'iPod' was actually quite good as it kind of meant something in that it was a 'Pod' for stashing your stuff. Apple haven't quite realised that fully though they're getting closer. wtf is a 'Zune' though? It's name says nothing about what it does except maybe rhyming with 'Tune'.
I hope it has a version of Windows running it. If so it will be sure to crash, hang and freeze plus when it does work it will start playing pop up audio ads for all sorts of things in the middle of songs.
Well I am glad my iMac can run Windows. I am quite worried that Apple does not have the power to take on MS in this area. MS is entering the market when the product is finallly mature and of course they have already started to make their jukebox software to feel like iTunes (Well the good bits anyways... not that Apple was the first either) So MS with their MS iZod will probably have an impact. Another concerns is the recent report stating MS will give people a copy of their music purchased from Apple free with Windows Media Player. This is not good news. If Apple does not release new products that compete with MS and of course match their price point (remember that the XBox 360 is subsidiesed by Microsoft to get market penetration and the flow on royalties from software) Apple has a serious problem. Still Apple knows how to innovate and as the market grows in its maturity Apple might just be happy with having a two horse race. I look forward to reading about the software geek who gets MS protected music working in iTunes. Probably wont be that hard to convert. Just like you can put any crap video with a protected ACC file in iMovie and then rip out the audio with Quicktime to remove the protection, you will probably be able to do the same thing just by using a Flip4Mac WMV plugin... not that I recommend doing such a thing. I do actually like keeping to the law in respect to copy protection... No really.
Respectufully, you're concern in unjustified.
Apple has huge market penetration in both the Windows and Mac worlds with the iPod. They have fought off multiple cometitors that offer players with universal compatibility and arguably better features.
Why?
One reason is that the iPod has become a cultural phenomenon. It's a househould name, pardon the cliche. I've related the story here before. When I went to buy my iPod at the King of Prussia Mall (PA) Apple store last December, I saw it first hand. I was getting ready to get on the elevator, and I heard people in front of me talking. They said they needed to go to "the iPod store." I shit you not. We even have an "iPod economy" now, estimated to be $700 million.
Another reason is that people like the iTunes music store experience. It's penetration is huge, and it's also become a household name of sorts.
A third reason is Apple's own ability to innovate. I have no doubt that wireless pods are not far away...and "true video" iPods too. Wait until they get into movies. It's coming. Apple didn't invent the .mp3 player, but remember, they did essentially popularize it.
Now what does M$ have to do? First, there's a philosophical problem. Apple created a product it thought would be successful. The reason it was MORE than successful was that it didn't create the product for that sole reason. They created it for the purpose of innovation, and for the purpose of making peope's live's better. They innovate because they're Apple...and it makes them lots of money. What about Microsoft? Microsoft is releasing this product for one reason: To compete with the iPod. Oh sure, I know...that's business. But that philosophical difference is all the difference. It will drive features, price, performance, look, feel...everything. At Apple, it's about the best possible experience for the customer. Every product must meet Job's own standards. When it does, they release it, and reap the financial rewards.
Microsoft must do what the rest of the mp3 market cannot...convince people not to buy and iPod and to buy their product instead. That's a tall order given the iPod's penetration and name recognition. My prediction is that the Zune will fail or perhaps only moderately succeed, even with all the $ Microsoft will put behind it.
MS is entering the field because it has finally occurred to them that the iPod is going to be much more than just an MP3 player. The release of the Nike kit (along with Jobs comments) shows that Apple is serious about making the iPod into a mobile (pocketable) device for anything and everything that makes sense for a pocketable device to be.
The world is heading towards information/content anywhere/anytime, that is, it's moving away from the desktop. MS knows it now.
I still think the next area for iPod innovation will be health tracking and diagnostics that would logically compliment the new sports & fitness capabilities of Nike+.
With Steve's recent cancer scare, I could see his attention turning to this massive part of the market, what with the baby boomers nearing retirement and completely altering the spending dollar of the American consumer.
Maybe this is the reason why Apple is adding a spreadsheet and enhanced word processing to iWork.
Apple has the nVpod, the iPhone and the real video iPod coming and those should take care of Zune. (By the way, I like the name.) But now that Microsoft has taken its gloves off, it's time for Apple to fight back. Add a database (FileMaker) to iWork, port it to Windows (Filemaker is already ported) and have the OEMs offer it as an alternative to Office. I'm sure Apple already has an iWork port developed. Bundle iWork with every Mac. Apple can also licence OS X to OEMs, with a restriction that it can only be installed in Intel chipset based systems. With EFI and TPM they can probably limit it to specific chipsets, like the 965, 975 or 5000 families. What about OS X server? Licensing OS X on the desktop might be too dangerous to Apple's core business, but they have little to lose on the server side. OS X server could and should be licensed to 3rd parties like IBM or HP. (The Woodcrest Xserves should kick ass anyway. Apple needs to grow that part of the business.) How about OS X for PPC? Put a copy in every PS3, even if it's a scaled back version used to run iTunes and Safari. Enable Sony to upstage the Xbox 360. Licence FairPlay to Sony. A big Apple/Sony alliance would be lethal to Microsoft and the PS3 will be forever associated with the Mac. More of the halo effect to ensnare future Mac users.
I believe for Microshit to release a hardware unit by the Christmas season (October) I think that they will go with their LAST ipod killer. Origami. This unit might be repackaged, but the same none the less. This would give them a Audio, Video unit that would be large enough to house the wireless elements and have the necessary hardware and size to play xbut games. It has already been designed. It already has vendors and suppliers. It already has it's distribution chain. It hasn't sold shit. Thus I'm sure they are screaming for some way to newly market the POS.
I think they will try to put it in a smaller enclosure, and possibly have one of their "partners" make the hardware, like Samsung as not to piss them all off entirely. They were the ones who made the flopped Origami. I think they would also have to run with the Viacom/MTV service they invested in for the ITMS clone. (What was it called? URGE?) This is the only conceivable way I can see Microshit getting a hardware unit and a music service out to market and ready to ship in the next 8 weeks or less. Remember when they used the same "Secret" type of marketing that Apple uses, and lead everyone to believe that they were coming out with a video ipod killer before Apple? And everyone concluded that Microshit would doom Apple for sure. Then it came. Origami. ooooooo. Have they sold even one yet? Microshit is known for taking failed products, like the OS ME and 2000, and welding them together and repackaging them to create something "New". (XP).
And you heard it first from "ReCompile". Here on Artificial Intelligence...er I mean Apple Insider...
I believe for Microshit to release a hardware unit by the Christmas season (October) I think that they will go with their LAST ipod killer. Origami. This unit might be repackaged, but the same none the less. This would give them a Audio, Video unit that would be large enough to house the wireless elements and have the necessary hardware and size to play xbut games. It has already been designed. It already has vendors and suppliers. It already has it's distribution chain. It hasn't sold shit. Thus I'm sure they are screaming for some way to newly market the POS.
I think they will try to put it in a smaller enclosure, and possibly have one of their "partners" make the hardware, like Samsung as not to piss them all off entirely. They were the ones who made the flopped Origami. I think they would also have to run with the Viacom/MTV service they invested in for the ITMS clone. (What was it called? URGE?) This is the only conceivable way I can see Microshit getting a hardware unit and a music service out to market and ready to ship in the next 8 weeks or less. Remember when they used the same "Secret" type of marketing that Apple uses, and lead everyone to believe that they were coming out with a video ipod killer before Apple? And everyone concluded that Microshit would doom Apple for sure. Then it came. Origami. ooooooo. Have they sold even one yet? Microshit is known for taking failed products, like the OS ME and 2000, and welding them together and repackaging them to create something "New". (XP).
And you heard it first from "ReCompile". Here on Artificial Intelligence...er I mean Apple Insider...
Wait, so you think they're going to find some way to take an entire computer and somehow make it the size of an iPod?
Microsoft doesn't just have to compete with Apple, there's literally thousands of accessories for the iPod. Other products, like MS's, don't have that appeal.
And throwing WiFi in a device is hardly an appealing feature. So what if the iPod had WiFi. Who cares. it doesn't matter. The implementation of the WiFi in the device is the key to its success. And everyone knows MS is lousy at implementation of technologies.
And on top of all that, don't forget those killer iPod patents just published. MS is coming into this game very late, and with no experience. They'll fall on their face.
Apple can hold their ground against all of them put together. (Literally). The infamous analysts and the general mindless masses all seem to think that every-time Apple creates something cool and unexpected and industry changing, that they SURLEY cannot ever do it again! But time and time again, I keep hearing the same, say wow. I didn't see that coming.
It reminds me of football. Coaches and players change teams almost daily. Each knows each other's playbook. But the true champions are the ones who can keep writing and executing NEW plays, taking the others by surprise and with skill and superior execution. For all of you brainwashed, MS hootin' sheep out there, who cannot see the lack of their innovation, their cowardliness to step up with NEW things, I pity your sense of being. I truly hope you enjoy XP sp4, or excuse me Vista, or otherwise known as a poor imitation of what OSX LOOKED LIKE 3 years ago. Rich, yes, Oppressive, yes, but always a follower, never a leader. What would they do if the sheep finally got their way and eliminated all of their competition? What is it they would copy? Who would they follow?
*snif* ReComp you are my new man. This statement touches
my heart directly. Nice to see there are same mindsets out there.
MS is trying a flanking plan....go to the artist and labels that want variable pricing, tie in with their other 90%share of the software market and then redefine the market to their advantage. i'd still like a full screen ipod with browser and wifi, BT so you can take this on the road as a mini web device
interesting analysis but i'm sure that SJ planned on this, the nike move shows what is the potential. can you imagine using a heart monitor "belt' that transforms the ipod to a medical survey device. wireless connectivity is key to its continued growth....this nike thing is just the tip of the iceberg
oooooooh baby i can't wait. but i still think AI should have a pool to when the first virus attacks zune...because it's also being planned now
I don't get some of you folks. As conumers, we should embrace competition...not be afraid of it. Shouldn't you be excited about possible new options and features? Nobody will be forced to buy MS if it's really inferior. Why the misplaced loyalty...unless you are shareholders of Apple, why react so negatively?
I've patiently waited for Apple to come out with new MP3 players all year. I've purchased four previously as family gifts and I was ready to buy a couple of more. With all the delays, most people will now be in a position to at least look at the new MS product before purchasing another iPod. This was something Apple has done to themselves.
Hedge your bets...buy some MS stock as well and let the best product...and the consumer...win.
Comments
Originally posted by Trendannoyer
ipod is a crap name also, in the end with penitration it ends up just being a name.
And that's the problem with Zune. iPod already has penetration in the same way 'Walkman' did or 'Hoover' does for vacuum cleaners. People go in to shops and ask for 'iPods' meaning any old mp3 player or they'll ask you 'What's on your iPod?' even if you're listening to something else.
I always thought 'iPod' was actually quite good as it kind of meant something in that it was a 'Pod' for stashing your stuff. Apple haven't quite realised that fully though they're getting closer. wtf is a 'Zune' though? It's name says nothing about what it does except maybe rhyming with 'Tune'.
OK, I have Apple shares I admit it
the real question is, will it really rival the iPod in any way?
Microsoft, supposedly a software company is in hardware now.
Originally posted by ALPICH
Well I am glad my iMac can run Windows. I am quite worried that Apple does not have the power to take on MS in this area. MS is entering the market when the product is finallly mature and of course they have already started to make their jukebox software to feel like iTunes (Well the good bits anyways... not that Apple was the first either) So MS with their MS iZod will probably have an impact. Another concerns is the recent report stating MS will give people a copy of their music purchased from Apple free with Windows Media Player. This is not good news. If Apple does not release new products that compete with MS and of course match their price point (remember that the XBox 360 is subsidiesed by Microsoft to get market penetration and the flow on royalties from software) Apple has a serious problem. Still Apple knows how to innovate and as the market grows in its maturity Apple might just be happy with having a two horse race. I look forward to reading about the software geek who gets MS protected music working in iTunes. Probably wont be that hard to convert. Just like you can put any crap video with a protected ACC file in iMovie and then rip out the audio with Quicktime to remove the protection, you will probably be able to do the same thing just by using a Flip4Mac WMV plugin... not that I recommend doing such a thing. I do actually like keeping to the law in respect to copy protection... No really.
Respectufully, you're concern in unjustified.
Apple has huge market penetration in both the Windows and Mac worlds with the iPod. They have fought off multiple cometitors that offer players with universal compatibility and arguably better features.
Why?
One reason is that the iPod has become a cultural phenomenon. It's a househould name, pardon the cliche. I've related the story here before. When I went to buy my iPod at the King of Prussia Mall (PA) Apple store last December, I saw it first hand. I was getting ready to get on the elevator, and I heard people in front of me talking. They said they needed to go to "the iPod store." I shit you not. We even have an "iPod economy" now, estimated to be $700 million.
Another reason is that people like the iTunes music store experience. It's penetration is huge, and it's also become a household name of sorts.
A third reason is Apple's own ability to innovate. I have no doubt that wireless pods are not far away...and "true video" iPods too. Wait until they get into movies. It's coming. Apple didn't invent the .mp3 player, but remember, they did essentially popularize it.
Now what does M$ have to do? First, there's a philosophical problem. Apple created a product it thought would be successful. The reason it was MORE than successful was that it didn't create the product for that sole reason. They created it for the purpose of innovation, and for the purpose of making peope's live's better. They innovate because they're Apple...and it makes them lots of money. What about Microsoft? Microsoft is releasing this product for one reason: To compete with the iPod. Oh sure, I know...that's business. But that philosophical difference is all the difference. It will drive features, price, performance, look, feel...everything. At Apple, it's about the best possible experience for the customer. Every product must meet Job's own standards. When it does, they release it, and reap the financial rewards.
Microsoft must do what the rest of the mp3 market cannot...convince people not to buy and iPod and to buy their product instead. That's a tall order given the iPod's penetration and name recognition. My prediction is that the Zune will fail or perhaps only moderately succeed, even with all the $ Microsoft will put behind it.
The world is heading towards information/content anywhere/anytime, that is, it's moving away from the desktop. MS knows it now.
With Steve's recent cancer scare, I could see his attention turning to this massive part of the market, what with the baby boomers nearing retirement and completely altering the spending dollar of the American consumer.
Apple has the nVpod, the iPhone and the real video iPod coming and those should take care of Zune. (By the way, I like the name.) But now that Microsoft has taken its gloves off, it's time for Apple to fight back. Add a database (FileMaker) to iWork, port it to Windows (Filemaker is already ported) and have the OEMs offer it as an alternative to Office. I'm sure Apple already has an iWork port developed. Bundle iWork with every Mac. Apple can also licence OS X to OEMs, with a restriction that it can only be installed in Intel chipset based systems. With EFI and TPM they can probably limit it to specific chipsets, like the 965, 975 or 5000 families. What about OS X server? Licensing OS X on the desktop might be too dangerous to Apple's core business, but they have little to lose on the server side. OS X server could and should be licensed to 3rd parties like IBM or HP. (The Woodcrest Xserves should kick ass anyway. Apple needs to grow that part of the business.) How about OS X for PPC? Put a copy in every PS3, even if it's a scaled back version used to run iTunes and Safari. Enable Sony to upstage the Xbox 360. Licence FairPlay to Sony. A big Apple/Sony alliance would be lethal to Microsoft and the PS3 will be forever associated with the Mac. More of the halo effect to ensnare future Mac users.
Sorry for the rant. Just my 2¢.
Originally posted by gregmightdothat
"Microshit". Clever.
I believe for Microshit to release a hardware unit by the Christmas season (October) I think that they will go with their LAST ipod killer. Origami. This unit might be repackaged, but the same none the less. This would give them a Audio, Video unit that would be large enough to house the wireless elements and have the necessary hardware and size to play xbut games. It has already been designed. It already has vendors and suppliers. It already has it's distribution chain. It hasn't sold shit. Thus I'm sure they are screaming for some way to newly market the POS.
I think they will try to put it in a smaller enclosure, and possibly have one of their "partners" make the hardware, like Samsung as not to piss them all off entirely. They were the ones who made the flopped Origami. I think they would also have to run with the Viacom/MTV service they invested in for the ITMS clone. (What was it called? URGE?) This is the only conceivable way I can see Microshit getting a hardware unit and a music service out to market and ready to ship in the next 8 weeks or less. Remember when they used the same "Secret" type of marketing that Apple uses, and lead everyone to believe that they were coming out with a video ipod killer before Apple? And everyone concluded that Microshit would doom Apple for sure. Then it came. Origami. ooooooo. Have they sold even one yet? Microshit is known for taking failed products, like the OS ME and 2000, and welding them together and repackaging them to create something "New". (XP).
And you heard it first from "ReCompile". Here on Artificial Intelligence...er I mean Apple Insider...
Originally posted by ReCompile
I believe for Microshit to release a hardware unit by the Christmas season (October) I think that they will go with their LAST ipod killer. Origami. This unit might be repackaged, but the same none the less. This would give them a Audio, Video unit that would be large enough to house the wireless elements and have the necessary hardware and size to play xbut games. It has already been designed. It already has vendors and suppliers. It already has it's distribution chain. It hasn't sold shit. Thus I'm sure they are screaming for some way to newly market the POS.
I think they will try to put it in a smaller enclosure, and possibly have one of their "partners" make the hardware, like Samsung as not to piss them all off entirely. They were the ones who made the flopped Origami. I think they would also have to run with the Viacom/MTV service they invested in for the ITMS clone. (What was it called? URGE?) This is the only conceivable way I can see Microshit getting a hardware unit and a music service out to market and ready to ship in the next 8 weeks or less. Remember when they used the same "Secret" type of marketing that Apple uses, and lead everyone to believe that they were coming out with a video ipod killer before Apple? And everyone concluded that Microshit would doom Apple for sure. Then it came. Origami. ooooooo. Have they sold even one yet? Microshit is known for taking failed products, like the OS ME and 2000, and welding them together and repackaging them to create something "New". (XP).
And you heard it first from "ReCompile". Here on Artificial Intelligence...er I mean Apple Insider...
Wait, so you think they're going to find some way to take an entire computer and somehow make it the size of an iPod?
And throwing WiFi in a device is hardly an appealing feature. So what if the iPod had WiFi. Who cares. it doesn't matter. The implementation of the WiFi in the device is the key to its success. And everyone knows MS is lousy at implementation of technologies.
And on top of all that, don't forget those killer iPod patents just published. MS is coming into this game very late, and with no experience. They'll fall on their face.
Thats hardley marketable.
I mean. Yes. Zune does rhyme with tune. But Zune. No. It's terrible.
Originally posted by icfireball
Zune?!
Thats hardley marketable.
I mean. Yes. Zune does rhyme with tune. But Zune. No. It's terrible.
Oh I don't know, Zunes from the makers of Windoze ... kind of fits
Originally posted by ReCompile
...
Apple can hold their ground against all of them put together. (Literally). The infamous analysts and the general mindless masses all seem to think that every-time Apple creates something cool and unexpected and industry changing, that they SURLEY cannot ever do it again! But time and time again, I keep hearing the same, say wow. I didn't see that coming.
It reminds me of football. Coaches and players change teams almost daily. Each knows each other's playbook. But the true champions are the ones who can keep writing and executing NEW plays, taking the others by surprise and with skill and superior execution. For all of you brainwashed, MS hootin' sheep out there, who cannot see the lack of their innovation, their cowardliness to step up with NEW things, I pity your sense of being. I truly hope you enjoy XP sp4, or excuse me Vista, or otherwise known as a poor imitation of what OSX LOOKED LIKE 3 years ago. Rich, yes, Oppressive, yes, but always a follower, never a leader. What would they do if the sheep finally got their way and eliminated all of their competition? What is it they would copy? Who would they follow?
*snif* ReComp you are my new man. This statement touches
my heart directly.
Originally posted by Vox Barbara
*snif* ReComp you are my new man. This statement touches
my heart directly.
Count me in
I suspect the joke about the Mac depeartment at Redmond having the letters 'R & D' on the door are pretty close to the mark.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060722...e_060722162348
interesting analysis but i'm sure that SJ planned on this, the nike move shows what is the potential. can you imagine using a heart monitor "belt' that transforms the ipod to a medical survey device. wireless connectivity is key to its continued growth....this nike thing is just the tip of the iceberg
oooooooh baby i can't wait. but i still think AI should have a pool to when the first virus attacks zune...because it's also being planned now
Originally posted by trtam
What in the hell (Redmond) is a.. "Zune"?!
That's a terrible name for a really innovative and original concept and device.
jesus... enough on the flames of the name. Names dont mean anything. We already know MS cant name things (see: Vista).
Who every thought something called the "Ipod" would be a success. Its all mental.
I've patiently waited for Apple to come out with new MP3 players all year. I've purchased four previously as family gifts and I was ready to buy a couple of more. With all the delays, most people will now be in a position to at least look at the new MS product before purchasing another iPod. This was something Apple has done to themselves.
Hedge your bets...buy some MS stock as well and let the best product...and the consumer...win.