Apple's 800-pound white gorilla, beware

[MacBytes]

Category: News and Press Releases
Link: Apple\'s 800-pound white gorilla, beware (http://www.macbytes.com/link.php?sid=20041216200441)
Posted on MacBytes.com (http://www.macbytes.com)

Approved by Mudbug

[Blue Velvet]

Better a white gorilla than a white elephant :)

Mind you, aren't gorillas an endangered species?


Apple are on the verge of establishing their product as a generic name.. like Hoover. In terms of this product, their brand awareness & cachet has never been higher... but fashion is fickle.

Still, all my friends want one. They're not all entirely sure what they do but they want one -- and another brand simply will not do...

Reminds me of the way some people buy champagne. There are many sparkling white wines from all over the world that are fantastic and often better value but people will still want the name 'champagne'... only available from France.

[bousozoku]

I love hearing Creative whine. They and Diamond/Rio were there before Apple and did nothing about usability. They had functionality--their products worked in a way, a crude way.

If the iPod is mostly a fashion statement, why do they just work so much more smoothly than the competition?

[dsharits]

Space saving WMA's. That's actually true, you know. It's easy to save space when the quality SUCKS!

Daniel

[Mainyehc]

I love hearing Creative whine. They and Diamond/Rio were there before Apple and did nothing about usability. They had functionality--their products worked in a way, a crude way.

If the iPod is mostly a fashion statement, why do they just work so much more smoothly than the competition?

Great point: that's why I'm preety sure Apple can easily keep their market dominance, as long as they play nicely enough (no, that doesn't necessarily mean licensing Fairplay or something; Adding useful features to the iPod and increasing the storage capacity and battery life over time may just be enough).

The key feature of the iPod is, no matter what analysts or competitors say about its looks or iTMS integration, its interface. Just like they locked out their competition when they bought all the 1.8'' drives from Toshiba, they are doing the same with the clickwheel. It will be very hard to come up with something so ingenious, smooth, insanely great and genuine as that (I've tried that Zen micro, and the touch-scroll-pad just, erm, sucks! And it's the second best control-scheme I've ever tried, so I guess this means Apple has something BIG in their [our] hands ;)).

And you know, we may be reaching a point when people are starting to get style and usability-conscious, as far as electronics are concerned. People who own iPods are not very likely to buy anything else later in their lives, preety much like what happens with Mac-users already, unless they absolutely need some feature unavailable in Apple's offerings (line-in recording or direct photo import, just to name a few).

The iPod may become a turning point in the history of industrial design and marketing themselves: when an insanely great product is perfectly marketed, while demand is successfully met (or not :rolleyes: ). Oh, wait, the Walkman was a bit like that (except perhaps for not having the "chic" styling and revolutionary interface of the iPod, and what a difference that makes!). So was the original VW beetle, or...

Ok, maybe it will just enter the design history as being one of those iconic products that last for years and years, and are actually recognised by most people (unlike the Mac, which was even more revolutionary than the iPod :rolleyes: ). What is actually new here is that this phenomena is happening in the electronics/computer market (sorry M$, it seems Apple is leading the pack again, but this time, it's getting the whole credit for it). That is definitely an amazing feat! Kudos for Apple just because of that (not to mention the sheer pleasure it is to use my iPod :D)!

[bbarnhart]

The whiner from Creative sounds like someone from Microsoft.

"Apple bought a ton of the 1.8-inch drives and locked up the supply..."

"We understood the whole thing with these players can't be just functionality, that we always concentrated on..."

Both comments are classics.

[bousozoku]

...
The iPod may become a turning point in the history of industrial design and marketing themselves: when an insanely great product is perfectly marketed, while demand is successfully met (or not :rolleyes: ). Oh, wait, the Walkman was a bit like that (except perhaps for not having the "chic" styling and revolutionary interface of the iPod, and what a difference that makes!). So was the original VW beetle, or...
...


I have a Japan-only Walkman that uses anodized metal casing and a single AA battery and was far more stylish that the run of the mill Sony models, not to mention the inexpensive models from other manufacturers. Sony tried but they charged way too much. The red one I bought sold for roughly $30 more than the gray one, way back when. Style matters, but ease of use and performance matter more.

[MacBandit]

I have a Japan-only Walkman that uses anodized metal casing and a single AA battery and was far more stylish that the run of the mill Sony models, not to mention the inexpensive models from other manufacturers. Sony tried but they charged way too much. The red one I bought sold for roughly $30 more than the gray one, way back when. Style matters, but ease of use and performance matter more.

Price point and interface are what sold the iPod. The interface was iTunes more then the actual system on the iPod itself. Sure Creative and Archos had hard drive players first but they were expensive and bulky not to mention they didn't have a lovely interface like iTunes on the computer side.

[wdlove]

I'm just very plesed that its Apple that has the winner in the portable music world.

IPod demand white-hot


Purchases for parents help fuel holiday rush

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2004/12/17/ipod_demand_white_hot/

[dashiel]

you know it's been three years since the ipod arrived and all these companies continually claim that an ipod beater is out there. for a while they pushed functionality and capacity. lately they've realized the ipod is all about great design (and marketing). these people have had years to come up with an attractive competitor to ipod. it's not like there aren't a ton of great ID shops out there, or that sony, samsung and even bang & olufsen don't produce stunning kit. yet they all have failed miserably. steve and co might have had a lock on 1.8 inch drives, but they don't have a monopoly on designer. about the only thing remotely competitive in style is the new olympus and it's more expensive than the ipod :eek:

i think the difference comes down to steve. this is a guy that had the robots in the NeXT factory repainted 9 times because they didn't look right. his like a meta-art director.

[shamino]

Price point and interface are what sold the iPod. The interface was iTunes more then the actual system on the iPod itself. Sure Creative and Archos had hard drive players first but they were expensive and bulky not to mention they didn't have a lovely interface like iTunes on the computer side.
I've used the Archos player in stores. It took nearly 30 minutes to figure out how to use it. I never could get it to play any of the demo video clips that were supposedly loaded into it.

The iPod, on the other hand, was simple and obvious from day one. When I first saw one in a local Apple Store, I was able to figure out the entire UI in less than a minute.

Now, if you're shopping in a store, and you see both devices, which are you going to buy? The one you can just pick up and use, or the one you need technical support from a sales clerk in order to try out?

[maya]

Space saving WMA's. That's actually true, you know. It's easy to save space when the quality SUCKS!

Daniel

Quite true, I wonder what they will say when the iPod and mini support HE-AAC higher quality smaller size. :) Then they will really make a noise static and crackle of the kind with WMA ;) :)

No contest. :)

[bousozoku]

...
Now, if you're shopping in a store, and you see both devices, which are you going to buy? The one you can just pick up and use, or the one you need technical support from a sales clerk in order to try out?

However, if people are giving them as gifts, they're not going to try them. They're just going to buy what they think is the best and that usually means something bigger, since we all know, that's better. ;)

[MacBandit]

However, if people are giving them as gifts, they're not going to try them. They're just going to buy what they think is the best and that usually means something bigger, since we all know, that's better. ;)

Typically people buy gifts that are popular. That's what's maintained the Windows dominance. That's what's going to ensure the continued popularity of the iPod.

[shamino]

However, if people are giving them as gifts, they're not going to try them. They're just going to buy what they think is the best and that usually means something bigger, since we all know, that's better. ;)
You have a low opinion of gift-shoppers. How many people do you know who will spend several hundred dollars on a gift without bothering to find out what it is?

Sort of reminds me of those TV shows where someone buys his wife a car as a surprise present. "Guess what honey, I spent the next year's rent money on your birthday present. I don't know anything about cars, but the salesman said you'd like it."

[bousozoku]

You have a low opinion of gift-shoppers. How many people do you know who will spend several hundred dollars on a gift without bothering to find out what it is?

Sort of reminds me of those TV shows where someone buys his wife a car as a surprise present. "Guess what honey, I spent the next year's rent money on your birthday present. I don't know anything about cars, but the salesman said you'd like it."

Do you really want me to answer that? :D