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Apple and Toshiba

I think Apple doesn't have such a choice as it had in the ATi case. So they can go on boohooing in Cupertino but it won't help undoing what has happened. Most of the people want more and exciting features, new functionality from the iPod, not just a bigger disk version. Same with competitors: if some (MS) wants to make an iPod killer, how many HD maker can the choose from? 1? 2? Come on! This is not really a secret.
 
SiliconAddict said:
OK. The Macrumors site announced a new hard drive size. Unless the people that frequent macrumors are morons they can do the math. Toshiba didn't need to say a word.
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Again, the problem isn't the people that read macrumors. The problem is that it hit the front page of the Globe and Mail. The people that read this site know it's coming. Most of the people that read the Globe didn't until Toshiba violated a confidentiality contract (and remember, that is still the bigger issue).

As for hurt sales. Ya for what? 2 weeks? Its a good bet Apple was going to announce these at WWDC. :rolleyes: So it would have hurt sales anyways. Apple as it stands can't keep up with orders so who cares? This is Jobs's Ego. Pure and simple.
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It I do my math right, it has the potential to affect sales for quarter. Which means it has the potential to change the sales trend on a quaterly financial report. For a company that can have serious implicatiions.
 
deepkid said:
That's a great business perspective and I would agree. As a stockholder, the last thing you'd want to see is Apple having to address pent up demand for regular iPods because customers were waiting for larger drives that haven't been released yet. That, in addition to the company struggling to meet the global iPod mini demand wouldn't be pretty.

It's definitely not about Apple being secretive just for the sake of being secretive. It's a required practice for a company that's perceived as a perpetual underdog in the technology arena. Apple needs all of the leverage that it can get to beat away its competitors.
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Firstly, anybody who read the news would have added figured it out. Secondly, the media would have mentioned something about future iPods possibly getting these drives. Its safe to for the media to give such a presumption. More people will read the news concerning a new iPod size coming out rather than a news announcement from Toshiba. Unless you're a big geek, you wouldn't have read it. Only a very small number of people at boards like this read that news, or care. Regular people don't give a hoot and are looking at the iPod, like always. If they read a news story regarding an iPod, it may probably mention the new Toshiba drives coming out latee, anyway. Not a big deal.
 
This is too funny. Everyone is commenting on a RUMOR about Apple's reaction to what WAS only a rumor. We know nothing for sure except what Toshiba revealed. Agree or not, they should not have done it and Apple has every right to be angry.
 
stcanard said:
1) I assume Apple has a confidentiality agreement with Toshiba. If so, this isn't just someone in a bad mood griping, but a breach of contract.

2) With everybody and their Uncle Microsoft gunning for the iPod right now, it's not reassuring to have other companies blabbing details about upcoming products to the press. What's next, Samsung releasing their new mini-colour LCD "as used in the upcoming video iPod <oops, was that my outside voice>"?

This might be harmless, but it shows a weakness in the chain. What if Apple was planning to go with Hitachi drives, and the Toshiba announcement is premature? Will the (stock) market react negatively if they think Apple changed it's mind because of a leaked release?

A contract breach is serious stuff.
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Very good points.

I wonder if they will/can change their minds.

https://www.macrumors.com/pages/2004/01/20040107130418.shtml

Squire
 
stcanard said:
Again, the problem isn't the people that read macrumors. The problem is that it hit the front page of the Globe and Mail. The people that read this site know it's coming. Most of the people that read the Globe didn't until Toshiba violated a confidentiality contract (and remember, that is still the bigger issue).
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We don't know that the Toshiba violated in contract. We are all assuming that they did based on the IDG News Service article and a ThinkSecret report. From reading the article, she never said that Apple was ordering the drives for the iPod. All she said was that Apple was interested in buying the 60 GB drives. We have no idea the wording of the confidentiality contract (if any) between Apple and Toshiba.

It I do my math right, it has the potential to affect sales for quarter. Which means it has the potential to change the sales trend on a quaterly financial report. For a company that can have serious implicatiions.
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I highly doubt that it will affect sales that much. For one thing, we have no idea that the 60GB would replace the 40GB at the top of the line, it may very well be a $599 iPod. More importantly, most of the people who are about to buy iPods don't read the internet rumors sites and probably missed this story all together. Finally, did anyone think that the iPod were going to top out at 40 GB forever. Was Toshiba supposed keep their 60 GB drives a secret until Steve thought it was okay to reveal them to us.
 
What will be affected

afields said:
I echo other people sentiments. I really don't see the big deal here. It would be one thing if Toshiba leak specific details regarding ipod features. Obviously, it's a given they would upgrade the hard drive. As for hurting sales, really, aren't the 15-20 gigs more popular than the 40 anyway? Seems to me it wouldn't hurt sales that much.
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I think this will affect not only the relatively unpopular 40 GiB model, but also the other two models because of the trickle-down effect of their storage capacities also being upgraded. Afterall, I don't think the 40 GiB drives are going to be discontinued.
 
no worse than...

Look this is no worse for Apple than Steve announcing a product (ala17" powerbook or g5 powermac) and not delivering for MONTHS! How do sales figures look when an intended release doesn't materialize for 3 month?! Toshiba has to look at their own bottomline. They have to announce their own products to generate interest in their company. Any reporter with half-a-brain would have figured out the Toshiba-Apple connection and blown the story. Its not that big of a deal. Also, it may be jst a rumor that Apple is in a sniott about this. This is an order of magnitude LESS than the flatpanel iMac leak.
 
virividox said:
well this means for ppl who follow rumors the ipod sales may be affected because people will hold off; but most people dont research it

but apple has always been secretive i think their suppliers should get witht he program and keep tight lipped when they can
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I don't think so, bud. The people who follow rumors (hell, anyone with a brain) realize that a higher capacity drive is eventually gonna end up in an iPod. Thus, it won't affect short-term sales because we could've figured it out just by the press release that the new drives exist!

And for those who don't follow rumors, well they won't hear this story in the first place, (as of tonight, it ain't on CNN) so it STILL won't affect sales!

Chill, Steve. Next he won't want any suppliers of Apple parts to announce their new products at all! Crap, he's bossy.
 
According to the article, "Apple will begin later this year to more aggressively update its iPod product line on a more regular basis."

Gotta like that! (if true)
 
I think Steve Jobs could do about the 4th generation ipod, is to introduce them at WWDC, and like the mini hold off on sipping intll september-October, so they can get enough HDs to meet demand of the ipod. Hopefully apple will learn from its mistake with the mini and pressure the HD maker to meet the demand.
 
SiliconAddict said:
I WILL NOT give my patronage to any company that thinks they are more important then their customers.
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Well you can "Screw" whoever you want, but hate to burst your bubble but Apple's bottom line is the most important thing to Apple or any other company for that matter, if it wasn't Apple would no longer be a company.

Besides that, they are being silly. Toshiba should have kept quiet, just for the fact that Apple wants them to keep quiet. As a supplier, that is Toshiba’s responsibility.
 
sonorsven said:
A google search of "ipod 60GB" brings 117,000 matching sites.
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Or perhaps 81? And a lot of them are in very foreign languages.

You see, this is the point. Exageration everywhere.

The two most important things in life are silence (the Tosh crowd), and patience (for us).

60GB iPods will come, but I don't think that there are many people who will turn around and need the 60GB version over the 40GB version. And I can't see the 60GB version retailing at the same price as the 40GB version. After all, Apple can't even feed the US market with enough minipods, let alone the Western world. The 60GB will be aimed at the lossless purist, not at Mr. J. Soap. And let's not talk of viPods.
 
JGowan said:
If you were drooling for an IPOD and was close to plunking down $499 for a 40GB any day now, but then found out that by waiting only a few months, you could score a 60GB unit for the same unit, wouldn't you WAIT?!

If you're asking "Honestly", I have to ask it, too: how can you HONESTLY be so dim-witted? This is going cut majorly into IPOD SUMMER SALES. You can't see that? Honestly? :confused:
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Nah. If you are drooling, then you're not going to wait.
Now, the non-drooling crowd, they might wait. But, is there a glut of iPods in the market at the mo?
 
I don't seem why everyone is so upset. Big deal, Toshiba leaked a relatively unimportant secret, and Apple gets upset because they either love secrets or it's the principle of the thing - whatever. Well anyways as another day passes people still bicker as to who is being more childish, Apple or Toshiba. Like said so many times before by others here "Move along, nothing to see here".
 
iggyb said:
Steve is just upset to not get the spotlight on this. Anybody with a brain can figure out that Apple would be buying these new drives.

It's just more crap about keeping everything so secret. Yeah, those G5s are just flying out the door, because you haven't announced an upgrade. What a joke.
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That may be, but throwing a shiffit over it has some business advantages. Apple can be furious and get some concessions from Toshiba or shrug it off and get none.

And, for all we know, they were in negotiations with Hitachi and were leading Hitachi to believe they'd buy 1.8" drives from them for the iPod 60 even though they already had a deal with Toshiba to get a better price on the Mini drives. So now that deal is blown out of the water.
 
Fukui said:
What do iPods have to do with a developers conference?
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Apple is pissed at IDG for moving MWNY to MWB. So WWDC is the summer introduction keynote.

Still, Paris is more likely for iPod and Powerbook availability. If IPod4 is really iBook Mini that it might show at WWDC, so there can be apps for it.
 
El Tritoma said:
I think this will affect not only the relatively unpopular 40 GiB model, but also the other two models because of the trickle-down effect of their storage capacities also being upgraded. Afterall, I don't think the 40 GiB drives are going to be discontinued.
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Don't try to be too smart - iPods are GB, not GiB.
 
It had the opposite effect on me

I was holding off on a iPod purchase because I thought there might be new models at WWDC. But if there aren't going to be new iPods til October, I may go to the store today and buy one.
 
Steve IS Apple

A lot of these posts have said something along these lines:

"This is all about Steve Jobs' ego...blah...blah...stop whining...blah...blah...mad that he didn't get to announce it...blah...blah..."

Maybe some of you are too young to be aware of the following fact: Steve Jobs IS Apple Computer. They tried existing without him once before. Anyone with a bit of historical perspective knows how THAT worked out.

Of course Steve is an egomaniac. Is there anyone who doesn't know that? He is also quite possibly the most enigmatic and persuasive salesman in the history of the planet. Apple is really a very tiny, very vulnerable company that manages to stay in the game for three reasons:

1. Design
2. Marketing
3. Steve Jobs' massive flarking ego and the showmanship and hype associated with it.

Please bear this in mind when dismissing Steve. Steve's ego and swagger, for better or worse, is in Apple's DNA. Without it, there isn't much left.

Remember this, too: Steve doesn't need Apple anymore (His fortune is made already with Pixar and in a far bigger way than even during his heyday with the Apple II), but Apple damn sure needs Steve.

Who the heck but Steve Jobs would have had the balls to release a 400 dollar MP3 player in the first place? A 400 dollar MP3 player without which we wouldn't even be having this conversation.
 
mhouse said:
Who the heck but Steve Jobs would have had the balls to release a 400 dollar MP3 player in the first place? A 400 dollar MP3 player without which we wouldn't even be having this conversation.
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The iPod wasn't the first $400 mp3 player ;)
 
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