Apple Announces iPod Touch Software Update

[Tyrannosaurs]

That's not the issue, the issue is for the same product at the same price, if you buy it on Monday it's $20, if you buy it on Tuesday it's included with your purchase. So your example is very flawed and not so much of a given as you seem to imagine.

this was a counter to the "iphone users get them for free, why don't we?" argument rather that the today/yesterday purchase argument.

in terms of the buy today get one thing, buy tomorrow get another:

what seems to be odd here is that if you buy a mac with tiger with iLife '06 14 days (i think it was) before leopard comes out they upgrade to leopard and iLife '08 for free. with apple it's never a generous time period but it is normally there.

but in this case there was no backward allowance at all, which i do find odd.

thinking about this last night i think part of their cock up was in calling this the 1.1.3 update. if they'd said for $20 we're releasing the iPhone apps as an optional "utilities pack" for iPod touch users, and then a couple of months later said "we're now going to make this standard" there would have been less of an outcry.

but ultimately there is always going to be a line where one side of it you get one deal, the other side you get the other deal. that's the price of progress.

 

[Tyrannosaurs]

Ok, so why selling all the apps in one package ?

Why should I pay 4$ for each crap application like "Stock exchange" or "Notes" that do not even worth their price.

notes is actually worth having, so is mail.

maps is good if you have access to wi-fi but if you're not sure where you are that possibly/probably isn't the case which kind of limits it's utility.

the other two are toys.

but it's the same with everything. what happens if i want keynote but not numbers or pages? or excel 2008 but not the rest of the office suite? why should i pay for backgammon in OS X when i don't play it?

these things are sold as bundles - buy 'em, don't buy 'em. if there's enough demand apple will carve them up but i doubt it.

 

[Tyrannosaurs]

I found a petition to Apple regarding the iPod Touch's January Software Update. Here is the link:
http://www.petitiononline.com/freeappi/petition.html

As of writing this it has over 6900 signatures.

While I'm on the subject, I thought I would put in my two cents. I think these feature updates should be included while you're under warranty. For those wishing extended enhanced feature software support past a year, Apple could include feature updates within their Apple Care program.

Best Regards,
Jack

it is worth mentioning that apple could do this even with SOX though it wouldn't be a warranty thing.

what they'd have to do is say that for each iPod sold they'd recognise all but $12 of the revenue on day 1, then release $1 a month for the first 12 months as a "support charge". this would allow them to continue to release updates/improvements during this period as you were paying for them.

the thing that would stop that would be the whole nonsense about setting up registration (or rather tying existing registration into the upgrade process), changing the accounting practices and so on. these costs would ultimately be passed on to the consumer (all costs are no matter what the company claims) but if they really wanted to they could.

but it's apple's choice and they have to weigh off the extra cost/small loss of revenue against the improved customer experience and i still don't buy the whole "i should get them because the next guy did" thing - i bought a product that does what apple claimed it would do at the time, so did he.

 

[chatin]

Review the model

I took another look at the subscription model and these should get a free update. Any device that uses an authorized iTunes is subscription driven.

Maybe less frequent updates than iPhone but free ones.

 

[iTouchMyself]

thinking about this last night i think part of their cock up was in calling this the 1.1.3 update. if they'd said for $20 we're releasing the iPhone apps as an optional "utilities pack" for iPod touch users, and then a couple of months later said "we're now going to make this standard" there would have been less of an outcry.

Probably, also that the brand new iPOD said 'next update' sometime like Dec 30th or something after all the initial updates and then dissapeared just before that date arrived seems weird. I never used iTunes prior to this gift, but that seems like they delayed the update to bundle and announce on purpose, although may just be a software thing like calanders that always say check on the last friday with a full moon, etc.

The main issue for most it sets a bad precedent that few others have done, be it the PSP, Zune or the Xbox360 / PS3 or even iPhone / AppleTV all of which are upgraded consumer media devices that get free functionality, so the reporting issue carries less weight with each additional example of others who chose a different path.

Like was mentioned already this seems to be a choice not a requirement in chargin the $20, just like it was a choice to bundle the apps and not let you buy them inividually which likely also helps increase the backlash.

PS, I like the subscription idea a little better, especially as someone who also got a $20 iTunes gift card with my iPod and still have $17.50 left on it just to test out the system buying Feist. It would give me somewhere to dump the rest of that as I'm stictly a CD/DVD person not a fan of digital downloads (too restrictive and not a great value).

 

[iTouchMyself]

Okay, I'll take a stab at that...

Oh, I don't know...because Apple's decision is legal and pirating software is not?

No that still doesn't explain why I should care anymore than Apple did when pirating from other sources, including their name.
Using the same strategy, just like so many other tech companies, I'll just steal/pirate, and then years and years later if they ever bother to spend $10,000 in legal fees to go after that $20, then I'll send it to them under my terms, like in empties.

Seriously, I don't care if you consider jailbreaking and adding apps piracy, the recording industry considered iPods piracy devices period, it was resistance to this legal but insane position that changed things.

Once again explain to me why I should care? Apple's not a small independant dev, an they're no longer struggling against some other big overlord competitor, they are now that big faceless heartless company, just like all the rest, and personally I don't care.

So like I said, spend the thousands of dollars to go after my $20, I'm sure that will help their ever more tarnished image and make them look less and less like Microsoft take II. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

 

[hassanpr]

Crazy People

I think some people are crazy. You purchased an MP3/Video Player. For 20 bucks you get PDA Functions. ????????? What is the problem. Some people say these apps should have been included when they purchased the touch. Name one, just one mp3 player that allows you to send emails and do what the upgrade is giving you.

 

[diamond.g]

Name one, just one mp3 player that allows you to send emails and do what the upgrade is giving you.

iPhone
/runs away

 

[Icewind]

I tend to agree that these apps should have been rolled out to the consumer as a free update. But, since I got my iPod Touch as a gift for Christmas, I never paid anything for the unit itself. Paying the £12.99 here in the UK was not a big deal for me, but I can see where other folks would be cheesed off at this.

In saying that... I don't seem to have been charged ANYTHING for the apps? I updated iTunes, then connected my Touch and installed the new update (not the January Apps update). After this, iTunes told me about the new Apps available for £12.99 and I clicked the link and iTunes went to the download page, where I clicked 'Buy'. The apps then downloaded and installed on my Touch. But.... I never received any invoice from Apple stating that I had paid them £12.99. On checking my online VISA card account that I use for iTunes, I have not been charged anything at all yet!!!

Maybe it takes a day or so to show up... I don't know, but the apps are there on my Touch and I reckon they are worth the £12.99.

Has anyone else actually verified if their VISA cards have been debited with the $20 or £12.99?

 

[Tyrannosaurs]

I tend to agree that these apps should have been rolled out to the consumer as a free update. But, since I got my iPod Touch as a gift for Christmas, I never paid anything for the unit itself. Paying the £12.99 here in the UK was not a big deal for me, but I can see where other folks would be cheesed off at this.

In saying that... I don't seem to have been charged ANYTHING for the apps? I updated iTunes, then connected my Touch and installed the new update (not the January Apps update). After this, iTunes told me about the new Apps available for £12.99 and I clicked the link and iTunes went to the download page, where I clicked 'Buy'. The apps then downloaded and installed on my Touch. But.... I never received any invoice from Apple stating that I had paid them £12.99. On checking my online VISA card account that I use for iTunes, I have not been charged anything at all yet!!!

Maybe it takes a day or so to show up... I don't know, but the apps are there on my Touch and I reckon they are worth the £12.99.

Has anyone else actually verified if their VISA cards have been debited with the $20 or £12.99?

it'll come.

the way itunes works is that it waits a couple of days before you get the invoice/mail. i suspect this is so if you go and buy another few tunes the next day they can bundle it all together as one and reduce their transaction fees with visa.

 

[Icewind]

it'll come.

Doh!

Now you mention it, I think the last song I bought (and first one via iTunes WiFi on the Touch) took a few days for the email invoice to appear.

Ah well... I'm in love with the Mail app anyway. It's about the only thing that I wanted and felt was missing on the Touch compared to the iPhone.

Cheers T-Rex

 

[Mr.damien]

I think some people are crazy. You purchased an MP3/Video Player. For 20 bucks you get PDA Functions. ????????? What is the problem. Some people say these apps should have been included when they purchased the touch. Name one, just one mp3 player that allows you to send emails and do what the upgrade is giving you.

So why Apple is giving it for free now ?
- It still not a PDA.

Why Apple is giving this upgrade for free to those who bought it after the 27th of December and before the keynote ?
- They shouldn't have it for free. As it's a paying upgrade for early adopters.

Hint: because people would have through their touchs to steve's head at the keynote ...

Name one, just one mp3 player that allows you to send emails and do what the upgrade is giving you.

iPod Touch costs the price of a PDA (if not more) and every PDA is able to read mp3, so there is a lot of name here ...

 

[GamecockMac]

No that still doesn't explain why I should care anymore than Apple did when pirating from other sources, including their name.
Using the same strategy, just like so many other tech companies, I'll just steal/pirate, and then years and years later if they ever bother to spend $10,000 in legal fees to go after that $20, then I'll send it to them under my terms, like in empties.

Seriously, I don't care if you consider jailbreaking and adding apps piracy, the recording industry considered iPods piracy devices period, it was resistance to this legal but insane position that changed things.

Once again explain to me why I should care? Apple's not a small independant dev, an they're no longer struggling against some other big overlord competitor, they are now that big faceless heartless company, just like all the rest, and personally I don't care.

So like I said, spend the thousands of dollars to go after my $20, I'm sure that will help their ever more tarnished image and make them look less and less like Microsoft take II. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Justifying theft by bleating "but other people steal" doesn't make you any less wrong.

 

[P-Worm]

No that still doesn't explain why I should care anymore than Apple did when pirating from other sources, including their name.
Using the same strategy, just like so many other tech companies, I'll just steal/pirate, and then years and years later if they ever bother to spend $10,000 in legal fees to go after that $20, then I'll send it to them under my terms, like in empties.

Seriously, I don't care if you consider jailbreaking and adding apps piracy, the recording industry considered iPods piracy devices period, it was resistance to this legal but insane position that changed things.

Once again explain to me why I should care? Apple's not a small independant dev, an they're no longer struggling against some other big overlord competitor, they are now that big faceless heartless company, just like all the rest, and personally I don't care.

So like I said, spend the thousands of dollars to go after my $20, I'm sure that will help their ever more tarnished image and make them look less and less like Microsoft take II. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

I'm going out on a limb here, but I'm assuming you're not a developer yourself. There are many developers out there that care if their work gets stolen whether they work for a large corporation or not.

P-Worm

 

[jdpritt]

Personally speaking, I am outraged that Apple is charging early buyers of the iPod Touch $20 for a system update that ought to be free.

While I understand Apple’s decision to charge money for the new applications the new $20 “application pack” also includes a SYSTEM UPDATE in the form of the home page editing, web clips, and lyrics features. All of these are updates to the currently existing iPod Touch software and NOT new applications, which means that they ought to be free to all users of the iPod Touch.

Adding insult to injury these applications are all hidden in the free portion of the 1.1.3 system update, a whopping 104.4mb file that all users must download if they want to fix bugs in the system. These applications can only be used when you pay Apple $20 to “unlock” them, but even if you decide not to buy them they stay on your iPod taking up precious space that could be used for songs, videos, or photos.

Apple is normally wonderful when it comes to providing system support and updates, but having them shaft early adopters and loyal fans like this is offensive and shows that Apple has absolutely no regard for the iPod Touch community.

You can leave Apple direct feedback here:
http://www.apple.com/feedback/ipodtouch.html

You can also sign this petition:
http://www.petitiononline.com/.....ition.html

 

[darwinian]

The only thing I take issue with now, since I am not going to buy this thing, is the ridiculous reminder every single time I connect the iPod and open iTunes. No more iTunes store for me; I've Little Snitched Apple via iTunes. Forget em.

 

[M!K]

my brother has an iPod touch. don't know if he's got $20 though

if he's got the touch... it looks like he has a lot more than 20$! lol

 

[lamina]

Here's the scenario.

You buy a MacBook in June. Apple releases Leopard about 150 days later. New MacBooks come with Leopard.

Do you feel you should be entitled to Leopard just because the new MacBooks come with it?

 

[diamond.g]

Here's the scenario.

You buy a MacBook in June. Apple releases Leopard about 150 days later. New MacBooks come with Leopard.

Do you feel you should be entitled to Leopard just because the new MacBooks come with it?

That isn't completely accurate. It would be closer to actually downloading all the features of Leopard but only being able to use Tiger still. Because that is what Apple basically is making Touch owners do. Really it is like Quicktime Pro. You've downloaded the whole program, but you only have access to the none Pro features until you pay.

 

[jdpritt]

Here's the scenario.

You buy a MacBook in June. Apple releases Leopard about 150 days later. New MacBooks come with Leopard.

Do you feel you should be entitled to Leopard just because the new MacBooks come with it?

It's not like that at all.
This isn't a system overhaul, this is a case of Apple withholding a minor system update that adds limited functionality to the already existing system software (Web Clips, Lyrics, and Home Page editing) until users pay for a set of applications that they may or may not want.

This is more like someone buying a Mac that had 10.5.1 and then Apple refusing to allow them to upgrade to 10.5.2 until they bought iWork '08 or some other software pack.