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Apple are cheapskates with iPod

I still have my charger from my 3rd gen./ I keep it plugged in at work in case i don't charge my ipod at night (this way i never have to listen to the droning voices of my co workers)

The thing that i really want is the Dock.
 
marykay9507 said:
I beg to differ with you...http://www.apple.com/environment/design/

They are conscious of the environment and while it may not be the primary reason for not including these items, it could be a secondary one
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No it isn't. Sorry, but the iPod stopped including the AC adapter and belt clip when Apple was rated the LEAST environmentally friendly electronics company. They got called out on it several times, and so they (tried to) improve. Right now, it's all advertising.

puma7 said:
I love how many excuses people can come up with to explain the lack of a wall charger. A wall charger is a must for me, and the fact that they don't include it is ridiculous. And, to add insult to injury, they charge $30 to buy one from them.
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Exactly. I try to see the good in Apple's decisions, but not including an AC adapter for their product is quite poor form. I drink the Apple kool-aid, but not enough to defend Apple for not including simple things.

It was one thing when they stopped including the dock for the most expensive iPod, but there really isn't any excuse for not including it. It's certainly not the cost of manufacturing the iPod that has gone up. Harddisks are far cheaper than before, and the one in the iPod isn't even the biggest, highest capacity model.
 
Seriously, very few portable music devices come with anything other than a USB cable to charge your device, so I don't understand everyone's gripe. Spend 30 dollars one time and you'll have an ipod charger for every iPod you ever buy in your life...
 
It charges with USB. There are countless devices around now with USB on them which you can just plug the iPod in to charge.

I'm thinking games consoles, TVs, set top boxes and hell, there are now even power strips which you can buy with USB ports on them.

In all honesty I don't think a wall charger is necessary. If you travel, you pay for it. That's how it always has been and that's how it's going to be forevermore.
 
Most people wouldn't even use a wall charger, so including it would only make millions of people have to pay extra for something they don't need. If you do need one, then buy one. Simple.
 
Abstract said:
No it isn't. Sorry, but the iPod stopped including the AC adapter and belt clip when Apple was rated the LEAST environmentally friendly electronics company.
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The rating was by Greenpeace, so can hardly be viewed as particularly fair and balanced ;).
 
FYI, the Zune does not include a wall charger, and only the top of the line Zen Vision W includes one.

Nothing to see here.

The black sleeves were nice though and I wish they were still included.
 
We pay for everything in the box, whether that's how you like to look at it or not. Nothing is "included for free"; it's all factored into the selling price.

Around here, I have at least one FW charger, and two or more usb chargers for 3 iPods, one of which practically lives on an alarm clock/charger, and one that rarely gets used. The last iPod doesn't move around much, and so stays plugged into the wall a lot.

The point is, I have more chargers than I need by about 2. Next time I buy an iPod, I don't want to pay for a charger just because you need one. Next time you buy an iPod, pretend it costs $30 more than it does and buy a charger. Let's say Apple raised the price $15 and included the adapter-great for you, what am I? Chopped liver? I don't want to subsidize your charger, sorry.

Who's unreasonable? The guy who doesn't want to pay for something he doesn't want, or the guy who doesn't want to pay for something he does want?
 
zainjetha said:
i remember when i first purchased my 4GB mini... in the box was the Mini, iTunes CD, USB Cable, FireWire Cable, Firewire Power adapter and even a belt clip.... earbuds to go on earphones..
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Yeah, back when a 4GB iPod cost $299 (which would cost $340 in 2007, with the price adjusted for inflation).

Now a 4GB iPod costs you $150 less, has a battery that lasts up to 4x longer, comes with a color screen that can do videos, and is physically a lot smaller.

Damn Apple cheapskates...
 
Older ipods larger than the smallest size came with a dock and a carrying case as well.

So yes they are more stingy. I dont know why people can think otherwise. Especially with the touch, that should come with one of their cheap ass non-av docks or at least something to carry it in (even a crappy sleeve like what they gave with ipods after the class action lawsuit).

The dock alone was EASILY one of the biggest rip offs I have ever spent money on and I still feel guilty for actually paying for it. $40 for 2 small pieces of cheap plastic and a hunk of iron for weight, absolutely ridiculous, it probably costed them less than $5 to make. When I got it I was naive and assumed it came with a USB cable (which I needed) since it was so absurdly expensive, I was wrong and had to spend another $20 on a cable. Now instead of including a dock they give you a little dock adapter plate so they can nickle and dime you some more.

What people dont realize is that when they include things in the box yes we are paying for them but we are paying probably close to wholesale. When we buy them separately we have to pay insane margins, especially when it comes to accessories like the dock. Compare the 360 Core with the 360 Premium, if you paid for all the individual accessories it would be extremely more expensive than if you just got the 360 Premium ($100 for a 20gb HDD? ya theres not a massive margin on that at all!). Its a way for them to make MORE money, they are not making less in any stretch of the imagination, we always paid for the docks and carrying sleeves, we just paid smaller prices since we werent being nickel and dimed to death. We are paying more, much much much more. Do people honestly think that Apple used to add $30 to the price of the old ipods just to include a travel charger (which you can get for less than $2 from other companies)?

Yeah, back when a 4GB iPod cost $299 (which would cost $340 in 2007, with the price adjusted for inflation).

Now a 4GB iPod costs you $150 less, has a battery that lasts up to 4x longer, comes with a color screen that can do videos, and is physically a lot smaller.

Damn Apple cheapskates...
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You realize that 4gbs is incredibly cheaper to make today that it was a few years ago right? Im sure apple is making a hell of a lot more money off of todays 4gb ipod than the old 4gb ipod.
 
stainlessliquid said:
You realize that 4gbs is incredibly cheaper to make today that it was a few years ago right? Im sure apple is making a hell of a lot more money off of todays 4gb ipod than the old 4gb ipod.
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Yes they are cheaper to make, but they are also cheaper to buy. If Apple wants a 30% margin on all products it doesn't matter if it's 1,000 dollars or 10 dollars, they mark it up 30% over cost (or whatever their true markup figure is) which in turn makes them less profit (by a numbers standpoint).

300 x .30 = $90 (so 210 is their cost before markup)
150 x .30 = $45 (105 is their cost before markup).
 
Apple was cheap in not including an internal mic so you could do voice recordings(you have to buy an external mic to do it). Most every other music player in the market includes it.
 
closeupman said:
Apple was cheap in not including an internal mic so you could do voice recordings(you have to buy an external mic to do it).
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Not really as the quality of the internal mic would be very poor. Apple just didn't overload the iPod with crappy features. On the other hand the defense for the lack of wall charger is lame, it should be included.
 
closeupman said:
Apple was cheap in not including an internal mic so you could do voice recordings(you have to buy an external mic to do it). Most every other music player in the market includes it.
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I've never once used the voice recorder function on any of my previous mp3 players, it's a good idea for lectures, recording down the lesson and such but thats about it...

I too also miss the black sleeve that came with my nano but not with my classic :(
 
Schtumple said:
it's a good idea for lectures, recording down the lesson and such but thats about it...
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Given the number of people who fail to read through their notes properly, I doubt the number of people who listen to lectures from a crappy recording is statistically different from 0.
 
Eraserhead said:
Given the number of people who fail to read through their notes properly, I doubt the number of people who listen to lectures from a crappy recording is statistically different from 0.
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:p true, it does seem like a bit of a pointless feature, much like built in FM tuners, GREAT I CAN HAVE FM RADIO, ON THE GO!!! *fuzz....fuzz....THE HITS...fuzz* ooooo no signal :D
 
Eraserhead said:
Not really as the quality of the internal mic would be very poor. Apple just didn't overload the iPod with crappy features. On the other hand the defense for the lack of wall charger is lame, it should be included.
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I need a voice recorder for some work I do, it doesn't have to be quality audio, just audible and able to record voices. I can do this with my cheap a$$ voice recorder, but can't do it with the $$$$ Ipod. I'd get an iPod in a minute if it had that, otherwise my next purchase will be some other companies music player that has it.
 
Mindflux said:
Yes they are cheaper to make, but they are also cheaper to buy. If Apple wants a 30% margin on all products it doesn't matter if it's 1,000 dollars or 10 dollars, they mark it up 30% over cost (or whatever their true markup figure is) which in turn makes them less profit (by a numbers standpoint).

300 x .30 = $90 (so 210 is their cost before markup)
150 x .30 = $45 (105 is their cost before markup).
Click to expand...

I really doubt apple uses a static % when making markup. They price things based on what people would pay, the shuffle probably has a horrendous markup while the ipod classic probably has a small markup compared to all the other ipods. Plus ipod prices dont change enough to reflect the change of price in storage. Static % stuff is reserved for raw materials and oil, not really retail products.
 
closeupman said:
I need a voice recorder for some work I do, it doesn't have to be quality audio, just audible and able to record voices. I can do this with my cheap a$$ voice recorder, but can't do it with the $$$$ Ipod. I'd get an iPod in a minute if it had that, otherwise my next purchase will be some other companies music player that has it.
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See http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com/pub/a/oreilly/digitalmedia/2007/05/18/ipod-mic-shootout.html?page=3, but to be honest the iPod isn't great at it.
 
zainjetha said:
apple are such cheapskates with the iPod.. they have begun to give fewer and fewer things in the box....

i remember when i first purchased my 4GB mini... in the box was the Mini, iTunes CD, USB Cable, FireWire Cable, Firewire Power adapter and even a belt clip.... earbuds to go on earphones..

now all that comes in box is ipod and usb cable... the only why apple provid charger with iPhone is coz its a phone and it would probably cause a lot of uproar if they didnt....

this is quite shocking for such a previously generous company....
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This is true for almost all apple products.

Which includes

the dvi out cables supplied with the powerbook
the remote controls
the giant book of info on your new apple product, and now a tiny ass packet



But If i was apple, I would do the same lol
 
Phil A. said:
If you need a power adapter, just buy one. Apple may have dropped some items from the box, but they've also dropped the prices quite considerably in real terms
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Amen to that. While I would love to get a free dock, charger, remote, case, etc with my iTouch, I'm much happier paying $399 for a revolutionary device than the $499 it may cost with the additional items.

Some people would rather pick and choose their accessories and pay less for the device than pay more and have potentially useless items stuffed in.
 
For those saying that it would cost more to put an AC adapter in the box, why don't we just take a look at what they already make on every iPod...

"iSuppli said the lower-priced ($149) 4-Gbyte version of the new nano carries a Bill of Materials (BOM) cost of $58.85 while the $199, 8-Gbyte version comes in at $82.85."

source

This was in September 2007. Now how much could a most likely $2 AC adapter cost them to put in the box? Let's be realistic. It does NOT cost them the $30 they charge for that AC adapter.
 
puma7 said:
For those saying that it would cost more to put an AC adapter in the box, why don't we just take a look at what they already make on every iPod...

"iSuppli said the lower-priced ($149) 4-Gbyte version of the new nano carries a Bill of Materials (BOM) cost of $58.85 while the $199, 8-Gbyte version comes in at $82.85."

source

This was in September 2007. Now how much could a most likely $2 AC adapter cost them to put in the box? Let's be realistic. It does NOT cost them the $30 they charge for that AC adapter.
Click to expand...

If you're going to argue the details, please note that the BOM does not include manufacturing, overhead, packaging, shipping fees ("free ground shipping on orders over $50!"), applicable taxes, accessories, software, R&D, marketing and advertising costs, etc. Some of these expenses are very significant.

Besides, the iSuppli figure is only an estimate. Due to volume purchases, the actual BOM may be even cheaper! Only Apple knows the true overall cost.

It may or may not cost only $2 in materials to make the charger, and I will agree that it would be nice if it were priced less than $30, but I doubt we're being ripped off as much as some of us think.
 
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