Apple Sues Over Leak

[autopilot]

iPod promotion was good to begin with, but I agree - everyone knows about them now, does Apple even need to promote them anymore? They're practically promoting themselves.

true to a degree, but while showing my mini off i constantly run into people who have no clue that it will run on their PC. people just naturally assume that because the ipod is an apple product that it will not be compatible with their PC. i think that needs to be made more clear!

(yes, i realize they say it in the commercials, but i think it could be abigger focus area. people just don't see it.)

 

[Trowaman]

i like what i am hearing about coming products, but lets face it, theres not a chance that all of these will be presented in 1 hour. I think we will just see them in this order:

-emac
-iLife 05' w/ asteroid periphial (possibly a way to record into ipod)
-itunes enabled motorola phone
-a little talk about tiger
-powerbooks w/ carbon fiber casing
-ipod mini now 5gb
-oh and one more thing- ipod micro

did i miss anything?

Sounds about right. I'd scratch the eMac and I say the iPod micro and iPhone are the same thing. Besides that, I'd add in Keynote 2.0. The new Powerbooks would be the "one more thing." Also a new XServe, while I would not place it at MWSF, I'd expect in late Jan. or early Feb. I'd bet new G5 eMacs and new iBooks in April. As for the iMacs and Powermacs, I just don't know. Also, new Pro Video apps in March/April. Where Apple unveiled the Airport express I'd expect the 5th gen iPod featuring a Sirius radio option (pay the subscription). Also Tiger will ship at the end of March.

And those are "Joseph's Mac Hunches" for the first half of 2005 as my friends are now calling them.

 

[Xtremehkr]

Maybe there is something even bigger coming that hasn't been hinted at yet and the leaks are being tightened up in preperation for a surprise announcement.

 

[eliamx]

Sorry Apple . . .

I have to agree, this hurts Apple. I confess, I was going to buy an iPod mini for my girlfriend for Christmas time, but I can't bring myself to make such a dumb move knowing that the iPod flash or something way better is about to come out. Sorry Apple. Obviously, this is always the case: something newer comes out weeks or months later. But, this is way too soon to Christmastime. I think they should just move MWSF to March, move Tokyo MacWorld to May, and MWNY (if that even exists anymore, thanks Boston ) to August. That way, MWSF isn't so darn close to Christmas for our own good. There is always that fear that the week or two after Christmas, Apple will just screw us all over with a new Powerbook, Powermac, et al. Anyway, on a lighter note: i haven't purchased the Sharp Zaurus SL-6000 for fear that Apple will release an iPDA or that iPhone. iNewton Baby!!!

 

[abc123]

even better would be MWSF in early december, that way they could flog off all their new products over christmas. (and better yet, my parents would buy me stuff since i can't really afford most of it)

and now we know that apple take an interest in sites like these.

 

[Mechcozmo]

why? you prefer XM? i didnt like their premium channels that increase your monthly rate. i like one flat fee for every single channel.

The only premium channel on XM right now is the Playboy channel. Care to share something?

XM has more assets than Sirus currently. And they don't have Howard Stern. (joke, BTW) Also XM offers traffic/weather reporting in dozens of major cities. Plus the music channels are commercial-free 100% of the time. It is only the non-music channels that have two commercials every 30 minutes-ish.

Maybe this is about the eMac G5, but then again, "major internal redesign" is kinda obvious. (We didn't do much... 'just' added a G5...) It should be very interesting to see who ends up getting nailed by this.

And it isn't uncommon for pictures to be removed per the request of Apple Legal. (LAW! )

 

[autopilot]

(strange time warp double post, sorry!)

 

[Squire]

I've got money that its the Sirius iPod

Apple isn't going to sue off of the Asteriod or Flash Based iPod, as products similar to those things, already exist

the Sirius iPod is VERY unique though ---- and considering that XM just released a tiny pocket player, it only proves that the technology is there to put a Sirius player, of that size, with an iPod interface and small HD out there

I would say iPhone too, but there just doesn't seem to be much evidence behind it --- plus, with the Treo 650 just coming out, it doesn't seem that Apple is trying to mount a campaign against it - maybe I'm wrong?

either way, I think its the Sirius iPod ---- if that rumor had been inflated even more, it could've have SEVERELY hurt Xmas sales of the iPods, as people surely would've held out from buying one, knowing a Sirius one is coming out

looks like Xmas sales haven't been hurt though

And lastly - all I want for Xmas is a G5 Powerbook

After considering all other possible products/leaks, I agree with you 100%. Of them all, it's the only revolutionary one. As others have pointed out, the Asteroid box is not a new concept (as we know it, at least), the iPhone would be entering an already saturated market, and the iPod flash would also be entering a packed market. Besides, other iPod-wannabes might try to negotiate deals with satellite radio companies. A leak could really affect the deal-making process.

Squire

 

[Surreal]

what about a sirius enable iphone-pod.

hehehe wouldnt be horrible...depending.

i want a job with apple and a new powerbook out pronto...in that order.

 

[sluthy]

Sirius isn't much use to anyone outside of the US, I know we can't get satellite in Australia. Suppose we need an iTMS first (please hurry up with that, I'm dying to buy the new Finn Brothers album without EMI's CopyControl, can't find anywhere that'll do US imports and the 30-sec previews are killing me - sorry, off-topic).

BOT, the original iPod stole the market because it was practically the first of it's kind (HD-based player). But will Apple be able to compete pricewise with some of these flash players out there? I mean I can go to Harvey Norman now and buy a 512MB flash player that can play MP3 and WMA, and double as a USB stick AND an FM radio for AU$300. Sure they can improve on the interface, but will that be enough?

 

[corywoolf]

i love the idea of sirius in an ipod, but realisticly i think they will add wifi before that. i think next oct. they will release an ipod w/ sirius.

happy holidays....

 

[wibbler]

sounds suspiciously like they are taking this legal action to get even more publicity for the undisclosed (as yet) thing they say they don't want publicity for (or am I just being a cynic?)

And it has worked, the story is even on the BBC's 'only Wintel's exist' tech-news pages.

Goodness, now thousands of unsuspecting Englishpersons will know that there is a company called Apple, and that this company makes something and sues people too.

Maybe next thing Apple will run an ad campaign in Britain telling the masses about a computer that DOESN'T get crippled with malware the moment you press the on switch.

Don't hold your breath though as I can't even recal seeing a single advert ANYWHERE about the opening of new multi-million dollar Apple Store in London.

An odd way to do business Steve...

 

[Squibnocket]

Reuters Rumors

I guess what I found most interesting about the article was Reuters' less than subtle participation in the rumor-mongering.

In recent weeks, the Web sites have been buzzing with speculation that Apple will introduce a smaller, cheaper version of its market-leading iPod digital music player that uses flash memory, rather than the hard disk drives of the standard iPods.

Flash memory chips retain data stored on them even when electrical current is shut off.

Financial analysts Andy Neff of Bear Stearns and Charlie Wolf of Needham & Co. have also published notes in recent weeks mentioning flash iPods.

It seems that a reasonably reputable news source might want to keep their noses out of this less than reputable reporting style.

Matt

 

[HasanDaddy]

Per a page 2 rumor -

if Apple's player is $65 or so, then that would be a BIG deal

 

[sdf]

This move makes perfect sense to me -- if someone has broken an NDA, you need to know who it is so you can make sure you don't trust them again. And the only way they can be sure they know who it is is to use a lawsuit so they can subpoena logs.

It's pretty easy to find out who ran a story; if that's who they were after, the defendant would likely already be named. It seems they're after the person who broke an NDA that shouldn't have.

 

[rdowns]

The only premium channel on XM right now is the Playboy channel. Care to share something?

Not true. They have added Opie and Anthony as a premium service- an extra 2 bucks a month. I expect both services to add more and more "premium" content.

http://www.xmradio.com/programming/neighborhood.jsp?hood=premium

 

[MikeTheC]

Ah, I dunno about all this. I can understand if Apple's got some product they don't want to have ripped off. Just take one look at China and tell me you can blame Apple or anyone else in the industry.

The age-old problem here is one of "if nobody knows you're doing anything, then it's equivalent to you really not doing anything."

 

[hob]

I can see it now...

MWSF 2004

Steve: "OK, so the next new feature for Tiger - Safari with RSS. And y'know what the great thing about RSS is? Almost anybody can get their own feed going, along with international giants like the BBC, CNN, MacRumors..."

Phil: [comes on stage] "Did you say MacRumors, Steve?"

Steve: "Sure did Phil"

Phil: "Y'know that's such a great site, when they produce stories like this" [displays RSS feed of leaked info story]

Steve: "Yeah - Phil? Have you met Bernie? He's just one of the many extra's we used as security guards in our 1984 advert..."

Phil: "Oh look, here come some of his buddies" [100's of armed 1984 guards pile into the hall]

Steve: "This room is surrounded. There is no escape. We will not tolerate leaked information... Big Steve Is Watching"

(I just woke up)

Hob

 

[hob]

what about a sirius enable iphone-pod....

Has nobody thought of the obvious - 5GB flash card rumors... iPhone... maybe it's much more of an iPodPhone than anyone thought - I mean what would be the point of Motorola getting iTunes licensed and everything just so their phone can play 5-10 songs?

Hob

 

[Savage Henry]

Sheesh! ... enough with the phones already ....

They're about as likely as the iWaffle-Grill.

This recent dip into product-profile-protectionism is just good business practice.

 

[Squire]

Has nobody thought of the obvious - 5GB flash card rumors... iPhone... maybe it's much more of an iPodPhone than anyone thought - I mean what would be the point of Motorola getting iTunes licensed and everything just so their phone can play 5-10 songs?

Hob

Remember: Steve (or some lofty Apple exec) said it would be more of an iPod accessory as opposed to a competing product.

Squire

 

[Yvan256]

true to a degree, but while showing my mini off i constantly run into people who have no clue that it will run on their PC. people just naturally assume that because the ipod is an apple product that it will not be compatible with their PC. i think that needs to be made more clear!

(yes, i realize they say it in the commercials, but i think it could be abigger focus area. people just don't see it.)

Well, they even say "PC or Mac" ("PC and Mac"?). They say PC before Mac... don't know much clearer they need to be?

In any case, that's nothing. I still run into people who have no clue about what's clipped to my belt ("What's that?" "It's an iPod." "What's an iPod?").

 

[Yvan256]

Per a page 2 rumor -

if Apple's player is $65 or so, then that would be a BIG deal

From what we understand, 65$US would be Apple's cost for the parts. That doesn't include their profit, shipping and development.

It does hint at a 99$US or 129$US price tag though. If it's really 129$US for a Flash iPod mini with 1GB... Well, they better crank up production at maximum! (and if it's 99$US... be prepared for a HUGE shipping delay when you order one)

And if it's 99$US for a Flash iPod mini with 2GB, I'll have to call my lawyer to see if hell froze over... again.

 

[Yvan256]

Has nobody thought of the obvious - 5GB flash card rumors... iPhone... maybe it's much more of an iPodPhone than anyone thought - I mean what would be the point of Motorola getting iTunes licensed and everything just so their phone can play 5-10 songs?

Hob

First of all, there isn't any rumor of "5GB Flash Cards". They're 5GB CompactFlash Hard Disks (CompactFlash is a physical format, it doesn't have to be Flash Memory. There's even CompactFlash Wi-Fi cards). So the rumor about this is the iPod mini going from 4GB to 5GB, but still uses a CF-HD, like the current 4GB.

The Flash rumors are about an iPod mini using CF-Flash memory (say, 1GB) instead of CF-HD. It could be the same casing, it could be different. IMO Apple's easiest/most cost-effective solution would be to use the current iPod mini casing/interface/display, and only change the storage from CF-HD to CF-Flash, and maybe use different colors for the casing (to differenciate from the 4GB/5GB models).

As for the "iPhone" only being able to store a few songs, Steve himself said "wouldn't it be great if you could carry a dozen songs". The iPhone is not meant to be an iPod killer, not even an iPod Flash competitor (also said by Steve, "the phone is more like an iPod accessory"). I wonder if we'll be able to access the iTMS and download directly to the phone and then sync to the computer (would be great).

And lastly, here goes my theory: The flash market is too big to lose. Every flash player sold that's not an iPod is a customer who won't use iTunes (can't sync his player with iTunes), won't shop at the iTMS (can't use iTunes *and* his player can't play protected AAC, but can potentially play protected WMA), and won't buy a Mac (if potential switcher who doesn't know any better).

As you see, the low-cost Flash iPod is the best thing that could ever happen to Apple if they're really seeking new customers.

As for the PowerBook G5... forget it.

I predict the new lineup will be iBook G4, eMac G5, iMac G5, PowerMac G6 (dual CPU, dual core) and PowerBook G6 (dual core)!

 

[TopCatz]

I have to agree, this hurts Apple. I confess, I was going to buy an iPod mini for my girlfriend for Christmas time, but I can't bring myself to make such a dumb move knowing that the iPod flash or something way better is about to come out. Sorry Apple. Obviously, this is always the case: something newer comes out weeks or months later. But, this is way too soon to Christmastime. I think they should just move MWSF to March, move Tokyo MacWorld to May, and MWNY (if that even exists anymore, thanks Boston ) to August. That way, MWSF isn't so darn close to Christmas for our own good. There is always that fear that the week or two after Christmas, Apple will just screw us all over with a new Powerbook, Powermac, et al. Anyway, on a lighter note: i haven't purchased the Sharp Zaurus SL-6000 for fear that Apple will release an iPDA or that iPhone. iNewton Baby!!!

Hang on - it sounds like you're pretty keen to buy something soon - either a new product if released soon or the existing one if there's nothing new you want - so Apple is gonna get your cash one way or the other
Non-Rumour-addicts won't know and won't delay, whereas Rumour-addicts like us might defer purchases and boost sales for new products so we're all happy.
The main problem with info-leaks is not to do with consumers but with competitors. As they say in the statement, innovation IS Apple's DNA and unfortunately other 'companies' aren't afraid to be blatant, crumby copycats.