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Halo Effect™

Which did you buy first?

  • iPod first

    Votes: 18 31.0%

  • Mac first

    Votes: 40 69.0%
  • Total voters
    58
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Not open for further replies.
mad jew

mad jew

Moderator emeritus
Original poster
Apr 3, 2004
32,191
10
Adelaide, Australia
I was just wondering how many people here are a result of the Halo Effect™. We always hear about it but I'd be interested to see what the results are like. I imagine MacRumors will have a pretty low Halo Effect™ following.

So, what came first, the iPod or the Mac? :)
 
Since MP3's were not really big when I bought my first Macintosh, I think I am safe to vote Mac :) (well Macintosh back then)

Edit:

My First Macintosh was an SE, and it was given to me Free in 1999 (so I guess MP3's were on the scene, but not the iPod (from what I know))
 
Well you tell me

My bro got a Mac cuz he friends had them, I love it aswell, I got an iPod Mini cuz i did not have the $$$ to get a Mac at the time and i like Apple Tech so much i needed smoething Apple( also wanted a Music Player), Then I got my Mac.


I also got lots a iPods after i got my Mac but thats a another story
 
mad jew said:
I agree. I just wonder to what extent though.
Click to expand...

I don't quite think it is. I have several friends who are new Mac owners who started their foray into Apple with an iPod.

Two are new iMac owners.
 
I guess this poll is going to be kind of skewed given the huge age difference between the product lines.

I don't know if I'd give iPod and iTunes all the credit, but there's definitely a halo thing going on WRT Apple these days. I'm still hearing a lot of the "too expensive" meme, but these days it's more likely to be "I wish I could afford one of those" than "what a rip off!".
 
Abstract said:
The "halo effect" is highly exaggerated.
Click to expand...

I'm inclined to agree. Nobody seems willing to admit that maybe the reason that Mac sales are improving the way they are, is that Mac OS X is actually getting a lot of positive attention in the mainstream press, and people are getting really sick of Windows (which is receiving a similar volume of attention, only mostly negative).

I think Mac OS X and products like the Mac mini and the iMac G5 are generating enough attention by themselves to account for a good chunk of the upswing in sales, without needing to attribute the entire thing to a 'Halo effect'. Don't get me wrong...I'm sure the iPod is helping. I just don't believe it's 99.9% responsible like the analysts seem to think.
 
Halo Effect? First iPod ships October 2001. Here are Mac shipments for comparison.

1Q2002 - 659,000
2Q2002 - 813,000
3Q2002 - 808,000
4Q2002 - 734,000

1Q2003 - 743,000
2Q2003 - 711,000
3Q2003 - 771,000
4Q2003 - 787,000

1Q2004 - 743,000
2Q2004 - 749,000
3Q2004 - 771,000
4Q2004 - 787,000

1Q2005 - 1,046,000
2Q2005 - 1,070,000
3Q2005 - 1,182,000
4Q2005 - 1,236,000

Macs were consistantly shipping about 700,000 units each quarter till last Xmas when iPods really exploded. Now, they are shipping about 50% more. Is that proof that the Halo Effect is real?

This article talks about other reasons that people are switching.

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/nov2005/tc20051110_197491.htm
 
I expect the Mac units will increase to 2.0 million each quarter for 2006 as the number of iPods sold is expected to double.
 
Weird!

1Q2003 - 743,000 -=- 1Q2004 - 743,000
2Q2003 - 711,000 -=- 2Q2004 - 749,000
3Q2003 - 771,000 -=- 3Q2004 - 771,000
4Q2003 - 787,000 -=- 4Q2004 - 787,000

How do they do that? Except for 2Q, exact same shipping numbers, ±1,000 units (approx 1‰) :eek: :eek:
 
Wow, since so many people agree with me, I'd just like to add that not only is the "Halo Effect" exaggerated, but so is any link between iPod sales and iTMS sales. One doesn't drive the other. In fact, I don't know a single person who has ever bought a song off of the iTMS, and I know at least a dozen iPod owners, but it's probably more like 18 or so people.

Halo Effect? First iPod ships October 2001. Here are Mac shipments for comparison.

1Q2002 - 659,000
2Q2002 - 813,000
3Q2002 - 808,000
4Q2002 - 734,000

1Q2003 - 743,000
2Q2003 - 711,000
3Q2003 - 771,000
4Q2003 - 787,000

1Q2004 - 743,000
2Q2004 - 749,000
3Q2004 - 771,000
4Q2004 - 787,000

1Q2005 - 1,046,000
2Q2005 - 1,070,000
3Q2005 - 1,182,000
4Q2005 - 1,236,000

Macs were consistantly shipping about 700,000 units each quarter till last Xmas when iPods really exploded. Now, they are shipping about 50% more. Is that proof that the Halo Effect is real?

This article talks about other reasons that people are switching.

http://www.businessweek.com/technolo...110_197491.htm
Click to expand...

Firstly, millions upon millions of people had iPods before 2005. They were selling well for years, and as you pointed out.....sales were quite flat for 3 years. During those 3 years, the iPod went from expensive rich-man's toy, to a very popular, high volume mover.

Apple has been creeping back into the spotlight slowly ever since the original iMac came out. What about the 2nd gen iMac? That pushed Macs more into the limelight.
And then the Mac Mini became popular. It wasn't actually well known amongst the general public when it was first released, so after some time, it took off in a big way as more people found out about the "cheap Mac", and so sales of Mac Minis have remained high since introduction. Its also their biggest mover.

I'm not surprised the numbers went up after what Apple has done. The iPod has helped with sales, but quite honestly, the "Halo Effect" is an exaggeration....a "buzz-word."
 
I had wanted a mac since the first iteration of the iMac came out but didn't pull the trigger on the transactions until the 3rd gen iPod came out. Mostly because I had the money to buy a Mac and got the iPod as gravy. Even though I got the mac and the iPod at the same time, I got them because they were Apple products.
 
iGary said:
I don't quite think it is. I have several friends who are new Mac owners who started their foray into Apple with an iPod.

Two are new iMac owners.
Click to expand...
*Waves hand in air* iPod first, 3rd gen 20GB and then I got my PB, iMac, and now iBook... :p
 
I wanted an iPod pretty bad, but I wanted a computer with OSX even worse. By my calculations getting said iPod first would have postponed the acquisition of said OSX computer, which I didn't want.

I ended up buying them close together, but I bought the PowerBook first and I'm happy I did so. That said, the iPod was purchased roughly 1.5 months later on a early gift type transaction. Those sales numbers are interesting, but like Abstract said, the iPod was selling for years before 2005 and Mac sales were still constant. I don't buy into the 'effect' all that much.
 
So why the sudden increase? The mac line-up, for a great part of this year has sucked. Yet folks keep buying the machines. We've got horrible powerbooks, we've had dissapointing powermacs, and we've had impending Intels.

Yet the numbers go up... at a staggering rate, even.

The mac mini first shipped January 2005, lining up with the increase... so it could be those machines.. in addition to the steady refresh rates.

Got me.
 
I got a Gen2 iPod for Xmas. I was really impressed with the iPod and then iTunes and that led me to purchasing a new G5. That was 3 years ago and I've been mac ever since.
 
iMeowbot said:
I'm still hearing a lot of the "too expensive" meme, but these days it's more likely to be "I wish I could afford one of those" than "what a rip off!".
Click to expand...


Good one. :)
 
mad jew said:
I was just wondering how many people here are a result of the Halo Effect™. We always hear about it but I'd be interested to see what the results are like. I imagine MacRumors will have a pretty low Halo Effect™ following.

So, what came first, the iPod or the Mac? :)
Click to expand...

Well, your results may not be a good overall sample. Considering many here were probably Mac owners before they actually got an iPod, or bought a Mac when the iPod was just a toy, this poll would have no real-world statistcal relevance.

I voted "bought an iPod first" even though I actually DID buy a Mac first... it was the 5500/225 AIO mentioned in my for sale thread. I had gotten it used for $120 like the year of the release of the iMac. :D I then used the iPod with my Widows computer. Since then, I have not owned a Mac above 300MHz, so it really doesn't count, I don't think.
 
I had known about macs and their benefits for a long time but was a pretty heavy PC gamer growing up so I never bought one. Once I bought the iPod, I loved it's ease of use and beautiful design so much I wondered I was still with PC's (my gaming had gone significantly down since I became a father). I also started to do a lot of video editing and realized that the Apple apps were much better imo so I took the plunge and switched.

Basically, you could classify me as a Halo-er but there were also other lifestyle changes that led me to the Mac platform as well. Needless to say I'm never going back!
 
Depends on how you look at it. My family has been using Apple's since I was an infant on a IIc. I purchased my first iPod whilst in high school but did not purchase a Mac until I left for college and got a PowerBook.

I put Mac first though because if we hadn't been Apple people, I doubt that I could have convinced my parents to let me get an iPod, even if I had known about them.
 
mad jew said:
I was just wondering how many people here are a result of the Halo Effect™. We always hear about it but I'd be interested to see what the results are like. I imagine MacRumors will have a pretty low Halo Effect™ following.

So, what came first, the iPod or the Mac? :)
Click to expand...

over here, my friends have halo. then my other friends bought xboxes to play halo. inevitably i will get an xbox to play halo with them.
 
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