iPod: Forgetting the Mac

[themadchemist]

I love the iPod as much as the next guy, but does anyone fear that Apple's core competency, the design and manufacture of computers, is being lost in the frenzy?

I was just looking at MacBytes--probably 90% of the articles were about the iPod.

I hope the iPod is incredibly, ridiculously successful, but it kind of bothers me that the Mac as a powerful and salient brand is being forgotten.

 

[musicpyrite]

Yea, I totally agree with you.

All the TV commercials you see now are about the iPod or the iPod Mini.

No more PowerMacs, PowerBooks, or iMacs......

I mean hell, go to www.apple.com, the first picture you see is of an iPod, in the 4 lower pics 1 of them is about iTMS.

And it also could be that the editor (or who ever runs) MacBytes likes the iPod more than Macs....

 

[rhpenguin]

Agree, but i love my iBook.. Its just that i need something more powerful and Apple really isnt giving me any decent options to go with here.

I can't afford a Powerbook and the specs on my current iBook are basically the same as whats offered now. Therefore, i cant justify the cost.

I love OS X, but apple needs to work on their hardware. After all, they are a hardware company.

 

[Abstract]

Apple DOES make a great laptop....the Powerbook, but the fact is that you're waiting because you can't afford it....not Apple's fault. And of course, you'd have to wait for the Powerbook to get better specs before the specs of the current iBooks get better. The Powerbook gets the better specs first. Its just the hierarchy of Apple's tech.

 

[themadchemist]

Yea, I totally agree with you.

All the TV commercials you see now are about the iPod or the iPod Mini.

No more PowerMacs, PowerBooks, or iMacs......

I mean hell, go to www.apple.com, the first picture you see is of an iPod, in the 4 lower pics 1 of them is about iTMS.

And it also could be that the editor (or who ever runs) MacBytes likes the iPod more than Macs....

As you point out, it's not just MacBytes, it's Apple-related media in general (including that generated by Apple itself). I'm a big fan of MacBytes and I think it's a fairly representative slice of the buzz about Apple--Mudbug does a great job editing it. I think the iPod's vast-overrepresentation there is indicative of a larger phenomenon of Apple moving away from its core hardware.

What you said about the commercials made me think of something else. The iPod commercials have been great and frequent...Better and higher-frequency than almost any other Apple ad campaign. Why couldn't Apple and its ad agency replicate this sort of marketing with the PowerMac, the PowerBook, or the iMac?

The G5 was the most significant development in the history of the Macintosh since the introduction of the iMac, and while it got a significant amount of free press, the best Apple could do to advertise it was to play an inscrutable commercial an unacceptably low number of times.

Disappointing.

edit: Thanks for moving the thread to the right section! I don't know why I put it in the Community Discussion...

 

[slughead]

I love the iPod as much as the next guy, but does anyone fear that Apple's core competency, the design and manufacture of computers, is being lost in the frenzy?

I was just looking at MacBytes--probably 90% of the articles were about the iPod.

I hope the iPod is incredibly, ridiculously successful, but it kind of bothers me that the Mac as a powerful and salient brand is being forgotten.

As the iPod's sales continue to rise, PowerMac sales seem to rise in a similar fashion.

I bought a copy of that newsweek with Jobs on the cover with the new iPod, on page 45 there're a bunch of graphs and charts that illustrate the coincidence between PoweMac Sales and iPod sales.

Here're a few facts from the article:
Powermacs will account for more revenue in 2004 than the iPods, however iPod sales are growing at a faster rate so the margin between will be less.

When the iTunes Music store opened, iPod sales started rising exponentially and did so for several months.

Sales of all portable digital players are expected to rise year after year by what looks like 20%.

CD sales will start to go down in 2004-2008 while music downloading and subscription services will rise.

Profit from the iTunes Music store is insignificant in comparison to Apple's top 6 selling products (PBook, i/eMac, PMac, iBook, iPod).

 

[AppleMatt]

I agree to an extent, but if you look past the "journalists" (sensationalists) predicting Apple is becoming a music company and dropping their hardware/software, you can see what's going to happen.

Like last Christmas, this Christmas is going to be an iPod Christmas (much to the dismay of parents world-wide). In about a year, there's going to be many real contenders for the iPod in all aspects of its design. But, many people will have settled on their MP3 player and the market will saturate out, sales will plateau off. This will be reflected in less media attention, and Apple focusing it's marketing efforts back onto Mac OS X and the G5. Because, if we're fair, it's mostly a marketing effort that we're seeing at the moment. No-one can suggest Apple have stepped back their other products (look at the G5, Tiger, SDK's, CoreImage & CoreVideo etc etc, you don't make those overnight!).

In a way, it's ideal. People have had their iPod for a year, bought a few tracks on the iTMS, and get the itch for something new. They've seen how well the iPod, iTunes and AirPort Express work, why not take a look at a Mac in one of the Apple stores springing up everywhere. After all, it can't hurt to look.

AppleMatt

 

[LeeTom]

From another point of view... the iPod is what tipped me over the edge to switching to Mac. This was before the PC iTunes, and MusicMatch was such a lame program, I finally said "screw it" and got my Powerbook.

Lee Tom