Can Steve Jobs save the iPod?

In a maturing market you lower the price. That is what Marketing Theory suggests.

And exactly what Apple has just done.

The iPod prices are very competitive. The same as the Zune. Please see http://news.cnet.com/underwhelmed-by-ipod-announcements/

Which would you rather buy?

Don’t think Apple won’t keep innovating to keep everyone elss on their toes.

Watch the iPod become essentially a portable MAC especially when Apple and Google announce that Google’s new browser CHROME will run Apple’s and non-Apple apps on Google remote servers from Apple’s iPod — specially configured and enabled for the iPod platform. You’ll have your “music player” doing your PC office work for you while you wile away your time munching on a sandwich in the park, catching some rays and humming along to some iTunes. Something akin to a music-playing ThinCan letting you indulge in guilt-free hookey-playing à la Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Please see WIKI for an example with “Thin_client” and “ThinCan”.

Jobs needs to add focus to the company’s service. We went through at least 5 ipods in aprox 3 yrs before I finally gave up. Apple encourages a warranty, but is extremely grey regarding their coverage. I found that once a product is “out of date” they suddenly ignore the warranty. Interesting?! Great business sense, lousy customer service.

i completely agree with lebanon from ohio. you can see the charts climbing higher and higher. if you scroll down to a link that says “here” in red click on that… steve jobs introducing a REFRIGERATOR… WHAT?!!!?!?! omg i can see myself ten years from now im in my kitchen with my apple fridge, my apple oven, an apple microwave all with built in internet. omg steve is taking this to a whole new veniew. Steve jobs is a brillian man.

I’m puzzled why you would accompany a story entitled “Can Steve Jobs Save the iPod?” with a chart that shows iPod sales up over the previous quarter in every quarter that is reflected in the chart. Or maybe I’m puzzled why you would write the story given that data set as a factual basis.

I do not think ipod will compeltely die out. I, for one, have a nano and will not get an iphone – if you take an honest look at your total cost of ownership for an iphone and then evaluate its value in your life, I am sure some of you will agree with me – there are cheaper ways to get what you really need.

I as a current owner of the ipod touch am greatly appreciative of steve jobs work along with the whole apple developers. I am on my ipod touch right now and i spend about a quarter of my life on this thing. I mean, im only 16 but i think this is genius! I am hoping tho maybe a new ipod touch prototype.. perhaps with a build in camera like its father the iphone?!? i dobt know.. only time will tell.

To Adam, the sysadmin.

You have had 2 major viruses. You have lost fewer than 10 power supplies. You believe that PCs are better when it comes to working with large datasets. I am sorry, but your employer is very generous with your title. Comparing Macs to PCs is a lot like comparing apples to oranges unless you deal with the same configurations and are able to provide us meaningful benchmark specifications.

Apple is alive and it is doing well. Steve does not need to save iPod because iPod saves itself when it comes to homes of people who do not want to get iPhones.

Wow Joshua, do some research and learn something about thermal management before demonstrating your ignorance on the issue again.

First, some macs do not have fans. Some. Many do. Mine has 9 fans that all have variable speed drives, allowing them to be near whisper quiet (most of the time), or conversely sound like a small jet is in the office when the processors are in overdrive. But Apple has mastered thermal management and has been designing some Macs without fans for some time – and guess what? They are no more prone to overheating than any other Mac or PC. You say they are. Prove it. Show stats of Mac’s overheating vs. PCs.

Second, you have things backwards. A PC is more limited than a Mac. You can run Mac OS X, Windows or Linux on a Mac, plus all their software, natively and simultaneously if you wish. A PC is limited to Windows and Linux. You cannot run Mac OS X on a PC without significant and illegal hacking. 32 bit Windows (both XP and Vista) can address far less memory than Mac OS X, usually no more than 3.2 GB, and sometimes only 2.3GB (the limit is 4GB for 32-bit Windows, but you can even use all of that.). Yes there is 64-bit Vista out there, but only about 5% of Vista users have that version installed, and it is rife with compatibility issues.

I’ve worked for 2 of the top 3 PC manufacturers, and I us a Mac

First off Id like to say that to the people that think Macs are better than PCs, your not completely wrong but wrong nonetheless. Unless you are majoring in animation, design, or any computer imaging based field, MACs are essentially worthless compared to PCs. The engineering of a MAC is distraught because of the relative size compared to a regular PC. As most of you don’t know, the CPU and the Video Card (assuming its not integrated with the motherboard) is running very hot and thus usually needs a fan or two in the tower just to cool it down. MACs on the other hand don’t really have any room for a fan and thus the whole computer overheats and will cause problems later down the road. Not saying MACs are bad but for the price of a PC and how its easy to upgrade, a PC is a smarter choice.

Onto the iPOD. I have always wanted to buy a iPOD iTouch product but found it to be quite expensive. My friend was lucky enough to obtain one from his parents (I am 18 and just graduated from high school so yes some of us down here are spoiled) and he loves the product. Watching movies, listen to music, surfing the web with its functions are pretty cool for $200. Still its $200 that I don’t have and nonetheless, don’t want to spend on something that will last me for so long. After much research I figured I would buy a Sony PSP. I spent in total more than $200 ($235) but I am able to watch movies, play the PSP games, listen to music, surf the web, look at photos, and more compared to a iTOUCH. Im not saying go out and buy a PSP but to acknowledge the fact that the iPOD products aren’t the best on the market for the price. Essentially your paying for the name not the product. My tip is to find what you want and find a place where they will sell it relatively cheap. I wanted to play games, listen to music, watch movies, and surf the web and I got it by paying a little extra for so much more.

@Adam from Madison

“Macs…we have had 2 virous (sic)…”

If you are a system admin as you claim, you are accepting a salary under false pretenses. Let’s hear the name of either virus you say you had.

Huh, huh? We’re waiting….

I agree, the iPod still dominates, there is no question about that. There is a pattern to the graph – sales always go up around Christmas! The overall trend still points upward.

You’re making an awfully big leap in logic: that everyone who does/did/would want an iPod is going to buy an iPhone instead. That just can’t be true, and there are several reasons why.

- Some people don’t want a phone that does everything. I have friends who were annoyed that they couldn’t find a phone without a camera (and I’m 22, live in a large city and have tech-savvy friends). After all: why would you want to trade in a music player that holds all your music and a digital camera that takes great pictures for something that does all of those things, but not quite as well. For some it’s worth the convenience… for others it just isn’t.

- Some people (me, for one) are either locked into contracts with other, less horrible carriers, or just like their current phone companies. I would love an iPhone but am very happy with Verizon.

- The monthly cost is very prohibitive. I buy an iPod and I’m done until it breaks. I buy an iPhone and I’m locked in to pay an exorbitant monthly service fee. I’d rather pay a reasonable phone rate and have a separate music player.

- Having ALL of your music in your pocket is an attractive option. The reason I originally wanted an iPod back in 2004 was because it could hold my entire CD collection. I don’t want 8gb of storage, or even 16gb. The fact is, I don’t want to have to pick and choose which songs I want on my music player at all. If I can’t fit every single song I have, then the amount of storage space I’ve got is largely arbitrary. Why pay for 16gb over 8gb when either way you’re leaving songs behind?

While it’s possible that Apple is nearing a saturation point of sorts, constant updates to the product line and price drops is exactly the way to keep getting those things out the door.

Will Steve Jobs look healthier than his last appearance? Will he look less healthy than last time?

I think he did save the iPod. Check
here.

My kids don’t need an iphone either. They do like the ipods though.

As the processors in the iProduct line evolve, it isn’t too far fetched to expect that someone will eventually bring them together with iSynergy software, maybe plugging the family iPods and iPhones into a common charge bank that could join a grid. Imagine your iPod or iPhone controlling I/O for your iMac or doing duty as a control system for you iKitchen products.

“This is freaking stupid. How can I ever buy an iPod if it’s replaced and obsolete one year later?”

What…? does someone come to your door and repossess your iPod when a new one comes out?
Is the sole reason you own any product just to be able to brag about having the biggest/best/latest?

As for the article, its amazing how so-called ‘industry analysts’ don’t get it.
The iPhone/iPod line is part of an ecosystem, not end-points. They’ll continue to evolve, and judging by the lame attempts at copying from ‘competitors’, will likely stay leagues ahead.

The hand-held will be a self-sufficient computing platform within 2 years, largely displacing laptops and (for sure) desktops for 90% of people’s main use. To the degree that it doesn’t, the hand helds will be firmly linked to larger systems specialized use.

Apple will be the first to pull off the tablet, and will have any desired form-factor covered.

I will still buy an iPod. I have no need for an iPhone because I already have a phone and I don’t want to switch to AT&T. Does it really need to be saved? I am sure that there are many people like me who just want an iPod without a phone.

This may sound crazy, but what about those of us who don’t have iphones? I have a classic ipod, and use it for at least an hour everyday.

I know a lot of people that wouldn’t want an iphone, and have ipods. Sure, the iphone is really quite cool, but there is no way I can afford one on my wages. The phone isn’t necessarily the problem, it is the bills. I also wouldn’t want to be locked into a contract with AT&T, and with all the problems with iphone g3 I have been reading about I don’t know if it is even worth the money I would have paid for it.

Is the product known as the “ipod” in really such dire straights? I have met plenty of people who have purchased an ipod after the release of the iphone, and a few people who are going to purchase one as soon as they get paid (which is this week.) This is something Apple really should have seen coming when they released a device that did all an ipod did and much more.

The iPod is dead… it is worthles now since all the new phones that are coming up have mp3 playback and most have expandable memory… and really 100 bucks for an 8 gig mp3 player? This thing is bound for death, just look at cracked.com’s article about tech zombies and it will shed some light into the subject.

Philip,

That’s another reason why you’ll always be out of the knowledge loop, no common sense.
Does it make sense to you that anyone would tell you anything that’s coming?

The reason you write for clicks and some of us are in a position of trust and aforeknowledge is… we’re smart enough to know not to upstage Steve.

Philip,

Once again, your headline has no basis in reality or facts and only serves to get you clicks.
You rival Bissonette or Enderle is sheer lack of insight or intelligence in your ability to analyze data and come up with a likely conclusion.
As someone who actually is an industry insider and subsequently knows most of the real players personally, suffice as to say, your column is always comic relief for those of us who actually know what’s coming.

ex ped: Don’t be a tease. Tell us what’s coming!

“…comparisions on the two systems are always going to be skewed. Apple makes their own hardware for their OSX so everything is going to be optimized together. Microsoft Windows has to deal with hundreds of different hardware manufacturers with different standards so windows is always going to feel a bit buggier. To make a fair comparision, MS would need to build their own hardware.”

They do it for X Box. They managed to make the “Red Ring of Death” so common, there is pretty much a no questions asked replacement policy for three years. Many people I know have used that one several times during the warranty.

“Can Steve Jobs revive the iPod?” Why does it need reviving? There is a very distinct pattern in the graph you show and I’m sure that pattern will continue. This is a silly article. The iPod continues to dominate the market… why are we talking about this!?!?!?

ex ped: Because the graph shows sales of one of the three legs of Apple’s business model have flattened out after years of robust growth. Like a shark that must keep swimming, Apple must keep growing at the pace it has been in order to justify the high multiples of its share price.

“Can Steve Jobs Save the Ipod?” Hmmm. Let me see.

I would say…. who really cares? Does Steve care? Does Steve give a rats about the iPod, given that since he brought it out, he has gone on to new and better things?

I have a better question: “Why is it important to use the divine beings’ name in your headline?”

Ding! Because the Light of Heaven makes that which is dead come to life. His gracious Jobness breathes wind into the doldrums of halfwitted journalism, and the very mention of his name causes the birds to sing louder, the fish to swim faster, dogs to bark louder, and the pestilence to recede from the cursed.

As someone who has owned macs since I could afford a computer, and who has never owned an ipod, I can sincerely say this article sucks.

Totally agree with John from Austin.
And he doesn’t work for Dell but draws the line saying that Mac aren’t better than PC’s. They have certain advantages for an average user yes but that is all.

Two parts…
First, I must say I am shocked. the death of the Ipod. Right, it dominates the market! Let it be said it was not the first, (I had a mps player in ‘99.) Their has always been competion but until recently it has not been overly visible. I also find it humorous that ipod users can not see trends. Tech always gets better (in all companies.) the Ipod WILL go away; it is simply cheaper to produce/market a 1 product than to maintain two similar products. The Ipod will last until the iphone can handle the storage as well. Besides, the competion is already going there.

Second…I read most articles I find on tech trends as it is part of my job as a systems admin. My office runs macs and pcs, (that includes servers as well,) I know how they work and compare; aside from Apple’s fantastic “MARETING.” Both are good and the macs are spiffy, the staff using them (~20) really like them. That said…I have lost far more Macs to hardware failure than my PC’s.

PCs…In 7 years I have lost “1″ power supply on my pcs and we kick the **** out of them. I have had “1″ serious virous and 2 minors in 7 years in this office which we were able to fix ourselves. I have not thrown away one PC due to age. MS products have worked well…Norton actually has been more of a problem, so I have gotten away from use it.

Macs… we have had 2 virous (not bad,) we have replaced every unit in the past 7 years (at least once) primarly because they could not keep up. Several hardware issues…Imacs have burned out their screen, Imacs have burned out their power supplies, books have batteries literally falling out of the laptops, books have had 2 motherboards fry within the first few months, disk errors, the windtunnels fried tons of Ram due too poor engineering and we ended up with 5 Macs that could only use 1/2 capacity of Ram, and we have had a few OS issues as well.

Lastly, performance. Our PC workstations will smoke any Mac for crunching very large datasets. Colors always display better on the Macs, and they are speeding up in the last few years.

I do not hate Macs…I am just tired of hearing they are sooooo much better. I also think it is rediculous that Mac is a “hardware” company but markets against MS (very clearly a software company…) If they are Hardware they should compare to HP, IBM, Alien, etc. (none of those have ever gave out on me…)

For the record…Last time I called Apple for service I got the opportunity to speak to India for 1.5 hours before I was transfered back to Cali where my problem was solved in under 10 minutes…

I like my i-pod nano a lot but there is room for improvement with it’s interface. i-tunes needs the most improvement!

I used to be a PC fanatic until Vista. I used to be a gamer but there are much less games out now. I’ve been useing Macs lately and I think that next time, I’ll buy a Mac.

– “Apple pushes innovation. Then Microsoft picks and chooses what they want to use from Apples innovation about 3-4 years after they did it.” —

They put MP3’s on a hard drive that fits in your pocket. Wow! Chalk up another innovation for Apple. I had a Pentium I tower in the trunk of my car with a number pad/lcd in the cab back in 1997. Looks like Steve Jobs ripped me off 4 years later.

Why do they need to save the iPod if they are selling the iPhone? It’s outdated. It’s falling to the side, so what?

Ok so I see a few arguments going on here about building your own PC. Some people are comparing building a PC to building a car. This is not an accurate comparison, building a computer is more akin to cooking a meal.

What goes into building a PC?

Motherboard
RAM
CPU
Video Card

Most LAN and Audio are now onboard.

Can an average person with a high school diploma not plug in four pieces to receptacles that are clearly marked? You have the additional Burdon of screwing the motherboard into your case, and hooking up your power connectors. It takes all of 45 minutes to build a computer. In fact you will most likely spend less time building a computer, having the parts shipped to your house then you will buying on at your local mega-mart.

The real problem with store bought PCs which makes Mac a superior product is as follows. Trial ware; the average PC maker gets between 50 to 100 dollars for every piece of trial ware installed on your system. By the time your PC computer is out of the box and plugged in it’s about a clean as a Bangkok call girl by the docs.

The second key difference between Windows and Mac is that Mac is a closed hardware Eco system. Windows does as best as is can to allow hardware venders to make products for its OS. How do you think Windows would handle is Microsoft only allowed the premier hardware venders to make products for their OS? I know it would run pretty well, because when I build my computers for home use I only use quality parts, from known good venders.

Like I said computers are more like food. Try going to eat at Mc Donald’s every day see how you feel. Crap in crap out. OS’s are really just the plate the food sits on.

I don’t know how the iPhone support is (as it may be handled better by a Phone company more worried about their customers), but I recently cracked the glass front (digitizer) of my iPod Touch. It works fine still but was garish to look at. While it was still under warrenty, I am sure I would still end up costing me some money to get it repaired. To my shock Apple refuses to repair the iPod, and instead offers me a replace ment iPod at a discounted price. I was disgusted, and ultimately researched a 3rd party company who would repair it (and renew the warrenty under their name). I am appalled with Apple’s attitude, and I guess their hope was to boost their dying sales. For a brand with such a “chic” image, encouraging their customers to throw out their damaged models and buy new left me wondering if George Orwell was on their board of directors

My ipod is two years old and a classic before the classic was born. I have a ton of space, I use it to get audio for weekly podcasts I do, I watch movies on it; in fact it accompanied me to NY on business trip and it did all the above and made for an amazing time. I just bought a phone with a 4 gig music player that is very nice, sounds great and adds to my diversity in some respect, but its a phone. And I don’t worry my ipod is out of date or goes out every year. It works and its in great shape. I may get a touch or a shuffle for little things. I hate carrying my phone and my ipod, but I can not afford the 170 a month price tag AT&T adds to each iphone. I have no problem with my money going to apple, but not on a monthly basis for features I just dont need.

I have an Ipod Mini that I have had for about two years now that I received as a present, refurbished. I do not believe that the IPhone will make the IPod obsolete because of the fact that people like me, who would love to have an IPhone, won’t switch over to AT&T. However, I believe that if the IPhone is offered by multiple carriers, it is possible that IPod sales will decrease significantly. There will always be a demand for a simple MP3 player from Apple.

As many of you don’t like what John of Austin said, you know he was right.

If all Microsoft users had a chance to use a Mac, there would be a revolt and Bill Gates would be gunned down. Microsoft products are terrible and consume a lot of time and money. Apple products are easy to use and take very little to maintain.

The only inovation from Microsoft is the inovation to stiffle inovation. Microsoft has a large track record of buying up competitors and closing them down. Some microsoft products, like Internet Explorer and Word, were developed by other companies. To learn more, google boycott Microsoft.

No worries here! This “iSheep” will happily put an iPod touch on the Christmas list…because I refuse to give up my Verizon contract just to get an iPhone. I’m sure there are plenty of people like me left in the world. I have a 3rd gen iPod (yeah, with the buttons on the top- totally old school) that has been dropped mulitiple times, gotten wet- and still works great, but an upgrade would be nice.

Don’t understand the person who can’t work iTunes. My 4 yr. old can work iTunes. Seriously.

Peace & Love from a happy iSheep.

iPod touch is great for listening at my desk, house and traveling. But, nothing beats the Shuffle at the gym. That’s why I have two. Carrying an iPod Touch on my arm at the gym is lame. Too big, too heavy.

@ John King

Where did you get your masters from? … a Cracker Jack box?

“…nearly irrelevant..” ?

Not unless you ‘like’ the exclusive (and extremely crappy) AT&T phone service you are required to use…

The iPod Touch needs to match the hard drive capacity of the iPod Classic (160gb). They also need to bring the price down.

RE: the comments on building you own computer – some of you are way off base. I admit I could never build my own computer, so like you, it’s convenient to get one off the shelf. But your negative statements are just untrue. My 20 year old son built his own computer – he saved hundreds of dollars, and it didn’t take him weeks or months – in fact, he put it together in his bedroom in about 4 hours. And, while I will never exploit all its functionality, he hacked his old iPhone to run on T-Mobile (my account) and gave it to me and it is the most convenient phone I have ever had. There’s always a cost involved with innovation. I wouldn’t necessarily pay it, but I wouldn’t knock it either.

Meh, I don’t see the big deal on an “OSX vs Windows” debate. I use both platforms and they each have their advantages and quirks. I’m flexible and I’ll use whatever system is available. I don’t mind. Everyone’s allowed to choose their poison.

Also to be honest, comparisions on the two systems are always going to be skewed. Apple makes their own hardware for their OSX so everything is going to be optimized together. Microsoft Windows has to deal with hundreds of different hardware manufacturers with different standards so windows is always going to feel a bit buggier. To make a fair comparision, MS would need to build their own hardware.

Apple makes great products but they continue to maintain this elitist attitude by pricing the products too high. I would love to get a Mac. However, paying twice as much is not worth it. I cannot understand the mentality. Lisence the products and slash the prices. This would drive market share.

Stuart,

I don’t believe the new ad is supposed to be about Vista…heard of Windows 7?

You’re right about innovation though. Microsoft is not a leader in the digital music player industry but the pressure from iPod sales do account for the latest and greatest ideas from Creative, Samusung, etc.

Let’s face it, the iPod is not the best player out there. It looks nice, yes, and the sound quality is decent, but before the iPod Touch, what was the reason to pay 20-30 bucks more for an iPod over something like the Clix? Apple did one heck of a job making people think that their product was the best and that if you get one you will suddenly become ‘hip’.

The iPod isn’t broken… there should only be three types of pods: 1.) the ones dedicated to good sounding music, a nice GUI, and long battery life, 2.) the ones like the iTouch and all of the fantastic abilities (for those people who don’t want to switch to AT&T or don’t want the phone option), and 3.) the iPhone.

hey john, chiilll.

spaz.

Jason from Houston. If you were running 8 cores and a SCSI hard drive, you WOULD see better performance. That is not your standard machine and I doubt that you left to your own devices configured it correctly. I am not saying Apples to Apples anything, but I am saying that your XP box should be way faster.

I agree with John from Austin, the thing that always bothered me so much about apple is they assume all their customers are stupid, and because of this they take the control away from them. One example is the one button mouse, they think why give a second button, people are to stupid to figure out how to use it.

What is that old axiom about arguing on the Internet? Chose the computer you want to use, it is as simple as that. You aren’t a sheeple for following the cult of MS/Apple and buying what you like. You do have ego and esteem issues though if you feel the need to deride the users of a product you don’t like. I mean really people, why get so bent out of shape over somebody else’s choice?

Hey John from Austin. As much as you are toting Apple to be arrogant, you are sounding so yourself. If it weren’t for Apple and Steve Jobs, Microsoft wouldn’t ever come out with anything new. Apple pushes innovation. Then Microsoft picks and chooses what they want to use from Apples innovation about 3-4 years after they did it.
PS. The new Seinfeld/Gates commercial to counter Apples vs PC ad was horrible. It had nothing to do with Vista.

For me the ipod was the greatest invention. I bought a 5gb ipod when they first came out and people did not even know what it was. I want to carry my music collection around and don’t want to haul boxes of tapes and CDs. I think the ipod classic is much needed because the iphone and ipod Touch are not big enough for my growing music collection. I don’t want to watch movies or look at photos…I just want music on my ipod!

I have an itouch and it is great for watching movies at night when camping, etc. For songs I still use my 6 year old Creative mps player. I frankly think it sounds better than the itouch. And now I am looking at the latest Creative player as my next acquisition. Why, it utilizes technology that plays the tunes back better than the Ipods, etc. I think the next iteration of Ipods needs to start addressing the playback quality of the songs. Don’t get me wrong I do love my Itouch and the engineering that has gone into the Pods but as my son (who is a Podomaniac), the new Creative Xi-Fi is “sick”. Love to all.

I only own one iPod, the very first Nano’s that came out. I got it for my birthday and it would not sync with iTunes, I think there was a glitch with that one. I returned and got another one and have now had it for 2 years and it still works great. I have had a few issues with it like it not syncing, not turning off, etc, but it was all things I was able to fix with a reset, and deleting a new version of iTunes that I had downloaded. I am not all that technical but I find the iPod very easy to use and very reliable. I don’t forsee getting another iPod until my completely dies, which could be a while. The battery still works just fine for me. The only reason I would upgrade at this point would be to get more storage space, but that can wait.

I think the only reason Apple would have to worry about posting low numbers would be a market saturation and putting out good products that last, and the low economy in the US at the moment. I don’t think there should be a worry of the iPhone stealing iPod’s thunder. With me not being a real techy, I want something simple to play my music on. A phone and music player together might just be too much for me!

I used to think Apple computers were overpriced also. Boy was I wrong.

I just got a MacBook Pro from my new company. The MacBook has an intel based 2 Core 2.6 GHz processor with 4 GB or RAM and a 7200 RPM harddrive.

I also received a Dell Window XP based machine that has 2 4 core processors (8 ores in all) running at 3.2 GHz with 16 GB or RAM and a SCSI hard drive.

By all measures the windows machine’s hardware is better and mush faster than the Macs’s.

However, the Mac runs as fast or faster than the Windows machine. So i you compare performance instead of hardware specs, a PC and Mac machine cost essentially the same. If there is a price discrepancy, then the PC actually may cost a little more for the same performance.

John from Austin…..chill out dude. I built my own system a few years ago but was still stuck with a Windows operating system. I never realized how much time I spent managing Windows until I switched to a Mac. Microsoft and PC manufactures try to make their software and hardware resemble Leopard and Macs. If Apple had not developed the iPod, do you think any of the PC makers would have? Same for the iPhone. Computer innovation comes from Apple not Microsoft.

As evidenced by brainwashed Zombies like SoCal Frank, Apple and many of it’s Apple iCult followers just don’t get it.

To start, eventually products begin to reach full market penetration and people start making purchase decisions for more reasons than “wow factor power.” That’s happened to the iPod. I have no doubt that iPhone sales, especially the incomprehensible iPhone 3G sales of an over-priced phone which has more trouble holding on to 3G networks, the world over, than there are grains of sand in Atlantic City, are hurting iPod sales.

iPhone and iTouch are not suitable substitutes for the iPod. They don’t have enough storage, for example. Apple has lost their way with regard to marketing the iPod. For example, the iPod is a great video player, and at 80MB and 160MB can hold a great inventory of videos for any user, but especially travelers. With the loss of entertainment on US domestic planes, and the fact it’s non-existing on trains, etc., the iPod is a travel entertainment marvel, but not with that tiny screen (iPhone and iTouch screens are far too small too.), but couple it with a MYVU, and you’ve got one heck of a product. Apple doesn’t use top iPod accessories, for example, to sell the base unit. They’ve missed the boat on that. They’ve also ignored pushing the iPod toward specific markets which remain fertile new opportunities for sales.

Most people in the world actually want to get something for their money. They’re not part of the Apple “iCult,” so Apple has to market to the real world now.

Don’t get me wrong, I think MACs are great tools for music or video editing, and are generally overpriced status seeking products for most everything else. As a professional photographer, I use my less expensive PC running WIN XP Pro using the same software as MAC users, and have spent much less cash for the privilege. As a result, in part, I had plenty of cash available to purchase an incredible large format printer for the office.

As an iPod owner and user, I find the product is worth the money, if you can see and use the overall potential of the product. Apple needs to let the world know what that is and needs to dramatically improve and open up iTunes on top of improving iPod marketing. It’s not going to sell itself any longer. (iTunes needs to be improved dramatically for iPhone users too, or it’s going to limit iPhone sales in the future.)

This is freaking stupid. How can I ever buy an iPod if it’s replaced and obsolete one year later?

I had a Windows based computer for years, and said why not lets get a I-Mac! I’ll tell you this from my own feelings on the matter. I love the Mac. It is the nicest set up! Apple has it over the others because the way it’s used, and it’s so easy! All though the 1 thing the Mac hasn’t got is writing software that comes with it standard? I wonder why that is.
I write and haven’t got the software it’s to expensive. That’s the only thing Windows has over Mac in my eyes. Apple sell the software as apart of the computer price.

John Marotz of Austin meant to write “I work for Dell. Apple’s products and services are superior to Dell. Please buy Dell so that I can keep my job.”

Seriously John, besides geeks and gamers, the average Joe does not have the time, expertise or patience to build their own computer. We want to pull the thing out of the box, plug it in and start working. We fail to see the beauty in building your own, especially since we don’t know anything about fixing its problems. Besides, we’re doing other things, like working, raising kids, playing, running companies, sleeping, etc. The “Build your Own” crowd ARROGANTLY assumes that computer users know how a computer works well enough to put one together and trouble shoot the inevitable and built in Microsoft OS problems. Computers are tools. Most people simply want a machine that works and are willing to pay for it. Why don’t you build your own car while you’re at it. I’m sure you can put together an ultimate driving machine that’s better than BMW.

Hello!!?? Did all the CEO’s and journalists of the world sleep through the lecture on MARKET SATURATION? Duh!!

I have a master’s in IT and still don’t understand why someone would want to build a computer from scratch. Do you build cars from scratch? How about your furniture? Did you order all the components and build your 5.1 system from scratch? Are you one of those people who thinks you can save money by buying all the parts direct and spending weeks or months putting something together. Some PC users just have to exert unnecessary control over their machines by taking them apart and putting them back together, when if you had just done your homework and bought a better machine, you wouldn’t need to do that. Most of the PC people I know don’t know anything about computers and end up ruining their machines by taking them apart in an effort to “fix” them or “make them better.” I’ve yet to see a customized PC that could “blow away” a top of the line Apple when doing multimedia production. You say PCs have advantages but you don’t mention any — what, that you can buy their parts everywhere because they break so much? As for scratched iPods, ever hear of a skin? Ease up on the Apple hatred. You still have 80-90 percent of the market share. No one is taking your blanket away.

John M. from Austin – You have serious problems! Please seek help. Why is it that the Microsoftees are always the ones that are bashing on the Apple folks? It doesn’t take any kind of brains to build your own PC; anybody that can use a screwdriver could build one. The fact is that Apple is setting a trend and constantly coming up with something new and innovative while all the other companies are just building the same things over and over again. Or at best, they are trying to copy something that Apple created first. If you want functionality and ease of use, go with Apple. If you want the same old products, go somewhere else.

I want an iPod touch with a hard drive! I want to be able to take my entire music collection with my like I currently do with my 5th gen iPod (original iPod Video). I don’t want a flash player since even the “bigger” ones can only hold a small fraction of my music and video collection (mostly from CD’s, but partly purchased from iTunes).

When the iTunes video rental service came out, I found out that it didn’t support my old iPod Video, so I won’t be renting videos until I get a newer iPod, and I won’t do that until I can get an iPod Touch with at least a 120 GB hard drive!

Hey John, Relax

For me, it’s not so much Mac vs. PC but Mac OS vs. Microsoft Windows. I’ll put my faith in the latest version of Mac OS-X over the latest version of Microsoft Windows any day of the week.

I’ve had the same 2nd generation iPod for 3 years now, and it’s worked wonderfully, considering it lives in my purse and tends to get knocked around quite a bit at times. I’m impressed with it, but I would never buy music off iTunes, and I’m so hopeful that they will make that format more user-friendly.

I’ve found that my issues with PCs are more a problem with the company that provided them. I have a cheap laptop that I’ve used faithfully for 5 years now and it still runs well; the manufacturer fixed the one broken screen. A lot of the benefits from owning a Mac come from the fact that the company is both the manufacturer and provider of software, and are reliable for both.

That being said, it was tough for me to get together the money for my $1000 laptop. I couldn’t get half the features on a Macbook for that price, and I just can’t afford to upgrade like that. When I sprang for a nicer desktop for gaming, I built it myself. Would have preferred a Mac, but it’s just not affordable for everybody. Avoiding all the arguments about who is being the “sheep”, Macs will continue to have a marginal market share as long as they cost more than some used cars.

Maybe someday I’ll be rich, and then I’ll spring for a Mac.

I am so glad to see this Mac vs. PC argument raging on 20 years later. It brings back memories. Back in the 1980s, though, we had the PC vs. Mac and the Commodore Amiga vs. Atari ST crowd. It was the rage on a decent multi-line BBS.

Apple users are so arrogant and obnoxious idiotic consumer zombies that are so self absorbed. I’ve owned apple and PCs and can see advantages of both. You will never hear one of these trendy pathetic”apple is better than everything else ” people say that though because they are too ignorant to know how to build your own system from scratch which pcs allow. And I know you trend setting idiots that have to wait in lines to tell your grandchildren that you were one of the first to get an apple”whatever” and throw down a bazillion dollars when a month later they drop the price don’t realize how stupid you are. You could never see any advantage a pc could have because you’re too stupid to even build your own system. .Pcs give the freedom to make an ultimate machine that blow away any pre manufactured apple. You are stuck with what you get. But most trendy apple followers don’t have the brains to build a system of their own, they care more about fashion and if something looks cool thats all that matters to you. Why can’t Steve Jobs make a scratch resistant ipod? Plenty of other mp3 and phones can resist them so why can’t apple make one. They can but they won’t because they know their consumers all too well. They know you are egocentric dips that think the world revolves around them. And they also know that because of your vanity in the short period that your ipod/iphones get scratched up you’ll be dim witted enough to throw down wads of cash for a shiny new one. How embarrassing for what would your friends say if they saw your scratched up ipod not looking as cool as it did a few weeks ago. Apple knows that their consumer base are all too concerned about their image and need to feel better than everyone else. It is sad that simpletons seem to dominate the population in our society and their desperate need to feel important and need for attention. Apple is a good product but pcs do {I’m sorry to burst your bubble} have advantges over them as well. So get over your self righteous but ill informed attitude with the weak argument that “apple is better just because it looks cool”. You just come off as some mindless followers.

How people could possibly struggle with iTunes is beyond me. I search by artist, song, etc, select the song, press “buy”, it downloads it and puts it on my iPod. Where could you possibly go wrong? Don’t get it.

My eyes were opened to the clear superiority of Apple products about six years ago. I’ve owned two Apple computers since then. In six years neither one has crashed. Ever.

I’ve owned my iPod for two years and I travel extensively. I watch movies, listen to music, listen to podcasts from my church…. I can’t imagine a better device.

@ Andrew from Putztown wrote that “the ipod [ and ] iphone [ are ] over-priced and incompatible in conjunction with the rest of the world… er, market.”

Andrew, they are the market.

He then wrote that “Many people don’t want a brick strapped to them when they want to hear music,” referring to the iPhone.

You’ve never seen an iPhone, have you?

iPhone should be included with iPod when counting the growth of iPod unit sales, because iPhone is an iPod. iPod sales are growing. Simple as that.

However, Nokia’s huge sales of music enabled phones can’t be counted as music player sales because Nokia customers mainly don’t use the music player function at all.

I’ve owned both Macs and PCs. My PC have average life span of 5 yrs. I build them to last. My Mac lasted a long while as well. There is still NOT equal compatibility between even a MS Word document in Mac or PC Word. ALways some sort of error.
Parallels sucks because it doesn’t always work. Great concept, but poor execution of code.

IPod..I owned two, no problem. However I have owned other players. I will say Apple shorts the customer on features in favor of profit. No iPod yet has a built in FM radio, others do.

It’s true — we are a nation of whiners.

I once had an Ipod. It was stellar, for about six months. It faded in my memory due to its lackluster performance with both itunes and the device quality. I bought a Zune about a year ago. Since I really enjoy listening to a variety of music I also got the unlimited monthly downloads or whatever it may be called. I would marry it if I could but state laws prohibit me from it.

Bottom Line: Steer clear of the “trendy” ipod. Aesthetics don’t play music, Zune’s do.

Those who say that the mac osx is just as susceptible to viruses and malware, youre just wrong. The way the kernal works on mac osx and the way the whole osx is written, nothing can be installed without your permission, or without you knowing exactly what your doing. However, on windows machines, this is not the case. Dont comment if you dont know what youre talking about.

And if your macbook crashes 5 times more often than your vista machine… how much is bill gates paying you to tell us that lie? If it is the truth, maybe you should stop trying to install windows on it.

Wow.

“Golly gee, electronics aren’t WATERPROOF?? But I paid a whole $300 bucks for this.”

People are slobs, cry all you want that your computer or mp3 player doesn’t turn on anymore because you were dumb and spilled water on it. I don’t pity you one bit, nor do I think it’s a manufacturer issue.

Also, iSheep and Apple zealots aside, people are turning to Macs because they are virus free (for now) and their customer service is for the most part
reasonable and based in the United States. Being able to go to the stores and talk to someone in person for free with a set appointment around your schedule is handy also. Mostly, people are picking Apple lately not because “they never break”. That’s like saying “Buy a Audi because they never need work done on them. Ever. Not even an oil change.” They pick them because you can get help easily to understand it better and learn to do general maintenance. Computers need tune ups just like cars, and anyone who says otherwise is genuinely full of it.

Electronics break when you spill water in them. Cats are afraid of dogs, gravity makes your wife’s boobs sag eventually, and if you stare at the sun too long, you will go blind. Facts of life. Get over it and move on.

As for the iPod losing market share to the iPhone? That’s just an “i” for an “i”. ;) It doesn’t matter much. This is kind of a silly article.

Price cuts? More features, more memory, but Apple doesn’t have to cut prices. They have no competition. And while the cell phone is the center of convergence for the foreseeable future, the iPods have a lot of potential to evolve. The problem with industry “analysts” is that they are always stuck in the past. That’s why they aren’t running cutting edge companies.

Windows people will never understand Mac, iPod, or Steve Jobs. Their dna is not programmed to process the necessary information. PC’s are business machines. They are cheap and useful mules to carry the daily load of spreadsheets and stock inventories. Macs are creative tools. They are designed, built, and used by creative people. Most of the music, graphics, television, and motion pictures you see and hear were created and/or edited on Macs. Creative people don’t want to spend their time troubleshooting missing .dll files. They want the instruments they use to work as an extension of the creative process. Mac does that as no other computer can. The iPod and the iPhone are extensions of that creative process. Yes, you can buy a cheaper computer or a cheaper MP3 player – but why drive a Hyundai when you can drive a Porsche?

I don’t know why all the hate for Apple. We’re all sheep who only buy this stuff because Steve Jobs told us to? Give me a break, we buy it because it works (very well I might add). Some people will pay more for a Mercedes because it’s a better car in the industry. Likewise, people will pay more for a Mac because it’s a better product in the computer world.

As for iPods, I still have my 5gb first generation one that works perfectly to this day six and a half years later. Also, my 4+ year old Powerbook runs smoothly and has not crashed once. It’s things like this that keep me coming back, not the latest iPod color scheme.

The raging against “iSheep” is pure envy.

Apple computers just work. I can train my 68 year old mother how to trouble-shoot her Mac. When she had a PC, there were no end to the problems and I – a computer nerd with 153 IQ score – could not figure it out because Windows is a legendarily horrific mess of an unsecure operating system with mysterious, meaningless engineer-ese error messages, and that abomination called the registry.

Oh and please stop repeating that urban myth that Apple computers don’t get infected by viruses because they are only X% of the market. That is as completely f’ing stupid as saying Al Gore claimed to have invented the internet. He never said that and Apple computers are not secure just because hardly anyone uses them. You are just showing your utter ignorance of computers when you repeat that.

Mac OS X is derived from BSD Unix, ask your IT person how BSD Unix compares to any of the Frankenstein operating systems Microsuck has foisted upon an ignorant public.

I’ve had my 2nd generation iPod Nano for 2 years now. Since it is basically a tiny computer, I treat it as I would my computer – I protect it. I got a protective shell for it, which has insulated it from the many times I’ve dropped it. The shell also protects the Nano from any stray water droplets. I guarantee if you spill a proportionate amount of water on a laptop as you might on an unprotected iPod, and the laptop will suffer some serious problems too.

I take my iPod with me everywhere; I have an FM transmitter in my car for it, I take it with me to the store, to the gym, on jogs, to waiting rooms, airport, etc. Still going strong..and the battery’s holding up well too! So far, I’ve been impressed with Apple’s iPod product. I also don’t see why some get so frustrated with iTunes…

I know 6 people that have iPhones. The battery life on them is roughly a day’s worth of use before they have to be recharged. That’s just with phone use and receiving emails. I would never use one to play music and wear down the battery life even more if I had one. Why can’t the battery last longer?
My iPod gets a good 3-4 days worth of playback out of it before I have to recharge it. Besides, iPhone are big a bulky compared to iPods. I wouldn’t go jogging with a $300 iPhone in my pocket on a chance that it might bounce out and shatter. But I would go jogging with a shuffle clipped to my shirt.
There’s a market for everything here. I think the Windows users here are upset that Microsoft does not own 90% of the digital music market as well as 90% of the computer market. Get over yourselves. iTunes may not be great software, but neither is Windows Vista. Last I checked people were uninstalling it from their brand new PCs and buying XP to put on them.

Wow quite a discussion here, I myself own a first gen nano which is rather outdated and has a extremely reduced battery. And an itouch which is sweet even though iTunes is retarded. I definatly would not buy a mac for the problems and the price, but I will buy a new iPod when this dies. Really the truth is that mac computers and computer software suck, but their portable devices kick. Btw this is typed on my touch.

Since when does the iPod need saving? It’s still the dominant portable music player and continues to annihilate the competition.

I truly have never read so many ridiculous, uninformed posts before. I get it – they were intended to be jokes – funny not!

Ballmer – please do your job and stop submitting false postings.

Per Symantec (Norton) CEO John Thompson:
“The “target-rich” environment created by Windows VULNERABILITIES means that virus writers and hackers have set their sights on Windows PCs.”

It is due to VULNERABILITIES, not market share.

Thompson noted that, “If more and more people did go out and buy Macs, virus writers might change their tactics, and make more attacks of the phishing or identity theft variety, which targets computer users independently of their operating system.”

In other words, because the Mac OS architecture is inherently more secure, to attack Macs hackers would need to turn more and more to human engineering.

“

For those complaining about IPODS.. I do not understand… my family have bought 6 during the past 4 years… they all work fine… it is a wonderful device … A truly required device … I need 30 or 60 or 80 GIG… having 200 songs on a phone does not cut it for me… long live the wonderful IPOD

Please, Mr. Jobs, don’t reinvent the iPod until you and your company have fixed the critical problems with the iPhone 3G.

Proving that you are not Microsoft and will fix problems with bad design quickly instead of “in the next patch” will keep the Apple faithful faithful.

I love it. I’m a “sheep” because I’ve used Apple computers since 1987 when their market share was a fraction of a percent. If we’re sheep, the Windoze faithful are most assuredly drones who will continue to use and inferior product, no matter what the hassle, risk, or consequences.

As mentioned in a prior post, I have an MS in Information Technology plus dozens of MS, Novell, and Cisco certifications. I administer a large Windows based Enterprise Network. I speak from authority when I state that the Mac OS is far more stable and secure than ANY version of Windows. I have job security because Windows is so bad.

BTW, for those quoting market share, an even more interesting fact is that while Apple has only 8% of the market share in annual sales, Macintosh computers now account for 26% of the computers in use in US homes and businesses. This is largely due to the fact that they are so reliable, just keep on running, and users are so faithful because they just work. Call me smug if you will, but I have never lost single bit of data due to a Macintosh hardware failure of unrecoverable software issue. How many Windows users can’t make the same claim?

Oh, and Apple won’t let me post this on their support forums so I’ll post it here. With all of the whining Windows users who have invaded the Apple support forums for iTunes, iPods, and iPhones, the average IQ of the forums has dropped exponentially. I can tell if a post comes from a Windows user within the first sentence, usually because they are whining about something that could be solved if they would just read the manual. They buy an Apple product with the premeditated intent of finding something to complain about. Most of their posts are more of a rant than a request for help. Apple users, for the most part, are very gracious about helping them whether they deserve it or not.

Would journalists PLEASE, PLEASE stop comparing the iTouch price to the maximally subsidized iPhone price!!!

I paid $500 for my iPhone, and that was with a contract extension. I think an iPhone without a contract is $700.

If it helps at all, please think of the 16GB iPhone as costing $300 up front, plus a $200 loan repaid with interest over 2 years.

ARGGGHHH. The stupidity burns.

The biggest problem is not the iPod, but rather iTunes! I am a teacher and network admin. I used an iPod for about 3 months then gave it to my daughter. It simply wasn’t worth the trouble of iTunes. But I made the mistake of telling this story to my students. At least once a week I have a student come to me – many times in tears – because they “lost” their music. Yes, I have a 100% success rate in helping them, but it’s not always easy. However, that’s not the point. Who is their target audience? Apple is proud of their “user friendly” hardware/software. I think of all things an iPod and its accompanying software should be useable by the typical 14 – 16 year old.

Rich from Toronto wrote “Another article from the press.” Umm, isn’t that what the press does? Write and publish articles?

I’ve owned Macs since 1986. I’ve had four of them in that time, the first three having services lives averaging 6.33 years each. (My friends with PCs have had an average service life of about 2 years.) You could call me a mac fanboy and I wouldn’t argue about it. That said, I don’t own an iPod. Probably never will. The sound of MP3s is awful to my ears and I’d rather listen to CDs or albums. My wife has two iPods and is thrilled with them, but they are not my cup of tea. I also don’t like iTunes very much.

I use to think that iPods were over-rated. Then i got one. I was right.

our macbook crashes five times more often than our vista machine. Also if you have a mac you know it is prone to virus and malware problems, and easily as vulnerable. ther just isnt the same userbase os it it isn’t as attractive to malware writers for that reason only.

The reason there are viruses on the machines with 90% share is just that, they have a 90% share. What idoit wastes his/her time infecting a 2% share market. If ever those numbers go up you will see more infections in those machines as well.

Just common sense.

In response to the whole Apple sheep talk…I work in IT as a developer and honestly, the architecture, UI, and reliability is much better for Apple. I think most people unknowingly are buying Apple products because the experience this same reality!

I don’t understand this article. Doesn’t the whole premise for his thought that Apple is struggling lie on the fact that Apple is stealing shares from itself. He said that the iPhone is taking away sales of the iPod. Um, don’t you think a) they thought of this when that functionality is included b) that they are getting the profit from those sales of iPhones anyways? Who pays the author of this article? LOL

the only sheep here are the delusional windiots with ~90% market share… yea buy the same virus infested, crash prone POS year after year then call the ones with 2% market share sheep LOL

So where does Brad say he uses Windows? Mac users like you are sheep, because you buy what Jobs tells you to, because you assume that Jobs is God, and that if you’re not with Apple you’re against Apple (i.e. only an acolyte of the demon lord Gates could possibly have anything against Apple.)

anyone can complain about a couple of iPods they encountered with a problem, and call them all crap as a result. Every product from every industry has an RMA rate, there area NO exceptions. On the whole, the iPod is a revolutionary device, not in that it was the first thing to do what it did, but that it combined the entire experience into a process so simple that a trained monkey could enjoy it. I have heard valid complaints about both the iPod and iTunes, they are not perfect for every circumstance. Pray tell, is there something that is?

>Ahh…the sweet sound of the iSheep bleating in unison, >dripping their smug condescension on the unwashed (or >perhaps open-minded?) masses. “Can’t…resist…must…>buy…more…iProducts…because…Steve…Jobs…told…>us…to…”

Yes, us Mac users are sheep, we use an operating system with 8.5% market share. You windows users don’t go along with the crowd at all, it’s not like your operating system has 90% market share or anything. People like Brad are the reason that IE still has 85% share of the browser market.

Looks to me like iPod sales are staying steady with growth, peaks around Christmastime. I don’t think Steve or Apple has anything to worry about right now.

First iPod: $300.00. Got fried when a 1/2 teaspoon of water got on it.

Second iPod: $250.00. Got fried when fell into some dishwater for 5 seconds.

Third iPod: $300.00. Got fried when dog bumped a glass of water and some splashed onto it.

“Piece-o-crap” interim MP3 player: $35.00. Has been washed in the machine–TWICE (Yes. We are quite destructive)–and STILL. WORKS. TO. THIS. DAY.

Ahh…the sweet sound of the iSheep bleating in unison, dripping their smug condescension on the unwashed (or perhaps open-minded?) masses. “Can’t…resist…must…buy…more…iProducts…because…Steve…Jobs…told…us…to…”

Funny how when someone has a problem with any iProduct it must be the result of user error. Yet when any non-iProduct has issues it’s because “Apple always has better products”. Steve Jobs thanks you.

The real threat to the iGod/iDrone dynasty may well be the continually eroding economy. No more home-as-ATM to pay for overpriced, unnecessary tech bling — like that new iPod every year for Xmas. “Look! Now with tint control!”

“As far as “insanely high prices”, you get what you pay for. I’m willing to pay a slight premium for reliability and security.”

Reliability? My daughter has had a Nano for six months, now it won’t shut off and the “click wheel” is having issues as well. Apple makes good products, but they are not worth the extra money. I use an 4 GB Creative Zen that has more features, better sound and a lower price than the Nano.

>>I’m not a huge computer dork but I can say this: Apple has always had great products with greater user-friendliness than other companies. The main drawback is their INSANELY high prices. True, the products are worth it, but why do I have to spend 50% more to get a product that’s 25% better than the competitor’s? Also, they need to make their stuff compatible with PCs. It’s hard to make the switch one device at a time due to compatibility issues.<<

Where have you been? Apple computers now run on Intel processors and will run BOTH Mac OS X as well as Windows, Linux, or Unix if you wish. They can be configured to boot into either/or using Apple’s BootCam, or to run both simultaneously, sharing files and resources from OS to OS, using products such as Parallels or VMWare Fusion.

Additionally, Macs running the Mac OS can open and modify most PC file types using Mac applications. This is true for Word files, Excel, PowerPoint, and many other file types.

As far as “insanely high prices”, you get what you pay for. I’m willing to pay a slight premium for reliability and security.

I’m not a huge computer dork but I can say this: Apple has always had great products with greater user-friendliness than other companies. The main drawback is their INSANELY high prices. True, the products are worth it, but why do I have to spend 50% more to get a product that’s 25% better than the competitor’s? Also, they need to make their stuff compatible with PCs. It’s hard to make the switch one device at a time due to compatibility issues.

Oops, Mary, there’s a dip in your credibility. Ken was referring to 2009, not 2008.

I agree that Ipod and/or Iphone needs to team up with Sirius. I was always anti-Ipod until my son gave me his hand-me-down and my husband got an I-phone. Now I see the amazing difference – I’m hooked for life.

From my observations, most problems with iPods are caused by not following care and operating instructions. This is especially true in maintaining battery life by keeping the units charged whether you are using them regularly or not. Other problems are caused by individuals who don’t bother to learn basic troubleshooting and reset steps. The Apple Support Forums are full of whiners who could easily resolve any issue if they’d only download, and read, the full manual for their product.

There are three iPods in this household, a 4th Generation 30Gb “Photo” Classic, bought in 2004, A “Product Red” 2nd Generation Nano bought in 2006, and two 5th Generation “Videos” bought in 2005 & 2006. All still operate flawlessly with no noticeable decline in battery charge life. This past weekend, I used the 4 year old Classic to supply music at an Astronomy Club star party in a battery powered iHome dock. It played music from 7PM till 5AM on a charge and still had battery life left when turned off. It did this two nights in a row. Not bad for a four year old unit. As an aside, we have extended family members who are still using 2nd Gen, 2002, Classic we handed down to them.

By my observations, the biggest impediment to iPod sales is the same as the biggest impediment to new Mac sales. Longevity!! They all keep running forever.

Yes, we are loyal Apple/Mac household and have been since 1987. In all that time I’ve never lost a single byte of data to hardware of software failure. We have five Macs and one PC in our household plus four iPods and three iPhones. BTW, I’m an IT professional with an MSIT, and use PC’s extensively at work. If my employer used Macs, my support staff would probably be half as large.

Simple.. add wifi connectivity..
For screen interface players, this is real simple.. but for something like the shuffle.. you make a wifi remote host connectivity.. to be able to load files edit play lists, etc. This is the logical next step, although you may need to goose battery life to make this possible. the shuffle may need to gain weight to make this happen as well.

Another article from the press. Also, whining Windoze fans making ignorant comparisons as usual. We’ve had this since the early 80’s, so it isn’t going to change.

Like most apple products, they are overpriced. You can get a reliable mp3 player for 1/3 the price of an ipod. Also apple’s proprietary formats and DRM is ridiculous .. once you buy music you should be able to listen to it on any device you choose, not just ipods or itunes.

Thanks Heather, for pointing out why iPod sales are dropping.

The market is saturated with them, and many people who don’t have them already will choose to stay that way. Is Apple destined now to live off the profits from the iTunes Store because sales of new iPods won’t grow? Or can they somehow light a bonfire under a new line of iPods despite the fact that most people would rather have an iPhone that isn’t connected to AT&T?

I have a video iPod that I plan to use indefinitely. It has worked great for over a year and a half now. My dad and his wife have had their iPods longer — my dad’s had his for years. I am not much of a phone user and prefer my tiny, basic cell that I don’t plan to use.

My Macbook, which I bought used/refurbished from Apple, still works GREAT after about a year and a half. Still super fast and no problems. Much better than the horror of my previous PCs.

Even though I don’t plan to invest in an iPhone anytime soon, I still am an Apple girl.

It’s funny to hear people complain about their iPods. I am still rocking a 2nd Generation iPod and have never had a problem with it. I also have a Shuffle, iPod Nano and an iPhone. Not to mention 2 Apple laptops (we’re talking Lombards here) and 2 iMacs.

Maybe your problems aren’t Apple, but rather user error.

Once you go Mac, you never go back.

“Faster, less problems, bigger screen” – Ted, Dallas

What do you mean faster, it plays the music faster at 1.5x the speed? Why do you need a music player to be faster, it displays the playlist fast – I don’t get it!! Bigger screen – uhhhh… the Zune is 320×240 (3.2″), the touch is 480 x 320 (3.5″), how is the Zune screen bigger? iPod touch is multi-language, Zune only 3; iPod touch you get video, wifi Internet with a great browser and access to thousands of Apps & software – Zune, none. Come on yall, be real.

Ever notice how MS never releases Zune sales numbers, hmmmm… wonder why? Because they ca fit all their buyers in a small high school cafeteria in North Dakota. GameStop discontinued Zune sales and the Zune is 3rd to SanDisk, they can’t even beat out SanDisk! Yet, you claim Zune is superior!?

Used to want an iPhone, but decided I can wait another 2 years till they hopefully get on more carriers and greatly up storage (16gb does nothing for me). Till then I’ll upgrade my 16gb touch if they launch a 64gb one next week. With 64gb I can fit most my music, vidoes and podcast and will be very happy camper.

Side note to Steve Jobs: I and a lot of others will pay for a data plan for our touch if you offer one, so we can get Intenet access anywhere w/o wifi.

I have purchased three IPOD videos and will never purchase another. They are very unreliable, two of the three I purchased died in about a year. With the price of an IPOD video they should last longer than 1 year. My daughters, who use the IPODs, say they have friends with similar tales of IPOD failures. With my history with the IPODs I would never purchase an Apple computer.

The ONLY reason I will continue getting new iPods will be because I will NEVER change my cell phone service to an INFERIOR service such as AT&T. If Apple ever opens it up to other cell phone service providers, then perhaps I will consider it.

The iPod Touch may only grow stronger over time as its list of applications grows. To be sure, the iPhone is attractive to a certain audience, but the 60 million or so who subscribe to Alltel/Verizon may need something more powerful than the currently available “smartphone”. Since I’m very happy with my current phone vendor, I’ll very likely replace my existing PDA with the more capable and capacious iPod Touch. Depending, of course, on how the “MobileMe” service works….

No, Ken, it doesn’t “up your credibility”. September 8th is a Monday. Next Tuesday is September 9th. 9/9/08.

Oh no! Apple has found a way to replace it’s $69 Shuffle sales with $300 + contract revenue stream Iphone sales…the company is doomed.

I Love my ipod. And if it breaks I am going to get another ipod..IPOD CAN NEVER FAIL…Go Apple

The fall of the iPod has nothing to do with the iPhone, or any other Apple products. What it has to do with is how ridiculously overpriced all Apple products are. Why buy anything from Apple when you get something else that does twice the job for half the price?

Oh yeah, I remember: vanity, status, etc. Unfortunately most semi-intelligent people look at those with their iPods strapped to their arms and think, LOSER. :)

Asinine.

My 13 year old nephew doesn’t have an iPhone. He has an iPod. So does his sister. So do my parents, my mother in law, my coworker, and many other people I know.

I have an iPhone and I like it… but I also have an iPod – increased storage, better battery life … the iPod is not “doomed”.

Fortune, I expect better of you.

I have the 16 gig apple iphone 3g and an 80 gig Zune. The Zune is definitely a better product than the Ipod Classic. However the huge difference is the software. the zune software beats Itunes like a drum. I had no idea how primitive and frustrating Itunes is compared to the zune software. I love the Iphone its the best smart phone on the market by far but Itunes just sucks. I gave up trying to use Itunes and the Iphone for music. The most aggravating thing is the Iphone can only be synced with 1 pc. Thats simply unacceptable in a day and age in which people have more than 1 computer. Itunes 8? Maybe we’ll get lucky and Apple will update it to 2006 so I can actually organize my albums properly. Staring at Back in Black divided into 2 albums right that at the top of Itunes is getting old. Untill then the z80 is my mp3 player and my Iphone 3g is a kick butt phone with a lot of useless storage space.

Do I need to pay AT&T a monthly subscription fee for the next 24 months to use my iPod?

No?

Then there will always be a market for the iPod.

I agree, I don’t think the ipod is in any trouble. A lot of people may be frustrated about not being able to remove the battery but it will help sales. Not only that I don’t mind buying a new ipod every 3 years. Each new edition that they make of the ipod is more useful then before. I bought my first ipod in 2003 and used it as an external hard drive. When the video ipod came out it made a great way to people my film projects. I love the new all the useful apps. Whether your laptop battery dies or not you upgrade because of efficiency. the same will happen with the iPod. Don’t look at it as an accessory anymore. It is beginning to become a platform.

ZUNE ROCKS!! IPods are for kids.

I hope they add SIRIUS/XM SatRadio capabilities to the iPod and iPhone, that would be great!

So sales are… flat? How is that doomed? It’s called a mature market people- take a marketing class.

The Dare has no wifi. You are always locked into using the overpriced 3G network—if you can find one at this point.

As others have pointed out, the iPod lineup is being replaced by the iPhone and the iPod touch which have much higher profit margins and much greater profit potential with movies, apps and games.

Not to mention that the competition is nowhere close to competing with the iPhone/touch universe of accessories, developers, apps and games.

The iPod touch is the future of the iPod. That’s where the $$$ are. I imagine they will keep some version of the shuffle and nano, but the classic will probably be gone within a year.

Ok, to say iPod sales are doomed (essentially) because of the iPhone is ridiculous. The last time I checked, the iPhone only works with AT&T. There are many other carriers out there.

If the iPhone were available on other carriers, I’d (maybe) agree but…

FUDMEISTER!

Ladies and gentlemen… we are pleased to finally celebrate the sale of the 1,000th Zune to… Ted in Dallas, Texas!

If the Zune was so great, more people would own one. Get over it.

When my iPod Shuffle lives out it’s lifespan, I’ll buy another one. Why? because I don’t care to have my iPod Touch strapped to my arm at the gym. And I don’t care to be locked into a phone contract.
My wife will also buy another shuffle when hers expires, and she’d buy another nano too.
The iPod is not in trouble.

Never would even consider on IPOD. I have a Zune and it BURIES the IPOD. Faster, less problems, bigger screen and the option for the subscription service on the Zune Marketplace that Itunes doesn’t offer. 30,000 songs off of Itunes = $30,000. 30,000 songs off of Zune Marketplace = $12 a month. Do the math.

By all rights, you should count sales of the iPhone WITH iPod sales. Add them together and it’s taking off.

As for Daniel in California, sure, you have to pay for USING THE PHONE. Did you expect to get phone service free? The iPhone service costs essentially the same as any other “smartphone,” including the Blackberry, which does NOT use 3G, yet.

I concur with BJM, you seem to have lifted the taxonomy image directly from Wikipedia without sourcing it.

ex ped: I sourced it.

What is the true cost of all this mindless consumption? Apple is another example of Americans eating the flesh of their children.

Ernest Hemingway would be proud.., not.

Kevin Rose is a complete toolbag.

I own two ipods and will likely continue to do so. I own the shuffle because its nice and small, which is perfect for exercising (cycling, running, etc). I also own the ipod touch which isn’t just a music player but is really a mobile computer which I use to check email, surf the web, etc, all while listening to music.

Save the iPod? From what?I read this after watching an episode of Entourage on my video iPod during my lunch hour.

What is going on here is the incredible free publicity machine that the Apple crew long ago learned how to tap.

I have no idea what they have planned, but I’m not selling my stock anytime soon!

While it is great to have an iPhone with built in music player, I rarely use it for that purpose. I still keep an iPod as my music machine for the car and for parties. I would NEVER use my iPhone for such a purpose because I wouldn’t want others to access my data nor do I want to run down the battery. All they need to do to get me to buy another iPod is to give it enough new features that I can’t imagine not having it.

You actually believe that the introduction of the iPhone and it’s effect on iPod sales wasn’t anticipated by Apple? You may have covered Apple since 1982 but you seem to miss the point on a regular basis. Add iPhone sales to the sales rate of current iPods to determine the real growth rate of music devices from Apple. What growth rate to you come up with now?

personally, i don’t see what the big deal is about the ipod or iphone.. they’re both over-priced and incompatible in conjunction with the rest of the world… er, market.

Why not take business elsewhere and forget apple.

PS – iPhone sales will not wipe out the ipod… Many people don’t want a brick strapped to them when they want to hear music :-)

It appears you lifted the images for your taxonomy from Wikipedia without credit. Perhaps an update is in order?

ex ped: It’s credited.

The iPod doesn’t need saving.

They sell a few less because the touch is taking those sales. That is NOT a problem, that’s a good thing.

iPod needs to add a FM/AM tuner to the module as a built-in, not an additional gadget to buy. I can’t justify upgrading my iPod with a larger module since this a feature I enjoy and can obtain from competitors for a cheaper rate. It is just an additional way to nickel-and-dime consumers.

“bring the $299 8 gig iPod touch more in line with the $199 8 gig iPhone 3G”

Huh? Where can I buy an iPhone for $199? Oh, wait, I can’t, because I have to pay $80*12*2 = $1,920 in addition to the $199 for the ATT two-year contracted subscription as well….

So maybe the iPod is still for those people who don’t want to spend the $499 to get the iPhone without the contract?

I use my newly-purchased Shuffle at the gym…. why would I carry around my iPhone there? It’s heavy, I don’t want to be bothered with calls, can’t change music/volume by feel, and it doesn’t clip on my shirt. Love my iPhone, but Shuffle rocks!

Anyone could have picked the date of the event. I could have told you a year ago when they would update the ipods again. Next year it will be september 8th, a tuesday. Does this up my credibility?

I don’t understand why everyone thinks Apple needs to lower the price of the touch. When you buy a touch you don’t get locked into a substantial monthly payment. I’m not saying they won’t lower the price, but I will say there’s a pretty big target market that wants the iPhone without the phone.
Murphy Mac – 100 OS X Screencasts

Yeah you can scrap the iPod for a scrappy iPhone that will give you a fight(especially with 3G). I would hate to see how long the battery will last on an iPhone playing music when its searching for a 3G signal. Maybe an hour or two of battery life. No thanks, I enjoy my envy that will go 4 days without a charge, but it doesn’t have all the glitz and glamour. The Dare on the other hand is a much sweeter device, but of course there is no Apple logo on it to spruce it up a little.

huge type in your graph – last bar is supposed to be 2008 2Q? not 2004?

ex ped: Fixed now. Thanks for the catch.

Much depends on how you use your iPod. I use mine 2 ways:

1. ‘walk around the block’, where I need 1/2 hour’s worth of pre-selected music or audio (lately I’ve been listening to an iTunes U set of lectures on Virgil’s “Aeneid,” fascinating stuff.)

2. long distance traveling (airplane or car), where what I want is most, if not all, of my music with me. (I have about 70gb in CDs with some audio books and lectures/podcasts.) Sometimes I want to listen to J.S. Bach, and sometimes I want to listen to J. Tull. And since I’ll be listening for many hours at a stretch (on the road/in the airplane seat or sitting in the hotel room), large capacity is more important than long battery life. (I need 5 hrs to support a transcontinental flight.)

Kudos to Apple for supporting multiple usage models with the family of iPods.

dave

I’d prefer to wait and see what Grand Wizard Jobs has up his capacious sleeve.