Apple's chokehold on the digital music player industry.

[Dingo Jellybean]

Okay, so the other topic was primarily based on who owns an iPod. This topic, stemmed mainly from personal interest, is just general discussion about the future of the iPod.

I own a 15GB 3G iPod and am happy with it. However, I think competitors like Rio, Creative, Dell, and Virgin can't really put much of a dent on the market iPod has control over. They try to add new features to it, but the main selling point of the iPod is fashion and function. You not only see people with the white earbuds, they're holding their iPods out in public. The only competitor, I think, that has a chance is Microsoft. They can afford to fail in this type of business.

There are many MP3 players like the iRiver H10 and Zen Touch that offers much longer battery life and features. But that click wheel is just so easy to use that there hasn't been a device similar to match it in terms of ease of use. The Zen Touch has a built in FM transmitter, but it still can't sell too much.

The iTunes store, which their music can only be used on iPods and strictly prohibits(forcefully, not legally) other protected files not from iTunes to be used on iPods. I think once Microsoft steps in, you'll definitely see a price drop from the iPods, Microsoft can afford to offer the same features for a lot less. The Dell Pocket DJ, which is similar to the iPod Mini has 1GB more of space, longer battery life, much more features and is $50 less. It doesn't sell as well as the iPod since it's interface isn't nearly as polished and doesn't have the look that people want...even though it's just as big as the iPod Mini.

I'm anxious to see how much longer the iPod can hold onto the market, since I'm anxious to be able to play movies with longer battery life for a similar to cheaper price on a similar size device.

So yeah, I don't expect many comments from this...but eh. I just felt like talking about it.

[krissy]

always thought it was kinda dumb looking to be honest

[Meow]

The trick to marketing isn't so much a material prowess over your competitors as a conceptual, cultural marketshare. Apple may not hold the mp3-player sphere in the long run - unless you're Coca-Cola, your product has not likely replaced a neurotransmitter in the world's collective brainstem - but for now, Apple unofficially owns the rights to the "stylish luxury music connoisseur" culture module. People who want that will go to the iPod. Even as other players out-gigabyte it, or make ineffective attempts to out-style it (iRiver, Zen Touch), iPod will own its cultureshare until someone absolutely kills it for performance. Which, like you say, would probably be Microsoft. And even then, Apple has fair command of the suave, modern techie market, so it'll be less of a killing than the introduction of competition.

My Mac-obsessed friend and i often exchange bemused verbal blows over his Apple loyalty. i wonder if i will burn in the eighth level of hell for oblique defense of Microsoft.

[Zell's Fists of Fury]

Wait, so if I do get that iPod for Christmas, I'm going to have to re-download and pay for all my music off iTunes? Gay. I'll be taking it back.

[Mirage]

Naw, I'm pretty sure you can upload all your existing music to the iPod through iTunes. But it's not really a problem is it? Surely, you own the albums for all your music and can just rip them again with iTunes. :P

And I don't think I would buy an iPod. I'd look for something with vorbis support aswell, It's not fun having to convert lots of files.
Creative's hard disk based devices aren't selling too bad either, I think. But probably nowhere as much as the iPod.

[Rinoabella]

In my opinion, Apple has triumphed because of their clever (and blatantly obvious) use of advertising. This includes:

Branding it the iPod
A sleek look with alternative candy colours.
Funky ads
Popular music
Marketing slogans such as iWish, iWant etc. *subliminal messages (not)*

They make it seem like it's as important for a young adult to have as their mobile phone. Simple, but it works.

edit: I kinda feel sorry for their opposition. Apple has basically named the mp3 player their own. I have never seen another mp3 player advertisement on TV aside from theirs.

[Dingo Jellybean]

The trick to marketing isn't so much a material prowess over your competitors as a conceptual, cultural marketshare. Apple may not hold the mp3-player sphere in the long run - unless you're Coca-Cola, your product has not likely replaced a neurotransmitter in the world's collective brainstem - but for now, Apple unofficially owns the rights to the "stylish luxury music connoisseur" culture module. People who want that will go to the iPod. Even as other players out-gigabyte it, or make ineffective attempts to out-style it (iRiver, Zen Touch), iPod will own its cultureshare until someone absolutely kills it for performance. Which, like you say, would probably be Microsoft. And even then, Apple has fair command of the suave, modern techie market, so it'll be less of a killing than the introduction of competition.

My Mac-obsessed friend and i often exchange bemused verbal blows over his Apple loyalty. i wonder if i will burn in the eighth level of hell for oblique defense of Microsoft.

It's what's trendy right now. Do I think Apple can keep it up? Only if Microsoft keeps out. But what Apple has done was introduced hard-drive MP3 players as the mainstream over flash MP3 players and CD players.


Wait, so if I do get that iPod for Christmas, I'm going to have to re-download and pay for all my music off iTunes? Gay. I'll be taking it back.

No. If you have an iPod, the only songs you can't play on it are songs purchased from Real, Napster, MSN, etc. You can still rip all your music from CDs(anywhere from 16kbps to over 200kbps compression) onto your iPod and any non-protected MP3/WMA/WAV files you may have.



In my opinion, Apple has triumphed because of their clever (and blatantly obvious) use of advertising. This includes:

Branding it the iPod
A sleek look with alternative candy colours.
Funky ads
Popular music
Marketing slogans such as iWish, iWant etc. *subliminal messages (not)*

They make it seem like it's as important for a young adult to have as their mobile phone. Simple, but it works.

edit: I kinda feel sorry for their opposition. Apple has basically named the mp3 player their own. I have never seen another mp3 player advertisement on TV aside from theirs.

Not only does it appeal to the young generation, a lot of adults want one too. The advertising is a huge success for apple. If you listened to that Outkast(or was it Black Eyed Peas?) song on that apple ad a year ago, it just made you want one. When I was in Australia 1.5 years ago, I just saw ads for it at bus stations. People rocking out to music on such a small device.

But Apple is coming out with a Flash iPod, or Flashpod, or iFlash...whatever they want to call it. It'll be cheaper too, around $170 for like, 2-4GB. Though hard-drive MP3 players primarily belong to Apple, flash MP3 players still account for more than half of MP3 players sold total. Apple should try to know it's ground before it steps into quicksand.

[-N-]

The standard iPod is tough to beat, but Minis are seriously overpriced and competition is serious for the so-called midsize mp3 player market (the single-digit GB range). There are some people that just don't have 15 GB of music. That's the only HD-based mp3 player turf Apple has to really worry about fighting over right now. Solution: Knock down Mini prices about $50 to get back into the game.

[Dingo Jellybean]

The standard iPod is tough to beat, but Minis are seriously overpriced and competition is serious for the so-called midsize mp3 player market (the single-digit GB range). There are some people that just don't have 15 GB of music. That's the only HD-based mp3 player turf Apple has to really worry about fighting over right now. Solution: Knock down Mini prices about $50 to get back into the game.

Yeah, the iPod Mini is $250, yet for $50 more you get 5 times the space. Many people(myself included) do not have tens of GBs of music. I don't even have 1GB of music. But it is growing, I guarantee you that. :)

If the iPod Mini was $150, I'd snatch it quicker that you can see. But I do agree with you, when the iPod Mini came into the market at $250, Apple did dig itself a bit of a hole since this is where Rio and Dell can chime in. Proof? The most popular model this X-Mas is the 20GB model. That's the only model Apple is having trouble replacing. It should tell Apple to either lower the price or take it off the market, and the former is probably best.

I also want to note that the iPod Mini is NOT compatible with many accessories and features the standard iPod has. But I do want a green iPod mini. :D

[Rinoabella]

Yeah, the iPod mini is basically a lower-capacity version of any regular ipod covered in candy and overpriced. I guess it's for those who aren't Apple junkies, and more for the general public.

The only downside to the regular iPods, is that it's not easy to change their look/colour. It'd be awesome if you could flip face plates or something instead of silicon iSkins...they look and feel non-adequate, to me.

[Dingo Jellybean]

Yeah, the iPod mini is basically a lower-capacity version of any regular ipod covered in candy and overpriced. I guess it's for those who aren't Apple junkies, and more for the general public.

The only downside to the regular iPods, is that it's not easy to change their look/colour. It'd be awesome if you could flip face plates or something instead of silicon iSkins...they look and feel non-adequate, to me.

The iSkins work great to be honest. They glow in the dark and protect the iPod. I also have an iShade, so my iPod is a bright neon green. I actually prefer them over faceplates, since my iPod is pretty scratched up.

[Yamaneko]

People aren't <i>that</i> dumb. Apple is either going to have to add features and drop the price to its product or face being put out of business. One can only be stylish for so long before they start to realize they're being screwed.

[DMKA]

Wait wait wait...so I can't just put all my exsisting music on an iPod? Wtf? That sucks...I'll just keep burning CDs, thanks.

I thought iPod's were cool and you could put your own music on it...now I don't want one. ;__;

[Yamaneko]

You can still rip all your music from CDs(anywhere from 16kbps to over 200kbps compression) onto your iPod and any non-protected MP3/WMA/WAV files you may have.

[Doomgaze]

Wait wait wait...so I can't just put all my exsisting music on an iPod? Wtf? That sucks...I'll just keep burning CDs, thanks.

I thought iPod's were cool and you could put your own music on it...now I don't want one. ;__;

If you haven't been buying music from online stores (other than iTunes) it would be fine.

[DMKA]

So in other words I can transfer the music from my 125+ CDs?

[Lindy]

I find this amusing because the people who wear the obvious white earphones and carry around and show off their iPods get mugged and have them stolen, yet I never get a second glance with my fairly un-obvious MP3 player that looks more akin to a walkman and my generic headphones.

Who's the real winner?

[Yamaneko]

The thief?

[edczxcvbnm]

Thats what I was going to say Yams :(

[Denmark]

I was debating getting an iPod.

but then I remembered that I'm poor, and there are other things that I wanna spend my Christmas money on, and that my CD player is fairly new and still works.

the only problem with the CD player is the ability to only play one CD at a time.

as for the GB issue, I have 1.8 GB of songs on my computer right now. 653 songs, almost 38 hours of music. average song length: 3 minutes, 49 seconds.

[Dingo Jellybean]

I was debating getting an iPod.

but then I remembered that I'm poor, and there are other things that I wanna spend my Christmas money on, and that my CD player is fairly new and still works.

the only problem with the CD player is the ability to only play one CD at a time.

as for the GB issue, I have 1.8 GB of songs on my computer right now. 653 songs, almost 38 hours of music. average song length: 3 minutes, 49 seconds.

You should probably wait till Apple comes out with Flash iPods. They're in the 2GB-4GB range that costs around $130-$170. But we still love you, regardless if you're poor.



I find this amusing because the people who wear the obvious white earphones and carry around and show off their iPods get mugged and have them stolen, yet I never get a second glance with my fairly un-obvious MP3 player that looks more akin to a walkman and my generic headphones.

I use a pair of Sony high quality neodymium headphones, but they're blue. No one knows I have an iPod...except in the dark, that's when my iSkin shines so bright through my clothing because the skin absorbs so much light. -_-

[Craig]

I thought about getting an iPod this year, but now i'm getting a MiniDisc player instead.

[Yamaneko]

We could all wait for the PSP. :D

[Dingo Jellybean]

We could all wait for the PSP. :D

Joking or not, that deserves a ban.

[Rinoabella]

I find this amusing because the people who wear the obvious white earphones and carry around and show off their iPods get mugged and have them stolen...
Quite right! I need alternative headphones >_>

[edczxcvbnm]

Just hook it up to a boom box and go rockin' down the street like back in the 80s. Trust me...it'll be rad.

[Dingo Jellybean]

http://www.liebography.com/ipod.htm

Introducing new, special edition iPods! Now U2 won't feel so special anymore.

EDIT: Damn, these things are hilarious. Here's a Michael Bolton one, I just laughed my ass off.

http://www.peteykins.com/Bolton/AppleStore.html

http://www.airbagindustries.com/bucket/ipod/

Oh man...these things are so http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gifhttp://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gifhttp://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gifhttp://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gifing hilarious.

[Lindy]

The thief?
I was suggesting me, since the thief has to deal with an iPod, whereas I never will.

[MecaKane]

Quite right! I need alternative headphones >_>
White headphones suck, anyway. Sony headphones are where it's at, I see a lot more people with black ones with the flashy piece of metal on the sides than the white ipod headphones. Hell, why not just get a 20GB Network Walkman, Sony's been doing that for years, much better than apple.

[Yamaneko]

Didn't the Sony mp3 players come out recently?

[Rye]

Yeah, Sony Walkman/mp3 player in one. I'm getting one of those, and it'll be good since I'm really not allowed to download music so I could use it for the few songs I can sneak on there. And plus, I have a lot of CDs to listen too.

[Rinoabella]

I see a lot more people with black ones with the flashy piece of metal on the sides than the white ipod headphones.
Picture of that please!

[MecaKane]

A MP3-CD player, you mean? Or a standard CD-walkman, with a built in harddrive?
The MP3-CD players came out like last year or the year before, I got one for christmas last year, awesome because you can compress the mp3s into atracfiles so you can fit almost twice as many on, not as convient as burning mp3cds though.

EDIT: headphone pic for Kelly:
Those didn't come with my MP3-CD player, though. The ones that came were just like that only the silver was black, and they weren't as good, and they broke after four months.

[Erdrick Holmes]

I'm gonna be getting an MP3 player soon anyway, I really don't want an iPod because I heard you need to subscribe to iTunes to upload music to it. I'm just going to rip music from the CDs I bought and put them on my MP3 player.

[Rinoabella]

EDIT: headphone pic for Kelly:
Those didn't come with my MP3-CD player, though. The ones that came were just like that only the silver was black, and they weren't as good, and they broke after four months.
Ooh stylish and sophisticated. I like.

[Yamaneko]

Most mp3 players require you to download their software to upload music to the player.

[Denmark]

http://www.liebography.com/ipod.htm

Introducing new, special edition iPods! Now U2 won't feel so special anymore.

I want the Snoop Dogg one. But would that be an iPizzod?

[Dingo Jellybean]

I want the Snoop Dogg one. But would that be an iPizzod?

Below is posted from another thread. :) Why get a Snoop one when you can get a Bush iPod?(courtesy of Dingo Jellybean)

Before I you go on, view this:

http://www.apple.com/ipod/u2/

Below is just a parody of the U2 iPod created by me. Don't use without my permission, but feedback is nice, negative or positive.

http://www.geocities.com/dingojellybean2/bushpod.html

[Rinoabella]

Just a question: Apple VS Microsoft?

[Dingo Jellybean]

Just a question: Apple VS Microsoft?

Yeah, in the coming months, expect Microsoft to come out with their hard drive MP3 player that's expected to seriously contend with Apple.

[Craig]

Microsoft > Apple. Are MiniDisc players good?

[Dr Unne]

But that click wheel is just so easy to use that there hasn't been a device similar to match it in terms of ease of use.

Definitely a matter of opinion. I tried to use someone's iPod at work and I couldn't figure out the wheel. Then again I find a command line to be a very user-friendly interface; I'm probably not normal in that regard. iPod doesn't have most things I'm looking for in a movie player. It doesn't support the full range of codecs I'd want (OGG?), and I don't like things you can't tinker with. Not even being able to take the battery out would drive me crazy. I don't like having choices taken away from me, things like how I want my music organized. I generally like Macs, at least the look of them, but only the software, not the hardware. Mac hardware tends to look terrible. (Though they have nice monitors.) I like the look of this thing better for example: http://www.nomadworld.com/products/muvo_2_15/specs.asp I tried to use iTunes software, and it makes me sad.

I said it in another thread, the iPod is a status-symbol for a lot of people. They probably sell a lot for that reason if for no other. In economics class the professor said that most things have lower demand when the price is high, but some few things have higher demand BECAUSE the price is high, or because it has a brand name on it, because people want the status associated with it. Cars and shoes for example. MP3 players also perhaps.

[Yrkoon]

that wee muvo2 creative is pretty sweet got one about a month ago and its pretty impressive i just hope the 1 inch hardrives take off and in a few years time i can buy a bigger capacity one for a cheap price :P

also it is very quick and easy to select what folder/album i want to play and i dont need to install any software to transfer data to a pc or to the muvo2 as it shows up as a external hardrive when it is connected to the pc which is very handy especially in a college where u cant install software which i beleive the ipod requires u to do before u can transfer data :)

[Dingo Jellybean]

After seeing numerous people get iPods for Christmas, now I don't feel so special anymore. :'(

I even have an older 3G iPod...so now I'm left out of the hip crowd who have 4G iPods. :'(

Oh well...at least I earned my iPod. *cries*

[escobert]

I actually got a iPod today the 20 gig. I love it :D I put 6 CDs on it and havent even used a gig yet :D.