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iPods Headed for the Grave
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RainyDayInterns
07/26/09

In reply to iPods Headed for the Grave
Apple's got it right. If they are afraid to eat their own lunch...someone else will do it for them. This is the way of the "innovator's dilemma."

Here is a link who want to learn more about Clayton Christensen's research on the topic:
http://www.rainydaymagazine.com/RDM2007/RDMHomeMay2007.htm#Christensen
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Spoony Bard
07/24/09

In reply to iPods Headed for the Grave
I'm still waiting for an iPod that will hold my 220 GB library. Guess I'll be waiting a looooong time.

Then again, I'm pretty happy with my 16GB iPhone most of the time. But every so often I want to listen to something random, and alas, it's at home.
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fanboy.took.my.star
07/24/09

In reply to iPods Headed for the Grave
are people finally learning that you can buy mp3 players that dont require additional software?
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brandeis1
07/24/09

In reply to iPods Headed for the Grave
I work at a 3rd party resale store, and we just keep dropping the nano prices lower and lower. We can barely give the things away, let alone sell them.
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spikespeigel
07/24/09

In reply to iPods Headed for the Grave
I guess I'm in the minority here. The only reason I haven't gotten an iPod Touch is because of storage capacity. I have an 80 gig Classic, and of that, I've got about 10 gigs of free space. I ripped my entire collection onto it, and have been happy ever since. If the Touch ever gets into the 100 GB range, then I'll make the switch. But until then, I'm not going to pick which CDs to put on my iPod. I want them all on there.
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shocker
07/24/09

In reply to iPods Headed for the Grave
A decent music library ripped in Apple lossless requires 80G minimum. Until the Touch passes that mark, I think that the Classic will be here to stay.
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Xeno
07/24/09

@shocker: I think your definition of decent and my definition of decent are different things.
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Edited by Xeno at 07/24/09 2:03 PM Xeno was starred Xeno was unstarred

shocker
07/24/09

@Xeno:

Ok, I'll concede my definition of "decent" = most people's definition of "good sized".

Apple Lossless ~ 25 MB per song
12 songs = 300 MB per album
At around 250 albums, your storage is petered out.

And, with that, I finally had to retire my 3yo 80G iPod a few months ago for a newer one with more storage.
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strider_mt2k
07/24/09

In reply to iPods Headed for the Grave
All kind of stuff heading for the grave lately.

iPods, people who make iPods...all kindsa stuff.
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UnderLoK
07/24/09

In reply to iPods Headed for the Grave
My wife has a Touch (1st gen) and I have an old school 1st gen Nano that I love. No it doesn’t hold my whole library, no it doesn’t play videos, yes it only plays music… I do this crazy thing with my music… I setup these things called play lists which have mixes (think old school mixed tapes kids) that I like. If I get sick of the music on my Nano I plug it in, choose another play list, and bamo I’m good to go.

Honestly, they should have left the Nano as is (obviously raising the memory a bit) and just made it cheaper. The shuffle is garbage and by now I would have to think that the first gen Nano could have gotten down close to the shuffles price point.

I love new gadgets and new tech, but by and large most of it is just more crap for people to buy that they don’t need. I think what helps me is that I have a couple friends who are always the first to get everything. They are like kids, get a new toy play with it for a couple weeks and then discard it. All too often, that is all this crap is good for and while it might be extremely tempting at times, I just remind myself how great it is to be debt free (saving plenty) and that usually puts an end to the temptation.

A guy I know just got a new Touch and when I was talking to him he mentioned how cool it was that it had Wifi… I didn’t say anything, but really I was thinking "so what, wtf good does that do you?! I mean you have a laptop already, a cell phone, and a desktop, wth are you going to do with iPod wifi?!" Seriously, some of this stuff is just garbage. Weeeee cool I have wifi on my iPod… psh
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martini1992
07/24/09

In reply to iPods Headed for the Grave
I hate iTunes which means I hate iPod's in general... If they made an iPod that used the USB Mass Storage Device route that older MP3 players used I'd buy a Nano. I also agree that Apple should drop the Shuffle as it is completely useless in its latest incarnation, and bring the Nano's price down to fill the gap in the market. Putting a camera on the Nano is nearly as bad of an idea as putting a camera on the Shuffle.
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tande04
07/24/09

@martini1992: If they followed the current shuffle convention they'd add the camera to it as a separate accessory that wouldn't work with anything else.
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Mrs. Stephen Fry
07/24/09

In reply to iPods Headed for the Grave
I carry my 32 GB iPhone and my 120GB iPod with me, too. I listen to the iPod at work, and I like to have a larger selection. I'm a music nerd, though.

I have a 4GB Nano (a Christmas gift from my employer) in my car exclusively for podcasts.
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ioos
07/24/09

In reply to iPods Headed for the Grave
While, most the readers on here are probably past the need for one. That doesn't mean the rest of the world is. I'm always surprised at the number of people I see still rocking a RAZR or even a BB and an iPod. People don't like change.
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iwuzbord
07/24/09

In reply to iPods Headed for the Grave
simply put, apple should just elimiate the shuffle. they would lower the price of the nano, making it the true budget ipod. then if they did that, they could lower the price of the ipod touch, to 99,150,199 prices for the 8,16,32GB models respectively. or if they wanted to be more daring and competitive, they could introduce the 64GB model and sell that for 199.
apple making these changes to the ipod line opens the doors for some fierce competition between them and many other rising mp3 player manufacturers.
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SEJerome
07/24/09

@iwuzbord: Agreed. The shuffle made sense when the mini/nano was too expensive to be offered at $100, but that threshold was passed long ago. Dump the shuffle, make the nano as small as you can while still retaining a screen and clickwheel, and call it a day.
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jp182
07/24/09

@SEJerome: the problem with both of your arguments is that you skip over something that the nano can't do that the shuffle can and that is be incredibly lightweight and durable for intense exercise. I was skeptical about the shuffle and then i got last gen's shuffle as a gift for being in a wedding. I LOVE THIS THING NOW!

It is great for when I go running as it is SOOO lightweight compared to my ipod AND if it gets unclipped while I'm running it just dangles from the headphone plug instead of hitting the ground. Add to the fact that if it DID hit the ground, I wouldn't be too concerned since there is no screen to speak of. It's just flat out great for outdoor activities.
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moozicmon
07/24/09

In reply to iPods Headed for the Grave
The Nano does have a place, the gym bag. The click wheel makes it a great work out companion. What it needs is Nike+ support. I couldn't believe they put it in the Ipod Touch but not the Nano. That is a major omission for a product that is pretty ubiquitous at just about any gym.
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tande04
07/24/09

@moozicmon: It does have Nike+ support. It was the first one to have Nike+ support. One of the main reasons I got one.
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ScubaSteveKzoo
07/24/09

@tande04 mile island in the sun: I believe moozicmon is referring to native support. As far as I know, you still need the wireless receiver plugged into the nano to use Nike+. Touch has it built-in.
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tande04
07/24/09

@ScubaSteveKzoo: Yeah I got that after I wrote the comment. Thats another one of those arguments I never really got. The attachment for the nano isn't that complicated that I think its screaming for an integrated solution.
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The Lab
07/24/09

In reply to iPods Headed for the Grave
Users generally need only a small feature set yet are driven as consumers to buy based on feature comparisons. I know a number of people whose needs would be served by a RAZR but they carry a N95. Likewise, the camera on the Nano sets it apart from other traditional MP3 players even though, as Wilson rightly pointed out, few will actually use it. It isn't a pretty strategy, but Apple is playing this on right.
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AtwoodBomb
07/24/09

In reply to iPods Headed for the Grave
The problem is that no one buys them as rapidly as they used to, because Apple updates the featureset every six friggin months. Perhaps if there was a two or 4 year gap between whats new and improved people would be willing to spend their money. I still have a 1st gen touch but havent found a reason to spend another 300$ for a speaker and volume buttons. These features should be in the final product in the firts place.
Feels like Apple rushes model after model to market to make a buck, people are getting fed up. This is what Apple needs to realize in order to succeed. I mean look at the Zune. at least 2 or 3 years for completely different models Zune to Zune HD I mean.
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tande04
07/24/09

@AtwoodBomb: Update time is 1 year at best. Even then it may just be an incremental change for that line.

With the way that tech changes you can't say that they should only be updating every 2 years. Can you imagine if computers did that? Cellphones?

Apple isn't having any trouble selling iPods and certainly shouldn't be taking cues from MS on how to improve.

The issue here is simply that the click wheel is outdated. Thats it.
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Dallifornia
07/24/09

@tande04 mile island in the sun: Yeah, updating specs and electronics is fine, but a full-on replacement? Look at how long the Zune kept the 80/120 design... and Apple goes in a whole new design direction every year for the Nano? I'm sure for some consumers this is frustrating.
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tande04
07/24/09

@Dallifornia: The zune is a terrible terrible comparison. You know why they only had 2 iterations of the zune? 'Cause no one bought the first one and they figured they could change that with the second but they couldn't.

The nano is the exception and even then its not much of an exception. It isn't really a "whole new design direction every year" the 3rd Gen just kinda skewed it going to the "fat" design that didn't go over that well so they went back to what had been the same basic form since the 1G.

All of the lines have stayed basically the same over all. Adding some buttons and features to the 2G touch is hardly a whole new direction any more then adding a camera is a marked difference from the 2G.
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jriga
07/24/09

@Dallifornia: Who cares how long the Zune kept anything? The MS model is not the one that is dominant or world-accepted.

Apple updates frequently, and what they design is sexy - so many people upgrade. But a friend of mine still uses a 1st gen shuffle! It's not like Apple releases something new and all the old ones cease to function!

The real place for your blame is vanity and desire, right? You see the new toy, you want the new toy, you then get angry that it will cost you money to upgrade... but the truth is your 'old' toy is still working just fine.
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Kaiser-Machead
07/24/09

@Dallifornia: Poor sales throughout both generations is the most likely cause.
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tande04
07/24/09

@jriga: Exactly. Thats the point that some people seem to miss. You don't have to upgrade when the new one comes out.

If someone chooses to buy every new iPod when it comes out thats fine. Stupid, but fine.

There are plenty of people rocking 1G iPods (any line) out there. However I know when my 1G touch dies, I'm going to be happier replacing it with a model with current technology then something 3 years outdated already.
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Dallifornia
07/24/09

@tande04 mile island in the sun: Okay, granted. However, what about the iPod Classic? However, to argue that the Nano did not go in an entirely design direction is misguided. How much would it have to change to be considered a whole new direction? It went from slender, to fatty, to an airfoil.
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