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Apple Creates new iPod and Macintosh Divisions

Posted by pudge on from the shades-of-newton-except-successful dept.

KH2002 writes "According to a New York Times/Reuters report, Apple is creating a separate division for the iPod. Apple Senior VP Hardware Engineering, Jon Rubenstein, will head the iPod division, and Executive VP of Worldwide Sales and Operations Tim Cook will lead the Mac division. The report quotes a spokesman as saying, 'This organizational refinement will focus our talent and resources even more precisely on our industry-leading Macintosh computers and the wildly successful iPod.'"

4 of 146 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Better focus or Mac to be axed? by pauljlucas · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Apple decreases the emphasis on its Computer division to focus more and more effort on the Music side. The Mac as we know it disappears.
    As nice as it is, the iPod is pretty much a one-trick pony. Do you really think Apple could sustain itself on the (relatively small) profit margins of the iPod alone? Additionally, iTunes and the iTMS are presumeably staying in the Mac division. The FireWire sync of one's entire music library fom iTunes is the killer feature of the iPod. The iPod division will still have to work closely with the Mac division.

    What I'm hoping will happen with the iPod division will be that they will start making their own iPod accessories. What I really want is a car head unit that has a slot that one just pops the iPod into. Current iPod adapter solutions are all crap and don't measure up to Apple design standards.

    --
    If you reply, do so only to what I explicitly wrote. If I didn't write it, don't assume or infer it.
  2. Possible motive: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Besides moolah. When I read this report I thought it may be a response to Apple Records pressure and a preemptive action to divorce the music selling business the content creation side of the equation.

  3. Re:Better focus or Mac to be axed? by MacGarnicle · · Score: 5, Informative

    The thing that I find the most notable about this is that Jon Rubinstein (not going to check the spelling, sorry) is the guy that everyone lauds for the iMac, the tiBook & the alBook, the cheesegrater, and the iPod's excellent design. You'll note how four out of those five items are Macintoshes and not tiny consumer electronic devices.

    Are you sure you're not confusing Jon Rubinstein with Jonathan Ive? Ive is usually credited for the design excellence you mentioned.

  4. Re:Maybe now we'll get ogg support? by MacGod · · Score: 5, Funny
    [OGG support]is the one thing keeping me from getting an iPod tomorrow.

    See, for me it's support of Sun Audio (AU), IMA ADPCM and PSION sound formats (see details of these here)

    How dare Apple mock my insistence on using these obscure^H^H^H^H^H^H^H highly reputable formats!

    --
    "Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one " -Albert Einstein