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Is iPod the Razor or the Blade?
Kelly McNeill writes "Robert Cringely has another update to his 'I, Cringely' series. In this piece, Cringely analyzes the business model of the iPod and how it compares it to the age old, marketing 101 'give away the razor and make money on the blades' business model. In his editorial, he demonstrates that Apple one-upped Gillette by making money on both blades and razors. The article is structured in a back and forth dialog with one of his readers who provides a very interesting analysis of the direction that Apple will be going with its rumored movie download store and how it relates to the Mac mini. On the same note, osViews has an editorial about Apple's direction in the movie download business as well, which suggests that there is evidence to suggest that Apple will use satellite networks for its Movie download store."
Personally I think IPod is the stubble.
Take it from someone who's attempted to shave with their IPod. It is neither razor or blade.
I'm a big tall mofo.
Could it be that the iPod is neither the razor nor the blade, and that the razor/blade business model doesn't apply?
I could ask you the same question...
The end result is that I carry around the same piece of hardware as a 19 year old sorority girl.
Assuming that you're a dude, that's a very interesting statement.
-mkb
Now this piece of hardware... does it take Lithium Ion batteries or Double D?
No no...the music is the razor handle...its relatively inexpensive (or even free) and lasts forever...the iPod is the blade: its gets irritating (battery life) if you don't replace it every 18 months and costs about 50% more than you think it should.
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