Speak for yourself, I prefer to take my entire music collection with me in the car. I've taken my (40 GB) iPod on every roadtrip since I bought it. It's great to have my entire music collection with me: I never know what I'll be in the mood for while I'm on the road. I have a friend who loathes iPods, but still sticks with them because no other manufacturer makes a device of comparable quality and capacity.
When you use the words "On the contrary", you're supposed to say something to the contrary of what has been said.
Such as explaining that the most expensive iPod is only $350, not $400? Or that the battery replacement service is only $15 more than the suggested price of a replacement battery? If $15 is "much more", you have greater concerns than which MP3 player to buy.
Yes, I trust Adobe's software and by extension, Adobe. In the years I have used Photoshop, it has not crashed on me once. I have only limited experience using GIMP, but it has crashed on me several times and still does not contain all the features I require.
Yes, I sometimes use Flash. I care a great deal more about doing my job well than I do about impressing you. Sometimes, I use flash to do that.
Yes, that's right: Apple was the solution to my problem. Get over yourself and your arbitrary anti-Apple stance.
What capacity is your portable music player? Is it comparable to the 80 GB iPod? I've noticed that many manufacturers are not competent enough to manufacture similarly sized devices.
That's ok, they're competent in other areas (plastic battery holders, for example...)
On the contrary: the most expensive iPod, the 80 GB 20 hour model, costs $350. The battery replacement service is $65 or free if your iPod is within warranty period (one year).
Most other manufacturers of comparably sized digital music players have only a 90 day warranty period and a $30-$50 cost for battery replacement. For $15 more per battery replacement (a rare occurrence), I could get my preferred product.
Agreed. Since Apple altered the design of the iPod Shuffle, it has no advantage over other small flash-based solutions. However, I originally had larger (30 GB+) models in mind.
Yeah, they decided to keep the Wenger brand active. Some people prefer Wenger knives over Victorinox (I'm guessing ones who use the toothpick and tweezers more than the knife itself.)
"And which car has the "best" reputation?"
Good point. However, of current digital music player manufacturers, only iriver has a reputation like that of Apple's. Most of the others are mid-nineties Skodas to Apple's late-nineties BMW.
"The iPod is a fad. When it ceases to be a fad other brands will become equally trusted names."
My belief is that iPod is currently being treated as a fad and will eventually cease to be treated as a fad. Not because it becomes less popular, but because it's been around long enough that "fad" hardly describes something that's been a leading consumer goods item for at least a decade (iPod has already been around and popular for half that time).
Your prediction is that consumers will stop listening to iPods and start using other players more. my prediction is that if Apple can build/keep a reputation as a reliable manufacturer, its iPod brand stands the best chance of all current brands to become the Levi Jeans of digital music players.
It's ok for you to think differently, we're making a prediction here!
(BTW, I own 3 pairs of Levis. I'm 22. They're still a trusted brand among youth today.)
Excellent, thanks for the info. For other Slashdotters, here's some data from Creative's site. It's significantly larger than the latest iPod Shuffle but offers some desirable features.
The iPod is a digital music player, one brand amongst an increasing number of similar devices on the market, which is also what the article is about (iPod maintaining popularity over other digital music players). Apple's ability to keep an edge over other manufacturers depends not on any current trend or fad but upon their ability to become a trusted name brand.
Of course, it's possible for more than one trusted brand to sell a similar product. My examples were only examples. For a long time, Victorinox was not the only official manufacturer of the Swiss Army knife; they recently acquired their long-time consumer competitor Wenger (BTW, my watch is a Wenger: a younger, less known watch brand than Timex but one I still trust on the reputation they've grown in their short lifetime). Silva also make fine compasses, etc. Most Buck knives I've seen are huntsman's/fisherman's knives, but the principal stands.
"Times change. When they do, viable, respected competitors enter the market."
This is exactly my point: in order for Apple to keep their market lead, they need to keep their existing customers happy. Right now, I'm worried that they're starting to pay less attention to their customer service while they concentrate more and more on R&D. Ultimately, I think consumers will go with whatever brand has the best reputation. If they hear bad stories about iPod, they may shy away from the device. If they hear excellent stories about iPod, their decision may be made easier.
On the contrary, it's an important distinction: the fad is the rush to buy iPod and is not matched by a rush to market the device itself. A device such as the digital music player that has the potential to become a commonplace commodity cannot be killed by fad consumerism alone.
Which is fine if you don't mind a portable product a quarter of the capacity, four times the thickness, less than a third of the battery life (per charge), and nowhere near the warranty coverage of the iPod 80 GB. (I won't mention video support as I happen to think it's a useless feature.) Even taking into account the $25 savings every few years, iriver's H10 doesn't seem to have much to offer in comparison.
The (discontinued?) H20 didn't feature a user-replaceable battery, good to know the new H10s do.
Which is your MP3 player and are its specs and battery life comparable to those of any of Apple's current iPod models? I'm guessing it's one of the older iriver models? iriver has since started using a battery system comparable to the one Apple uses in iPod.
Apple actively protects the iPod name. Big problems will arise for any company that uses the name "iPod" for their MP3 player device.
The beauty of digital media is that Apple has already done that: iPod currently plays AAC, MP3, Audible Audio, AIFF, and WAV. The only current format missing from this list that I strongly desire Apple to add (and you can sign a petition here) is OGG Vorbis.
No, but it's better than having a dead product without having the ability to replace its battery. iriver recently started using a similar battery system to Apple; even though their warranty covers less material for less time, they offer no battery replacement service. All batteries die, at least Apple has a system under which you can replace yours.
I don't use Apple products because I believe the company is small, I use Apple products because my research indicated that theirs were better products for my purposes.
I needed a new laptop. Windows was frustrating me and I wanted to switch to a Unix-like system anyway. I needed to use the following commercial tools: Adobe Photoshop, Macromedia Fireworks (as it then was), Macromedia Freehand (as it then was), Macromedia Flash (as it then was). Wine was not officially supported by those companies and would result in slowdown. Gimp and Inkscape were not viable alternatives as they did not contain many of the features I use most often (especially dynamic layer effects, which is still missing.) OS X was officially supported by both Adobe and Macromedia. I went with a PowerBook, and couldn't be happier with my decision. I still keep tabs on Linux, especially Ubuntu and its child distros, but in the meantime I have a solution that works well.
I'm getting pretty fed up with PC users who take personal offense at Apple and who assume that many or most Apple users are Apple users because of some idealistic view of the company rather than the sheer pragmatism that led so many of us away from Windows without the ditching commercial products we trust.
Out of curiosity, which other brands offer a similar service? I have a feeling the brand I stick with will be the one to offer the best post-purchase support. For one thing, it shows confidence in their product.
Slashdot Mirror
Speak for yourself, I prefer to take my entire music collection with me in the car. I've taken my (40 GB) iPod on every roadtrip since I bought it. It's great to have my entire music collection with me: I never know what I'll be in the mood for while I'm on the road. I have a friend who loathes iPods, but still sticks with them because no other manufacturer makes a device of comparable quality and capacity.
Into a device with an 80 GB capacity?
Such as explaining that the most expensive iPod is only $350, not $400? Or that the battery replacement service is only $15 more than the suggested price of a replacement battery? If $15 is "much more", you have greater concerns than which MP3 player to buy.
And does your MP3 player also have an 80 GB capacity?
Yes, I trust Adobe's software and by extension, Adobe. In the years I have used Photoshop, it has not crashed on me once. I have only limited experience using GIMP, but it has crashed on me several times and still does not contain all the features I require.
Yes, I sometimes use Flash. I care a great deal more about doing my job well than I do about impressing you. Sometimes, I use flash to do that.
Yes, that's right: Apple was the solution to my problem. Get over yourself and your arbitrary anti-Apple stance.
80 GB capacity?
You have your tongue in the wrong cheek.
What capacity is your portable music player? Is it comparable to the 80 GB iPod? I've noticed that many manufacturers are not competent enough to manufacture similarly sized devices.
That's ok, they're competent in other areas (plastic battery holders, for example...)
On the contrary: the most expensive iPod, the 80 GB 20 hour model, costs $350. The battery replacement service is $65 or free if your iPod is within warranty period (one year).
Most other manufacturers of comparably sized digital music players have only a 90 day warranty period and a $30-$50 cost for battery replacement. For $15 more per battery replacement (a rare occurrence), I could get my preferred product.
I do indeed rock.
Agreed. Since Apple altered the design of the iPod Shuffle, it has no advantage over other small flash-based solutions. However, I originally had larger (30 GB+) models in mind.
Of those who do, none offer a device with a capacity comparable to that of an 80 GB iPod.
Yeah, they decided to keep the Wenger brand active. Some people prefer Wenger knives over Victorinox (I'm guessing ones who use the toothpick and tweezers more than the knife itself.)
"And which car has the "best" reputation?"
Good point. However, of current digital music player manufacturers, only iriver has a reputation like that of Apple's. Most of the others are mid-nineties Skodas to Apple's late-nineties BMW.
I'm interested to see how Microsoft fares.
"The iPod is a fad. When it ceases to be a fad other brands will become equally trusted names."
My belief is that iPod is currently being treated as a fad and will eventually cease to be treated as a fad. Not because it becomes less popular, but because it's been around long enough that "fad" hardly describes something that's been a leading consumer goods item for at least a decade (iPod has already been around and popular for half that time).
Your prediction is that consumers will stop listening to iPods and start using other players more. my prediction is that if Apple can build/keep a reputation as a reliable manufacturer, its iPod brand stands the best chance of all current brands to become the Levi Jeans of digital music players.
It's ok for you to think differently, we're making a prediction here!
(BTW, I own 3 pairs of Levis. I'm 22. They're still a trusted brand among youth today.)
Excellent, thanks for the info. For other Slashdotters, here's some data from Creative's site. It's significantly larger than the latest iPod Shuffle but offers some desirable features.
I mentioned video support in parentheses. I do not index data within parentheses.
The iPod is a digital music player, one brand amongst an increasing number of similar devices on the market, which is also what the article is about (iPod maintaining popularity over other digital music players). Apple's ability to keep an edge over other manufacturers depends not on any current trend or fad but upon their ability to become a trusted name brand.
Of course, it's possible for more than one trusted brand to sell a similar product. My examples were only examples. For a long time, Victorinox was not the only official manufacturer of the Swiss Army knife; they recently acquired their long-time consumer competitor Wenger (BTW, my watch is a Wenger: a younger, less known watch brand than Timex but one I still trust on the reputation they've grown in their short lifetime). Silva also make fine compasses, etc. Most Buck knives I've seen are huntsman's/fisherman's knives, but the principal stands.
"Times change. When they do, viable, respected competitors enter the market."
This is exactly my point: in order for Apple to keep their market lead, they need to keep their existing customers happy. Right now, I'm worried that they're starting to pay less attention to their customer service while they concentrate more and more on R&D. Ultimately, I think consumers will go with whatever brand has the best reputation. If they hear bad stories about iPod, they may shy away from the device. If they hear excellent stories about iPod, their decision may be made easier.
On the contrary, it's an important distinction: the fad is the rush to buy iPod and is not matched by a rush to market the device itself. A device such as the digital music player that has the potential to become a commonplace commodity cannot be killed by fad consumerism alone.
Why "Oops"?
Which is fine if you don't mind a portable product a quarter of the capacity, four times the thickness, less than a third of the battery life (per charge), and nowhere near the warranty coverage of the iPod 80 GB. (I won't mention video support as I happen to think it's a useless feature.) Even taking into account the $25 savings every few years, iriver's H10 doesn't seem to have much to offer in comparison.
The (discontinued?) H20 didn't feature a user-replaceable battery, good to know the new H10s do.
Which is your MP3 player and are its specs and battery life comparable to those of any of Apple's current iPod models? I'm guessing it's one of the older iriver models? iriver has since started using a battery system comparable to the one Apple uses in iPod.
Apple actively protects the iPod name. Big problems will arise for any company that uses the name "iPod" for their MP3 player device.
The beauty of digital media is that Apple has already done that: iPod currently plays AAC, MP3, Audible Audio, AIFF, and WAV. The only current format missing from this list that I strongly desire Apple to add (and you can sign a petition here) is OGG Vorbis.
No, but it's better than having a dead product without having the ability to replace its battery. iriver recently started using a similar battery system to Apple; even though their warranty covers less material for less time, they offer no battery replacement service. All batteries die, at least Apple has a system under which you can replace yours.
I don't use Apple products because I believe the company is small, I use Apple products because my research indicated that theirs were better products for my purposes.
I needed a new laptop. Windows was frustrating me and I wanted to switch to a Unix-like system anyway. I needed to use the following commercial tools: Adobe Photoshop, Macromedia Fireworks (as it then was), Macromedia Freehand (as it then was), Macromedia Flash (as it then was). Wine was not officially supported by those companies and would result in slowdown. Gimp and Inkscape were not viable alternatives as they did not contain many of the features I use most often (especially dynamic layer effects, which is still missing.) OS X was officially supported by both Adobe and Macromedia. I went with a PowerBook, and couldn't be happier with my decision. I still keep tabs on Linux, especially Ubuntu and its child distros, but in the meantime I have a solution that works well.
I'm getting pretty fed up with PC users who take personal offense at Apple and who assume that many or most Apple users are Apple users because of some idealistic view of the company rather than the sheer pragmatism that led so many of us away from Windows without the ditching commercial products we trust.
Fortunately, Apple offers a battery replacement service for out of warranty iPods.
Out of curiosity, which other brands offer a similar service? I have a feeling the brand I stick with will be the one to offer the best post-purchase support. For one thing, it shows confidence in their product.
Yes, they're tough little nuts to crack.