iPod Turns 5 - Everyone Gets all Misty-Eyed
Friday, October 20, 2006 by Zoomba | Discussion: WinCustomize News
This time of year, back in 2001, Apple unleashed the little product that would be credited with saving the company from utter ruin, and became an unstoppable force in the portable music player market. The first iPod came on the heels of an announced 22% drop in revenue for Apple Computer, long the last-place contender in the home computer market. With floundering Macintosh computer sales, a new operating system that had only a small dedicated group excited, the company needed something to put it back on top, which their little music player did.
The iPod spawned iTunes, and the iTunes music store which is now one of the most popular channels for digital music distribution, not to mention television and recently movie content. The iPod has seen numerous models and form factors (standard, mini, nano, shuffle) and sales show little sign of slowing. In fact 8.7 million units shipped just during the company's recent fourth fiscal quarter. iPod sales last quarter actually total more than the entirety of Apple Computer made back in October 2001.
Love it or hate it, the iPod is hard to deny as being the 800 pound gorilla in the corner in the portable player market. Companies like Creative, Archos and now Microsoft have been working hard to unseat the king of the hill but have thus far been unsuccessful.
Check out CNet's coverage of the 5th birthday of the player that came to dominate the digital music world.
Keikonium
Reply #2 Friday, October 20, 2006 3:03 PM
Reply #2 Friday, October 20, 2006 3:03 PM
5 year birthday you say 
?
I propose a universal price drop so I can actually afford one of these babies
.
I shall be getting the 60 GB iPod video (unless yet ANOTHER new one comes out) in about a month and a half
.
?I propose a universal price drop so I can actually afford one of these babies
.I shall be getting the 60 GB iPod video (unless yet ANOTHER new one comes out) in about a month and a half
.
Bebi Bulma
Reply #3 Friday, October 20, 2006 3:55 PM
Reply #3 Friday, October 20, 2006 3:55 PM
Meh, I have a Creative Zen Micro (5GB white) and am quite happy with it. Going in I knew absolutely I did not want an iPod because everyone and their brother had one and I just found it annoying. I'm not one to just jump on the bandwagon and get what all the other sheep have, I like to be a little different. 
Plus it was only $199 in comparison to what Apple charges. Although, some of the iPods are quite cute, especially like some of the color but I'm happy with my Zen. Use it all the time at school between classes and when the professors are late.
Plus it was only $199 in comparison to what Apple charges. Although, some of the iPods are quite cute, especially like some of the color but I'm happy with my Zen. Use it all the time at school between classes and when the professors are late.
Adamness
Reply #4 Friday, October 20, 2006 3:59 PM
Reply #4 Friday, October 20, 2006 3:59 PM
I never liked the idea of the iPod. It's creepy to see a bunch of people plugged into a device that lets them zone out from the world. They become a bunch of zombies.
Mackintosh
Reply #5 Friday, October 20, 2006 4:15 PM
Reply #5 Friday, October 20, 2006 4:15 PM
I'd rather be a zombie than be forced to listen to inane conversations on the bus in the morning rush hour, or to damsels in distress on their mobile phones explaining their life problems to their best friends, and everyone else that happens to be around them. Blessed be the iPod, my saviour.
Xiozan
Reply #6 Friday, October 20, 2006 7:49 PM
Reply #6 Friday, October 20, 2006 7:49 PM
I don't know whether to be happy, sad or angry. I grabbed a iPod Nano 2nd Gen 8gb and have only owned this thing since Oct. 10. On Oct. 19th the Dock Connector on the iPod Nano no longer allows it to connect with the computer but HEY it does allow it to charge. So I have to send it back to Apple, which they will see what the problem is and most likely have to send another one with engraving...ah well, its a good thing I picked up that extended Applecare Plan.
The iPod is not so much a savior as just being another piece technology progressing down a road that funnels more entertainment into a person's life.
The iPod is not so much a savior as just being another piece technology progressing down a road that funnels more entertainment into a person's life.
Aquamonkey
Reply #7 Friday, October 20, 2006 9:22 PM
Reply #7 Friday, October 20, 2006 9:22 PM
Well while everyone @ Apple is busy polishing their halo
I'll stick with my 30Gb Creative Zen Vision M, the new top of the line iPod still being unable to match it's video (and sound IMHO) capabilities
| iPod, hazardous dummy win Shonky Awards The Apple iPod, and a dummy that is a choking hazard, are among this year's winners of the consumer watchdog's inaugural Shonky Awards... The Apple iPod has received an award because Choice says there has been reports of cracked screens, faulty batteries and problems with sound reproduction... Link |
I'll stick with my 30Gb Creative Zen Vision M, the new top of the line iPod still being unable to match it's video (and sound IMHO) capabilities
VirtualSoran
Reply #8 Saturday, October 21, 2006 2:16 AM
Reply #8 Saturday, October 21, 2006 2:16 AM
Right on, Hellcat. the Vision M is a superior product. Creative just won't market it.
George Rogers Jr
Reply #9 Saturday, October 21, 2006 2:51 AM
Reply #9 Saturday, October 21, 2006 2:51 AM
I've heard alot of good things about the Zen just didn't know if it's all it's cracked up to be...I may take the plunge & buy one for Xmas - THX Hell Cat!!
starkers
Reply #10 Saturday, October 21, 2006 8:07 AM
Reply #10 Saturday, October 21, 2006 8:07 AM
I know Apple's iPod is the dominant MP3 player but, when a lot of people say its a restrictive piece of easily damaged crap, I have to wonder why that is. Maybe this is why....
My wife was recently in hospital and wanted a MP3 player, so I trundled down town to shop around for one. What confronted me was seven out of the eight (can I help you) shop assistants showing me various models of the iPod before Creative, Sony or any other brand.....and the "No thanks, can you show me something else!" was mostly met with disinterest, little or no advice/recommendations for other types.
Why is that, I thought to myself! Is it because iPods are the most popular/requested, a personal preference of the store clerks, or are they instructed by their employers to try move the iPods first? Whatever the reason, I wouldn't touch an iPod with a pole, so forgot the whole idea and took in our Discman with a few CD's instead.
My wife was recently in hospital and wanted a MP3 player, so I trundled down town to shop around for one. What confronted me was seven out of the eight (can I help you) shop assistants showing me various models of the iPod before Creative, Sony or any other brand.....and the "No thanks, can you show me something else!" was mostly met with disinterest, little or no advice/recommendations for other types.
Why is that, I thought to myself! Is it because iPods are the most popular/requested, a personal preference of the store clerks, or are they instructed by their employers to try move the iPods first? Whatever the reason, I wouldn't touch an iPod with a pole, so forgot the whole idea and took in our Discman with a few CD's instead.
nightbirdsf
Reply #11 Saturday, October 21, 2006 7:43 PM
Reply #11 Saturday, October 21, 2006 7:43 PM
The college I work at is moving to use iPod University so I bought a 1st gen iPod Nano, rushing to beat the release of the 2nd gen Nano.
Since I wanted to learn about it, I bought a bunch of accessories for it, including a clear case, and a backpack with ElekTex controls on the left shoulder strap from Target for $70. The backpack is nice, but it screams "please mug me."
I don't use it much personally, mainly in the car through a cassette adapter, and not much of that. *shrug* At home I listen to streaming audio from Live365, which I use AirTunes from Apple's Airport Express and iTunes, but I can use any MP3 player that can handle Shoutcast (but not wirelessly).
The nano is not bad, but I'm not enamored with it either. I'll be exploring alternatives. My cellphone can play MP3s if I buy a microSD card and a $15 mic/headphone jack adapter for it. And after I cross an Xbox 360 off of my toy shopping list, I want to get a Sony S2 Sport MP3 player: WWW Link.
Since I wanted to learn about it, I bought a bunch of accessories for it, including a clear case, and a backpack with ElekTex controls on the left shoulder strap from Target for $70. The backpack is nice, but it screams "please mug me."
I don't use it much personally, mainly in the car through a cassette adapter, and not much of that. *shrug* At home I listen to streaming audio from Live365, which I use AirTunes from Apple's Airport Express and iTunes, but I can use any MP3 player that can handle Shoutcast (but not wirelessly).
The nano is not bad, but I'm not enamored with it either. I'll be exploring alternatives. My cellphone can play MP3s if I buy a microSD card and a $15 mic/headphone jack adapter for it. And after I cross an Xbox 360 off of my toy shopping list, I want to get a Sony S2 Sport MP3 player: WWW Link.
sgand
Reply #12 Monday, October 23, 2006 8:54 AM
Reply #12 Monday, October 23, 2006 8:54 AM
Speaking of Ipod's, I have an unopened black 30gb iPod Video that I'm trying to get rid of for $150.
Anyone interested?
Anyone interested?
Aquamonkey
Reply #13 Monday, October 23, 2006 6:38 PM
Reply #13 Monday, October 23, 2006 6:38 PM
Sir starkers sums up part of the reason(ie problem) in why iPods are everywhere, also average Joe says "I want something to listen to music on, everyone else seems to have an iPod so they must be the best thing to get" when they go into a store they practically have blinders on as far as other brands go
Viney212
Reply #14 Tuesday, October 24, 2006 10:30 AM
This is a pretty cliche assumption. Apple didn't gain dominance in the portable music player market by selling shit in a box. No an iPod may not satisfy the needs of everyone out there but that doesn't mean that everyone that bought one is a mindless sheep just going along with the crowd. I've owned Creative players before and I've owned two iPods (and I didn't have blinders on when I went into the store to buy them).
I'm not denying that other players out there may suit the needs for some people more than an iPod, but that doesn't take away from the fact that Apple does a pretty good job catering to what their customers want out of their devices.
Disliking something just because it's a so-called "bandwagon" product is about as lame as jumping on the bandwagon in the first place. And if you dislike an iPod just because everyone else has one ask yourself who's really the one putting on blinders?
Reply #14 Tuesday, October 24, 2006 10:30 AM
| Sir starkers sums up part of the reason(ie problem) in why iPods are everywhere, also average Joe says "I want something to listen to music on, everyone else seems to have an iPod so they must be the best thing to get" when they go into a store they practically have blinders on as far as other brands go |
This is a pretty cliche assumption. Apple didn't gain dominance in the portable music player market by selling shit in a box. No an iPod may not satisfy the needs of everyone out there but that doesn't mean that everyone that bought one is a mindless sheep just going along with the crowd. I've owned Creative players before and I've owned two iPods (and I didn't have blinders on when I went into the store to buy them).
I'm not denying that other players out there may suit the needs for some people more than an iPod, but that doesn't take away from the fact that Apple does a pretty good job catering to what their customers want out of their devices.
Disliking something just because it's a so-called "bandwagon" product is about as lame as jumping on the bandwagon in the first place. And if you dislike an iPod just because everyone else has one ask yourself who's really the one putting on blinders?
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Reply #1 Friday, October 20, 2006 2:11 PM
I truly enjoy every moment when listening to my iPod.
I waited until the 30 GB iPod 'Video' model was released before retiring my 'Walkman' CD player (started out using the original Walkman tape player).
The only thing that might keep iPod from continued domination of the market is it's lack of versatility in working with other media players. I would have to say it will stay on top, but Microsoft's (and others) offerings will find a reasonable market due to this limitation in versatility.
I can still say I have no regrets 'investing' in an iPod.