of kids want an iPad
The Nielsen Company presented a cadre of individuals with a list of nice, shiny gadgets and let them cross off anything and everything they'd like to buy in the next six months, and 31 percent of kids 6-12 picked the iPad as one of them.
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He's right about one thing, Steve Jobs is going to get old.
It's just a matter of time before the hip, stylish crowd finally gets bored of the Apple way.
Because it's only one demographic of people who are into Apple products. *eyeroll*
Come on......you can find an iPod on a person of just about EVERY age and that means more than just the "hip, stylish crowd" like Apple products.
Most people have an iPod because they don't know of alternative choices and they aren't willing to go the extra mile to actually make an informed decision. There are dozens of better players out there that don't chain you to a DRM system, cost less AND provide better support.
I agree with Kris.
Its not about that they are hip or stylish, its just down to one simple fact, the products just freaking work and do their job well.
I'm not a big apple fanboy, heck im not even a fanboy at all, but their iPods are the best music players I have ever had, and the iPhone has been my favorite phone thus far and im a big PPC user. Despite its gripes with no keyboard or other small concerns, the iPhone has been the one phone I always go back after trying another new phone.
Steve Jobs can be a million years old for all I cared,,,, but if they sell the goods and products that has no competition then you can bet every one and their mother will buy it.
I don't think anyone questions that. It sounds, however, like you're implying that Apple will get old and everyone will go back to their one-color LCD Nokias and Dell Inspirons, which isn't true.
Lock to a DRM system?
Maybe you never had a iPod before but iTunes and the ipod allow full use of any non-drm mp3 for ...ooh I dont know....since the creation of time.. They dont force you to use iTunes for your music store, you still have the option of buying music elsewhere and just sync/import into your itunes.
Also there are very few mp3 players out there that really compete with the iPod. The only series or company that come to mind is Creative which I agree is a nice player, but to me and many others the UI of the ipod is simply easy to use and just overall a better experience.
Wait wait... what is that? You have to sync everything with iTunes? Ah, I just have to drag and drop with my Cowon, which has never failed to play any file I've thrown at it, no matter what the codec.
Not to mention that it is capable of recording TV, capturing audio from line-in sources, has an integrated FM radio, comes with all cables necessary for outputting -HD- signals to TV (which cost $30-40 in a retail store) and has a bigger screen and better battery life?
Oh, and it's what, $50 more than the iPod?
No, there are no other good players out there than the iPod, riiiiight?
Would you like a medal or a chest to pin it on??
I'm glad that you've found something other than an iPod to tuck you in bed at night and suck you off when you're bored.
For the average joe user, an iPod will be everything they need and more. Not everyone will need countless sophisticated features which might only get used once in a blue moon.
What, so you get mad when I throw something that's obviously more advanced than the precious iPod in front of you?
Chill out. There's more to life than Apple.
He is right. The hype has always been that its Job's business acumen that makes Apple so successful. Jobs is 53 years old. Its no secret that things pretty much go downhill from one's mid-fifties. Jobs may also be eyeing early retirement.
Of course its impossible to predict how an Apple without jobs will function, but if the past is any guide then it will not do well.
I think that's a valid criticism. Its difficult to sell the CEO as the "heart of the company" without putting yourself at risk when the question "What happens when he's gone" comes around.
I never said that the iPod was the most sophisticated or best MP3 player available, nor am I "mad" that you're throwing your 2nd girlfriend in my face.
I can't even ask you how many times you use your extra features because your ego will prevent you from answering honestly (I'm willing to bet you don't use them very often). But it's all about bragging that you CAN do these things even if you really don't.......right?
As for iTunes, there's absolutely nothing wrong with it. Once you realize how powerful of a music database it really is, you'll wonder how you lived with just "drag & drop".
Use what's best for YOU, but don't get on your soapbox that the iPod is an inferior MP3 player simply because it doesn't suit your needs.
"Ah, I just have to drag and drop with my Cowon"
You make that sound like a good thing! Drag and drop is available with iPods (check the "manage my music manually box"), but it's really only a good thing for shuffles and iPhones, where your entire music library can't be stored. Syncing is great with my 160GB iPod, since I just plug it in and all of my new music gets put on there. No fuss, no remembering what I downloaded weeks ago (I usually update my iPod every few weeks). I think it's a pretty great solution. But I guess if you like paying $50 more for a media player with 16GB of disk space (on the highest model), more power to you. Enjoy your TV-Out! (oh wait, iPods have that, too! Damn.)
@Ignatius
It's a popular misconception that Apple's main demo is young, hip kids, it's actually the 55 or older crowd who have disposable income but don't want to "learn computers". If you're in your 20's or 30's you're more likely to buy a less expensive computer and spend your savings on video games that may not run on a Mac anyway. When you're 60 you want everything done for you in one neat package.
@ Ignatius
My first MP3 player was the RCA Lyra Jukebox RD2820. It had 20GB of storage, came with a decent pair of headphones and a complete car travel kit, a graphical EQ, and the ability to make a playlist on the fly. This was in 2002. Of course, it was larger than the equivalent iPod at that time, but it packed the two features everyone thought were missing (EQ and Playlist creation).
My second MP3 player was the iRiver H10. It was great, because, as I'm sure you know, it had every feature in the world one could hope for in a microdrive player (at the time). FM radio, voice recording, pictures, a great user interface, and better EQ options than the iPod (at the time). It served me well until it went for a swim.
I thought about replacing it with one of iRiver's other players (specifically the H10 20GB remix), but the drawback was the power adapter was a pass through on the USB cable, and I found I never really used the FM radio (I don't even listen to my radio in the car, why would I do so on my MP3 player) and I'd stopped using the voice recorder because the situations I used it in were places I always had my laptop anyway (built in mic and the ability to sync typed notes to recorded audio).
In between I'd owned a number of smaller players of various capacities and feature sets that served specific purposes. I'm a bit of a gadget hound and usually can't resist a cheap, low capacity mp3 player as long as it's reasonably priced. When I'm done with them I'll pass them on to a neophyte friend. I say all this to make it very clear. I've owned and enjoyed other devices. I strongly support other devices for those who find their features valuable.
A couple of months before my iRiver suffered a death at my own careless hands, I'd bought my wife an iPod (one of the original Nanos) because she needed something to use while at the gym. I'd never owned an iPod, but I knew she could handle the simple process of syncing from iTunes.
Over the course of about two months, I weighed what I was going to buy based on the features I anticipated using more than once or twice, compatible accessories, cost of compatible accessories, and simplicity of the user interface. This wasn't going to be my all-in-one gadget, it was going to be my portable music library. Ultimately it all came down to one thing: the dock connector.
I picked up an 80gig iPod for myself in October of 2006 and have since added a docking sound system to my office (this wasn't a replacement purchase, I'd never had a sound system at work before), a self designed iPod dock to my cars sound system (I wasn't going to buy a whole new head unit), and a home surround sound system that I have an iPod dock permanently connected to.
The simple fact that I don't have to have an extra cable running in my car, or a line in cable laying on top of my home entertainment system was the biggest selling point.
Petty? Perhaps. But I know that I can drop my iPod on the dock connector in my car, at the office, or at home and have no trouble with cables... and I'm anal about cable clutter.
@ Ignatius
It also slices, dices, makes french fries, washes your dishes, and combs your hair... pretty, pretty girl.