[LINK] Fwd: vip-l: Fwd: Article: Why the iPod is losing its cool

Jan Whitaker jwhit at melbpc.org.au
Mon Sep 11 08:56:08 AEST 2006


interesting alert and walk down memory lane of consumer technologies

>>The Observer [UK]
>>
>>Sunday September 10, 2006
>>
>>
>>     Why the iPod is losing its cool
>>
>>     Apple has added ever more extras to its digital music-player in a bid
>>to stem falling sales. But fears are rising that the device is now too
>>common to be cutting edge
>>
>>     David Smith, technology correspondent
>>
>>
>>
>>     The Mermaid, Puddle Dock, is not the first place you might go in
>>search of the cool and cutting edge. That will not stop an expectant crowd
>>gathering at the conference centre in London's Blackfriars this week for a
>>live satellite broadcast from San Francisco that could make or break one
>>of the consumer icons of the Western world.
>>
>>     The iPod, the digital music player beloved of everyone from Coldplay's
>>Chris Martin to President George Bush, is in danger of losing its sheen.
>>Sales are declining at an unprecedented rate. Industry experts talk of a
>>'backlash' and of the iPod 'wilting away before our eyes'. Most
>>disastrously, Apple's signature pocket device with white earphones may
>>simply have become too common to be cool.
>>
>>     On Tuesday the eyes of iPod-lovers the world over will be on Steve
>>Jobs, the co-founder and chief executive of Apple, when he seeks to allay
>>fears that it could follow Sony's tape-playing Walkman into the recycling
>>bin of history.
>>
>>     Jobs is widely expected to announce the most ambitious iPod service
>>yet - the sale of feature-length films via the internet for viewing on the
>>devices, which may receive an expanded 'widescreen' and improved storage
>>capacity. If downloading movies from a computer to an iPod proves even
>>half as revolutionary as it did for music, the multibillion-pound DVD
>>industry could be quaking. There are rumours that Jobs will also announce
>>a long expected 'iPhone', combining the music function and sleek style of
>>an iPod with a mobile phone.
>>
>>     Industry-watchers warn that the iPod could soon be regarded by teenage
>>cynics as their 'parents' player' because a mass-market product rarely
>>equates with edgy fashionability. Although it has sold nearly 60 million
>>actual iPods and a billion downloaded songs worldwide, cracks have begun
>>to appear in the edifice. The Zandl Group, a New York-based trends
>>forecaster which regularly interviews a panel of 3,000 consumers aged
>>25-35, recently picked up its first significant criticisms. 'The iPod is
>>far and away the most popular tech gadget with our panellists - however,
>>for the first time we are hearing negative feedback about the iPod from
>>some panellists,' said the organisation's spokeswoman, Carla Avruch.
>>'Panellists cite that the batteries are not replaceable, so when they die
>>the entire player must be replaced,' she said. 'We have heard from some
>>conspiracy theorists that the batteries are made to die soon after the
>>warranty ends.
>>
>>     'Other complaints are that iTunes [Apple's online music store] is
>>overpriced and the format is not easily transferred on to other players.
>>In our ethnography interviews, some long-time iPod-users told us that they
>>have stopped updating their iPods because it's too much work, while other
>>consumers who had bought iPods more recently had not even taken theirs out
>>of the package to set it up.'
>>
>>     She added that the iPod is in danger of becoming a victim of its own
>>success: 'Some backlash is against the ubiquity of the iPod - everyone has
>>those white headphones on the train.'
>>
>>     Analysts warn that the iPod has passed its peak. From its launch five
>>years ago its sales graph showed a consistent upward curve, culminating in
>>a period around last Christmas that saw a record 14 million sold. But
>>sales fell to 8.5 million in the following quarter, and down to 8.1
>>million in the most recent three-month period. Wall Street is reportedly
>>starting to worry that the bubble will burst.
>>
>>     Tomi Ahonen, a technology brand expert and author, said: 'For the
>>first time the iPod has had two consecutive falls after 17 quarters of
>>growth. If I were the manager, I would be wanting my people to explain
>>what is going on. The iPod is wilting away before our eyes.'
>>
>>     He cited new mobile phones with improved MP3 players as the cause of
>>the iPod's dwindling appeal. 'In 2005 all the big phone manufacturers
>>released phones that play music. Phones are outselling dedicated MP3
>>players by six to one. Apple had the market for MP3, but they lost it.'
>>
>>     Ahonen, author of Communities Dominate Brands, predicted that in the
>>long term the iPod will have only a narrow audience. 'It will continue to
>>dominate a niche at the top end: if you're a musician or a DJ you'll use
>>it because it's the best, like a photographer with his Nikon camera. But
>>the average mobile phone user gets a new handset every 18 months, and a
>>quarter of mobile phones sold this year will have an MP3 player. In the
>>same way as camera phones have pushed cameras to one side, this is an
>>automatic replacement.'
>>
>>     Apple is famously tight-lipped about plans, but its invitations to
>>Tuesday's event show an Apple logo in front of crossed searchlights and
>>the slogan 'It's Showtime'. Sources in Hollywood, where Jobs sits on the
>>board of Walt Disney, suggest Apple has been trying to secure deals to
>>sell films through iTunes for around £8 each. Apple added video downloads
>>of television shows such as Lost and sporting events to its iTunes service
>>last October.
>>
>>     The company is facing growing competition on every front. Last week
>>Amazon launched a digital TV and film download service in the US, and the
>>supermarket giant Wal-Mart is in talks with Hollywood studios about a
>>similar website. Later this year a new online music store, SpiralFrog,
>>will undercut iTunes by offering a huge catalogue of music for free while
>>relying on advertising for its income. MySpace, the immensely popular
>>social networking site, also poses a threat.
>>
>>     Three out of every four MP3 players sold are iPods, but the device
>>could be challenged later this year by Zune, the contender from Microsoft,
>>whose billionaire founder Bill Gates is not used to losing. Samsung is
>>also betting heavily on its new K5, which has the option of built-in
>>loudspeakers.
>>
>>     But commentators argue that the iPod's status as a 21st-century
>>fashion symbol is assured. Leander Kahney, author of The Cult of Mac,
>>said: 'I thought they would become passé last year but they haven't, and I
>>don't see much sign that they will."
>>
>>     James Beechinor-Collins, editor-in-chief of T3 consumer gadgets
>>magazine, added: 'It's cool across the board: everyone from my
>>seven-year-old niece to my 60-year-old uncle has one. But as the leader
>>Apple needs to keep innovating, not resting on its laurels. We haven't
>>seen a new product for a year, so Tuesday's announcement had better be
>>bloody good.'
>>
>>     Iconic electronics that reached their sell-by date
>>
>>     Sony Walkman
>>
>>     Launched: 1979
>>
>>     What is it? Portable music cassette player with headphones. Sales fell
>>in the Nineties when portable CD and minidisc players arrived; iPod nailed
>>the coffin shut in 2001. Sony launched an MP3 version last year.
>>
>>     Sales: 60 million sold by 1992, 4 million in the UK.
>>
>>     Sinclair Spectrum
>>
>>     Launched: 1982
>>
>>     What is it? Early personal computer with up to 48K memory and built-in
>>tape recorder/disk drive; games included Jet Set Willy and Chuckie Egg.
>>Fell to competition from other models, particularly the Commodore 64;
>>obsolete by the Nineties.
>>
>>     Sales: ZX model sold 2 million worldwide. By 1985 Sinclair was
>>producing 200,000 units a month, with 57 per cent market share.
>>
>>     Psion personal organiser
>>
>>     Launched: 1984
>>
>>     What is it? Looked like a calculator with an alphabetic keyboard and
>>was essentially an electronic diary for yuppies. Competition from Japanese
>>companies and advanced laptop and mobile phone technology, plus the
>>executives' must-have Blackberry, made it redundant, but Psion is still
>>producing 'mobile computers'.
>>
>>     Sales: Sold 1 million in first decade, but sales tailed off as it was
>>superseded.
>>
>>     VHS cassettes
>>
>>     Launched: 1976
>>
>>     What is it? JVC's Video Home System, for viewing and recording films
>>and television. Eclipsed Sony's short-lived Betamax video format in the
>>Eighties but, since DVDs were launched in the late Nineties, sales have
>>collapsed.
>
>Jan Whitaker
>JLWhitaker Associates, Melbourne Victoria
>jwhit at janwhitaker.com
>business: http://www.janwhitaker.com
>personal: http://www.janwhitaker.com/personal/
>commentary: http://janwhitaker.com/jansblog/
>
>'Seed planting is often the most important step. Without the seed, there 
>is no plant.' - JW, April 2005
>_ __________________ _





More information about the Link mailing list