What now for the iPod?
Fri Sep 5, 2008 3:21AM EDT
See Comments (24)
Come Tuesday, Steve Jobs will take the stage in San Francisco and, by all accounts and predictions, will roll out some new iPods, with lower prices and higher capacities. A bevy of news stories will erupt... and then what?
Well, everyone will forget about the iPod and go back to their iPhones, that's what.
The term you're looking for is "cannibalization." Apple had to have known about this since the iPhone's launch but that doesn't mean it planned for it: The whole point of the iPhone is that you no longer need to carry two devices and can listen to your music, complete with Apple's suave interface, right on your phone.
The problem with that plan is that for every iPhone you sell, you sell one fewer iPod. And since the iPod has been a true cash cow for Apple—the product is nearly universally agreed upon as the one thing that turned the company around and saved it from the scrap heap in 2001—giving up on that market is, at best, a seriously spooky omen.
In fact, it may already be too late for the standalone iPod: iPod sales are already flat, Fortune notes, and may soon be on the decline, a far cry from the recent days of double (and triple) digit growth.
And so it's up to Jobs to save things. Sources predict that he'll trot out a redesigned iPod nano (which rumor has it looks a lot like the nano from two generations ago), a minor refresh of the iPod touch, and a new version if iTunes with—gasp!—a music recommendation system. And as Fortune notes in far more cautious language, none of this is even remotely exciting. It certainly wouldn't convince me to trade in my iPod for a new one (and I'm still rockin' a 4G Classic!).
And that leaves us with the least refined tactic in the bag: Price cuts. Ben Patterson has predictions for pricing, and he's probably on the money. But will the nano still sell even at $200 for 16GB? I think Apple will have to do better than that if it wants to keep offering four different MP3 players. (That said, I doubt it will. Hubris runs high in Cupertino.)
Spill in the comments: When's the last time you actually paid for an iPod? And what would it take for you to buy another one?
Comments on What now for the iPod?
Post a Comment
Join in the discussion. Here you'll see the comments in the order they were posted.
-
2 Posted by eatenear on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:51PM EDT Report Abuse
I have never purchased one. The last one given to me was a gift. The original nano, which i loved. Sadly it was in my backpack when i got caught in a rainstorm and my bike and it never came back to life. I don't want to spend the money to replace it, but with a travel coming up for work i think it maybe worth it. But a big price drop AND more space would be incentive to rack out the $$$. If not i may just have to resort back to my books and put the ipod on the back burner.
-
3 Posted by dcsoccer25 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:39PM EDT Report Abuse
I bought my first one back in February of this year, and I'm not planning on replacing it for quite some time.
-
4 Posted by wvrd2001 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:51PM EDT Report Abuse
"saved it from the scrap heap in 2001"???? guess you didn't buy the stock. I did. Conventional thinking will get you nowhere.
-
5 Posted by muscogeekid on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:30PM EDT Report Abuse
The one element missing from this report is the effect of other MP3 players on sales of the iPod. Once upong a time, the iPod was years ahead of the competition, but now it's really just one of many identical product offerings, and by many accounts not even the best one available. So, with a nearly saturated market, the two obvious paths are innovation and/or price.
-
6 Posted by coolpal@ymail.com on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:29PM EDT Report Abuse
I doubt everyone will buy an iPhone.... I completely agree that the iPhone sales are eating into the iPod sales, but that doesn't mean the end of iPods... especially as long as iPhone is coupled only with a single carrier and all the data costs it comes with... I bought an iPod just last month as a gift for my sister who will not need an iPhone, at least not with that heavy data plan costs associated with it. pal :)
-
7 Posted by benjaminlee.turner on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:05PM EDT Report Abuse
I bought my first ipod maybe 3 years ago. I actually have been in the market for a new one with a high capacity for the last month or so but I have been waiting for them to roll out the next generation. ...BTW, I own an iPhone as well but, 8 gigs is not nearly enough + I am not enthused about the battery life of the device when used as an ipod.
-
8 Posted by rogueist on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:49PM EDT Report Abuse
I am perfectly happy with my iPod Nano 3rd generation. It stores several hours worth of video and can play them back in HD on my HDTV - that's all that matters.
-
9 Posted by eisosdesign on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:52PM EDT Report Abuse
I don't think I'll ever buy another iPod. I have a 3rd gen 40GB iPod and it still works fine, with the exception of diminishing returns on the battery. My next purchase will probably be an iPhone, but only after it's offered through T-Mobile, has at least 60GB, 3G is fixed, and some accommodation is made for Flash.
-
10 Posted by pfiedler21 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:08PM EDT Report Abuse
i still have my 1G 4GB iPod nano. but im gonna replace it the the touch. 4GB is not nearly enough.
1 Posted by eatenear on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:51PM EDT Report Abuse
I have never purchased one. The last one given to me was a gift. The original nano, which i loved. Sadly it was in my backpack when i got caught in a rainstorm and my bike and it never came back to life. I don't want to spend the money to replace it, but with a travel coming up for work i think it maybe worth it. But a big price drop AND more space would be incentive to rack out the $$$. If not i may just have to resort back to my books and put the ipod on the back burner.