Comments on: iPod dying? It's already dead

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak says the iPod will go the way of the Walkman and transistor radio. But in terms of innovation, the mantle passed to the iPhone more than a year ago.

[pbinkley]

I"ve been pretty impressed with the iPod Touch. You get all the great capabilities of the handheld computer such as wifi, web browsing, outlook email & calendar, appstore apps, games, maps, stocks, music, but without the expense of the iPhone and the AT&T contract. It's essentially an iPhone but without a GSM radio.

I would be curious to know how many people who would have normally bought a regular iPod are now goign to buy the iPod Touch and getting all the great features of the iPhone, all for $229 (8GB at Best Buy). The device also rivals some of the hand held game platforms.

[skiracer712]

I loved my ipod, until it died 13 months after I bought it (1 month after warranty expires). $200 to repair it, never did that. I loved my second ipod, until it died 366 days after I bought it, 1 day after the warranty expired. I loved my 3rd Ipod, and it died just under 13 months, about two weeks after the 1 yr warranty expired. Notice a trend here. Ipods are not worth the money. Zune is far better, and I cant wait to get one, my friend has had an original zune since launch and no problems ever.

as far as all in one devices like the iphone. i hate the iphone, and not because its an apple product, besides the ipod, i have no beef with apple. I just dont like all in ones, because an all in one never gets any one thing completely right. take the iphone, it has decent internet, its no computer, but decent internet, best for any phone for sure, the camera is horrid, as is sound quality for phone calls, and the vitural keyboard is horrid unless you turn it sideways, and even then you fat finger more than you should. The new iphone has improved on some of these but not much.

It seems as far as phones go there are two big boats of people, but only one is getting noticed and that is the people who want the all in ones. But there are alot of people who want their phone to be a phone first and foremost. Thing is, alot of us arent the older generations, alot of use are the early-mid twenties people.

[MadLyb]

Finally, people are starting to get it.

Limited functionality requiring additional equipment to carried.
Higher cost for same functionality.
DRM
Proprietary Lossless
No A2DP or it's equivalent.

It was dead out of the gate for me.

The iPhone addressed some issues, but it still a very closed platform and that slows the innovation to a trickle.

[artistjoh]

Anyone who dismisses the use of an iPod because it is ludicrous to have a couple of thousand songs there has their head in the sand. I use mine for podcasts and audio books and photographs and as an external HD to transport files etc etc etc

Just because someone lacks the imagination to understand what other people do with their iPods doesn't make the iPod ludicrous.

Having said that I finally retired my iPod because the iPhone is better but guess what? I find the 16GB storage very restrictive. and I hate having only 10 gigs of music on it but that is all that will fit with everything else.

The iPod is dead! Long Live the iPhone!

[PFFXV]

Matt is on target. Most, but probably not all, iPods will be morphed into phones. The only way they can replace them completely is by making a phone the size of a Shuffle. That would be an innovation I'd like to see.

For those who think that the iPod is a throwaway item, mine is will into it's fourth year of life, and it runs as well as it did on day one. I got seven hours of listening on a recent plane trip, and it still had some power left. I may be an exception with these results because I treat it well.

[enazario]

There is a major point being missed here. It's not just the Ipod. It's iTunes. Ipods will continue to be popular because of their integration with iTunes. It's the software, stupid.

[SixVodkas]

Woz was relevant 20 years ago.

Today, Woz is "was".

[make_or_break]

Part One:

I agree with many of the points made in the article and with Tech Diva XXX, although I don't think Apple will be hurt by this anytime too soon. They are the Microsoft (or Google, if you really can't stand ANY analogies to Redmond) of portable devices, and that will take a bit of time to erode. But how long has it been? Less than eight years since the iPod's arrival? Not just the iPod, but the MP3 player in general is dead, replaced by the PMP genotype, and just as quickly supplanted by the idea of convergence. Hence, we have the iPhone and all the like-minded devices from Apple's competition. Even the tech is in constant flux. Hard drives are on the way out; solid-state storage the next wave of data retention.

The iPod Classic, nano and Shuffle have their niche, but it's become amusing to read all of the comments from those coming to the defense of these 800-pound gorillas that have already reach dinosaur status. The Classic seems like its a brand that's living on borrowed time; it will sell just because it's an Apple product--no question about that. But there hasn't been any real innovation with it the past two generations evolving from the old flagship 5.5G HD-based iPod. Improvements yes, but no groundbreaking advancements. Hell, it doesn't even embrace wireless, instead leaving it for the upmarket Touch, an iPod that isn't even really an iPod anymore (more on this later).

The iPod nano is the true fashionista of the lineup...and probably the biggest money-maker of the bunch if only because of the sheer volume of sales as a result...and the mucho cheapo price of NAND chips these days. Accelerometers notwithstanding (and it's hand-me-down innovation at best, anyways), the nano too isn't doing much of anything other manufacturers haven't already gone places with earlier. Oval cross-sections certainly isn't innovation, nor is thinner is better or aluminum housings; that's just marketing talking for the benefit of repeat sales. Those slaves to Apple's near annual model lineup changes will rejoice; those looking for a PMP that's truly a step beyond what's gone before...will just grimace.

The Shuffle is probably the odd duck. Even Apple would be loathe to admit any innovation in this minimalist, mediocre-sounding station in MP3 life. It doesn't even do multi-media, something other makes now take for granted in many of their intro-level flash-based players. As even so many of the cheapest introductory devices are now providing video capability in packages not much bigger than the nano, one has to wonder at the point of such a one-dimensional type of device that is so easy to forget about when doing one's laundry. The lack of its own stature of physical presence is symbolic in and of itself. Aside from towing the bottom of Apple's model lineup, it brings nothing to the table but a cheap Apple for those who MUST have something from Cupertino.

[Tech Diva XXX]

Thanks for reading my post! :)

I forgot to mention the Shuffle. The Shuffle is good for those who work out. It's small and if you fall on it or drop it, you probably won't be crying too much, LOL! It does carry enough music for a general 2 hr. workout. That and also short trips to the grocery store. It's the only iPod you probably won't worry about so much. Which is indeed a benefit. I'd be afraid to work out with the nicer Touch or even the new Nano, just due to breakage fears. Players for working out MAY have a niche in the future, just due to that. But that also includes the Creative Stones and the Sansa Clip, all good for workouts. Someone needs to develop some durable cases to use with the convergent devices. So far, I haven't seen enough to risk working out with a better player or phone.

[make_or_break]

Part Two:

And then there's the iPod Touch, the dimension that extends the PMP beyond just being a mundane, narrowly focused PMP. This is the game-changer, and the poster child as to why the original iPod concept should be read its last rites, if not now then in the near future. The iPod Touch brings REAL convergence. The Touch brings real connectivity, although just not as well-rounded or certain not as mobile as its kissing cousin, the iPhone. Both the Touch and the iPhone have again shown Apple's ability to rewrite the rules, to cause consternation to any and all of their competition, who now must play catch-up once again. But then there's the rub...they also write the obit for the lesser models that once were the mainstay of Apple's device lineup, at least in terms of which platforms where the REAL innovation will come from. The Classic and the nano hang on because that's where Apple will make most of its massive device profits from. Price is the ONLY advantage the lower ends of the lineup has; for those models like Elvis, innovation has left the building. Only trickle-down technology tossed as a bone makes any of these bottom-feeding models even halfway interesting...unless of course you count a pretty rainbow of colors as somehow ground-breaking, even if other manufacturers have already gone down this road in a previous lifetime.

And perhaps all of this is somehow poetic justice for a device who's name wasn't even as close to innovative as its fan base has often claimed it to be to have finally run its course. As I said before in other places...not even the iPod name is original, just like its hierarchical menu interface that even Apple has admitted was inspired by--or stolen, depending on your point of view--a working model-in-progress that Creative Labs had shown Apple in the hopes of doing business with Cupertino. Thanks to Google's 10th anniversary, you can EVEN 'google' an old pre-Apple iPod index, to see who used the 'iPod' name--COMPLETE with lowercase 'i' to boot--BEFORE Apple played all legal and gorilla-like and claimed it for themselves. Makes me wonder if Google intentionally chose this particular index on PURPOSE, if only to be a subtle reminder that Apple isn't as innovative as their image portends...particularly with their OWN T-Mobile (HTC) G1 just around the bend.

[electronicsreport]

Matt, I agree, to be a successful company you have to always look to improve your products. Eventually, everyone will have a phone that stores and plays music, it's the ability to look ahead and identify future trends that make Apple and Microsoft top companies.

[spark09223]

Many people point out that people are now looking at other MP3 players b/c of the cool features iPods don't have. But iPods were never really about features. They were always about convenience and design. I agree that Apple will have a tough time updating the line with creative design (they already seem to be having trouble) the fact that other manufacturers are coming up with cool features should not matter much.

Also, at the center of iPod's success is iTunes. As long as iTunes maintains the lead in the digital music market, Apple has a complete advantage of all others. Sure, Amazon.com gives you DRM free music, and there are non-Apple MP3 players that can play music from ITMS, just buying an iPod is still much simpler.

[spark09223]

BTW, Microsoft's latest Zune innovations? I understand your job is reviewing MS products, etc. But COME ON. That's just a joke.

[atomicbomb156]

I'm really not all that surprised. It is similar to the lifespan of the Razr. It was slim, attractive, decent cell phone, and overall a good product. They have been milking it for over 4 years with all these variations and its getting old. the iPod isn't much different in that regard. They haven't changed the click wheel in 3 years (don't give me the **** about the multi-touch because I'm not paying $400 for 32GB. I'm paying $200 for 80GB.) I need something different and something unique. When iPods where unique back in 2003 thats when they were at their peak. Innovation actually happened but now its not so much. And beyond that the audio quality of the iPod is mediocre at best. Listen to a cd with good headphones or to any song in lossless format. It will blow your mind. Happened to me after I switched from my 1st gen iPod nano.

[rgersmrk]

As long as the iPhone is tied to a single mobile phone carrier the MP3 will be alive and well. Not everyone, in fact I would guess most people, don't want to be tied to a phone contract in order to play their music. Especially if they are already tied to another mobile phone carrier.

Google, Nokia, Rim and a few other companies are trying to come out with iPhone alternatives but right now I just don't see that these phones will appeal to the mass market. Just like the iPhone it they will fill the gaps for the niche market.

Most of the people I know don't use their iPhone primarily for music anyways. The browser is the main appeal of the product.

[solitare_pax]

Hey, everyone's entitled to their opinions. Besides, I thought LP records, 8-track tapes, Betamax, CDs and DVDs were all pretty good.

And they were - in their day.

Someday, when we all have chips implanted in our head to listen to the prime directives of some clueless leader, we'll look back at the iPod with the same fondness of looking back at an old mechanical music box, saying those were the days.

But I think it is some time away.

[Tech Diva XXX]

CDs and DVDs are STILL good IMO. They are almost the only way to guarantee that when you rip them yourself, you can get high quality, high bit rate NON-DRM digital material for yourself. I'm so sick of DRM and I'm also sick of some non-DRM places selling low bit rate files, even if they are unprotected. I did go back to buying CDs and ripping them.

[Remo_Williams]

The author is wrong twice: once for a bad prediction, and once for the incorrect reason for why it's wrong. "Apple's relentless focus on ease of use" is pure public relations. This isn't an ultraportable computer. It's a PDA with multi-touch and ****** features. It looks pretty, so the tiny-brains can all crow about it, but my Dell Axim x50v did more three years ago. Y'know, like cut and paste. Ooh, put a cell radio in there, wow, and then tied it to AT&T. Way to go. When Sony released the Walkman, they made it played cassettes that people had, not special Sony-only cassettes. See how that works? It's a good lesson, one that even Sony hasn't learned yet, i.e. Betamax, MemorySticks, ATRAC.

-R

[ferretboy88]

Apple fans boys are part of a closed off closed source religion. The Cult of Mac. That really turns off many people to the company. Woz is right when he says its like a closed religion.

[mckretina]

Don't know about iPod being already dead -- I use it for audiobooks and music on my iPhone. However, I just accidentally washed my pink iPod Nano in my jeans, with bleach, hot water and the machine set on "sanitize" (2 hours!), so who wants to bet *mine* is dead? The worst part: I just spent a couple of hours loading it up.

[alyjubjub1]

agreed!

[Qiiic]

THANKS