I'm one of those people that had bought an ipod and loved it because of the great sound,the abality to watch movies... but i'm starting to think that i could have bought a different mp4 player for a lower price that did the same thing. I'd also like to add that the ipod seems to have 100 of bugs and problems. What happened to the good old days were you could buy something that worked and died when it's time had past? I'm not saying that i don't like my ipod,i'm just starting to think twice about how great it really is. So can someone tell me why everybody wants an ipod and whats so great about them? ps:MAYBE ADVERTISEMENT IS THE KEY TO IPOD'S SUCCES
iPod is an idolized mp3 player because of several things: 1: Huge fan base 2: Large market for accessories 3: Historically, they were the first great mp3 player, first great portable video device, etc. and this carries over. 4: You were right, advertising. 5: Few problems/issues compared with other similar devices (like the Zune, which has almost as many bugs as Windows itself) 6: Good sound quality, in comparison. Decent video quality as well. 7: Install linux on it! BTW: I'd like to hear about the "100 of bugs and problems", considering that I've seen very few issues (here and elsewhere) with iPods.
BTW: I'd like to hear about the "100 of bugs and problems", considering that I've seen very few issues (here and elsewhere) with iPods. a hundred was an exageration,but in these forums you get people posting everyday about problems they have...Just last niht after writing this post my brother had just bought a brand new ipod,guess what,it couldn't connect to his computer for some reason and mine has stated saying some error message. What i'm trying to say is 'what's so hard in making something that works and never ever breaks'?
Historically, Sony, Diamond, and Creative had the first great MP3 players. Apple was about 3 years too late. The only thing the iPod has going for it is marketing.
Don't forget iTunes, the easiest (legal) way to buy music, videos, tv shows, movies, and free podcasts. Also, apple did a good job making iPods+iTunes easy to use for non-technical people. In regards to the bugs thing, I own 2 iPods and have had 0 issues, and none of the people I know that own one have ever mentioned anything to me about having problems either. The only things I can't stand is the DRM which I believe should not be legal the way it's implemented, tying consumers into one mp3 player is not 'fair use' in my opinion, but for that I just burn purchased music to cd and rip back into iTunes, then I have the mp3 copy, and I think that Podcasts should be easier to get onto the shuffle.
I don't mind DRM if it's easily broken (i.e. burn and re-rip). I actually think Apple is only doing the DRM thing to please the media companies; if they actually cared for any other reason, they wouldn't make it so easy to circumvent . It's always hard to please both sides, but I think that apple is doing it much better than, say, Sony (and their infamous rootkit!). As far as iPod problems go, 90% of them are caused by the user doing something that they shouldn't be doing, although even my super-modded iPod still works without a hiccup. I find it very incredible that yours bricked out of the box.
I feel that it was the Marketing, and the Accssesories! You don't see any good accsesories for the Zune or Creative do you? All electronics will have "bugs" becuase of the firmware updates! Things are more complex now then they were 20 years ago!
There are plenty of accessories for all players. Most of them are available in many styles, colors and quantities ONLINE. Why ??? Retailers have ZERO margin on the iPod so they NEED the accessory add-on sale to make a profit on an iPod sale. When they sell a ZEN or a Zune, the profit is there like every other product in the store. It is not necessary for the store to sell the accessory, so they decide that it is not as important to have a ZEN or Zune accessory, as it is to have an iPod accessory. Online retailers will sell anything under the sun. They don't worry about where it comes from because most products are dropped ship from a distributor. They make profit on everything, except iPod sales.
There are plenty of accessories for all players. Most of them are available in many styles, colors and quantities ONLINE. Why ??? Retailers have ZERO margin on the iPod so they NEED the accessory add-on sale to make a profit on an iPod sale. When they sell a ZEN or a Zune, the profit is there like every other product in the store. It is not necessary for the store to sell the accessory, so they decide that it is not as important to have a ZEN or Zune accessory, as it is to have an iPod accessory. Online retailers will sell anything under the sun. They don't worry about where it comes from because most products are dropped ship from a distributor. They make profit on everything, except iPod sales. So menin what you're saying is that they don't make a profit of ipod sales so they compensate by selling accessories? Seems bizarre.Why just not sell them in the first place? I feel that it was the Marketing, and the Accessories! You don't see any good accessories for the Zune or Creative do you? All electronics will have "bugs" because of the firmware updates! Things are more complex now then they were 20 years ago! That's a good point.so People buy they ipods for the accessories.we'll this is all starting to add up.People buy ipod's because of the accessories and that's how the stores make a profit of selling ipod's,because people buy they accessories.
If people are buying Mp3 players because of add-on accesories... That's just wrong... It should be better to buy two different products... Remember... An appliance should do what an appliance does best which is do what it was originally intended to do. Any extras and stuff are just icing on the cake. Sure they're good and all... But it's not meant to fufill what it was originally meant to do (unless you like subpar quality or are willing to sacrifice some things for others). Back to Apple and iPods. Okay I feel like I can say this because I own an iPod (my mom owns one too). I don't mean to insult anyone (so please, don't bombard me with hate replies or PMs, emails, etc.) but the majority (if not all) the Apple and iPod users that I met so far, think that Apple products are FAR superior than any other products from other companies. Of course... It could be the people I met, but considering that people on forums and people I know actually saying that to me... Because I've heard this soooo much... I feel that Apple products are overrated (again my unbiased and non-offending opinion guaranteed by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution under the clause of Freedom of Speech). Aside from the fact that iPods (or atleast my iPod nano) is waterproof (it survived a week in the washing machine), I don't see what's so great about the iPod. The sound quality isn't that great and there are a lot more skinner and thinner Mp3s out there that feature larger screens and more features than the iPod (for those who like extra features). Also, battery life is poor after a few uses... The 10hr battery drops down to like 6hr for mine at full charge... Also their screen scratches easily and sometimes they turn on by itself and kill itself (wastes the battery). On the plus side... iPods are waterproof (or atleast mine is). I hear they have good customer service if the Mp3 breaks or something although I never actually experienced their customer service... They're design is okay I guess for those who like simple things (I like more complex things so no argument there). I just wish it was a bit more tweakable without downloading anything extra like iPod Linux. That's just my two cents on the iPod. I could say more... But my fingers are starting to hurt...
Great post,i agree with that apple products are way overated,but that's marketing for you my freind.I think that ipods work exactly in the same way as clothes designers,they make the younger generation believe that if you don't have an ipod then you're not as cool. I don't agree with you that it's not good sound quality cause it is good quality.but yes,i totaly forgot to say that my battery on my ipods only lasts about 2 hours and i have had it for a year. I'm thinking of naming this thread IPOD OPINION because it's turning out to be quite succesful. What do you guys think?
