[URL]http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/07/ipod-deathbed/[/URL]
[QUOTE]If sales of Apple’s iPod are any indication, the heyday of the MP3 player is over and done with.
iPod sales have been [URL="http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/07/15/analysts-ipods-sales-expected-to-decline-7-2-year-over-year/"]steadily declining[/URL] since their peak at [URL="http://www.cultofmac.com/analysts-the-ipod-is-dying/104793"]22.7 million[/URL] in December 2008, and analysts estimate another 7.2 percent drop over the quarter that just ended.
Apple still commands 70 percent of the MP3 player market, but it’s clear that other mobile devices, namely smartphones and tablets, can do the job of an MP3 player (while performing a myriad of other functions, too).
In September of last year, Apple dramatically [URL="http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/09/hands-on-apple-ipods/"]revamped its line of iPods[/URL], even giving the iPod Touch some features that were unique to the iPhone 4 at the time, namely [URL="http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/tag/facetime"]FaceTime[/URL]. Smartphones are[URL="http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/06/android-iphone-growth/"]increasingly dominating[/URL] U.S. mobile phone purchases, and as consumers purchase the feature-rich devices, they no longer have a need for the single-purpose MP3 player. Rumors have blazed [URL="http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/09/ipod-event/"]for years[/URL]that Apple would discontinue one (typically the iPod Classic) or more iPod models, but it hasn’t happened yet.
It’s worth nothing that for the first time since the iPod Touch was introduced, it’s not being included in Apple’s Back to School promo as a freebie with a Mac purchase. The iPod Touch was replaced with a $100 iTunes gift card — a freebie that can be used with almost any Apple device, and could help bolster their soon-to-be burgeoning [URL="http://www.wired.com/epicenter/tag/icloud/"]iCloud streaming service[/URL].
It’s possible that Apple could lay an iPod, likely the old iPod Classic rather than the more popular iPod Touch, to rest at its upcoming September event.
But although iPod sales are shrinking, it’s hardly an issue for Apple. The iPhone 4 sold [URL="http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9216004/Apple_breaks_iPhone_sales_record_again"]18.6 million units[/URL]in the first quarter of 2011 alone. And according to a study from Resolve Market Research, [URL="http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/07/tablets-ereaders-netbooks/"]between 80 and 90% of tablet-owning respondents[/URL] had an iPad or iPad 2. But, some analysts think Apple missed out on an opportunity for more sales.
“We believe iOS devices would have been up ~20 percent (quarter over quarter) if iPhone 5 had shipped in June,” Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster [URL="http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/11/07/15/massive_android_activations_not_viewed_as_concern_for_apple.html"]said today[/URL]. In late June, Google’s Andy Rubin [URL="http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/06/andy-rubin-500000-android-activations-daily/"]tweeted that[/URL]there are over half a million Android device activations happening daily, and yesterday, that number jumped up to [URL="http://techcrunch.com/2011/07/14/android-now-seeing-550000-activations-per-day/"]550,000[/URL] per day. Some of those extra purchases could have been iPhones, had an iPhone 5 been available.
Regardless, Apple still has a solid spot as one of the [URL="http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/06/android-iphone-growth/"]top three smartphone manufacturers[/URL] in the United States. And as more and more people lay their MP3 players to rest, they’ll be turning to smartphones to plug in for their mobile music fix.[/QUOTE]
Yes, now lets make phones with decent storage capacity please.
Finall, Apple can suck it. Wait for the lawsuits to arise.
Jesus christ, finally.
They should forget the other iPods and just make an iPod Touch with the iPod Classic storage capacity.
No shit, it's on the decline. An iPod Touch (or other related devices and smartphones) is so much more than a music player and costs just a bit more and loses a bit in capacity which only the most through music-hoarders would care about. Why buy something that can only play music when you can spend a bit more and browse the internet, play games, check your email and take pictures?
Meh, I still buy cheap little walkmans. Since I am cheap.
Maybe their sales are decreasing because people don't want to buy a new model every year.
I have all my music on my mobile phone, I don't want to carry around a seperate device for that.
Fuck Apple
I still regret purchasing an iPod Touch 4G, it just didn't feel worth the 8GB capacity.
[editline]15th July 2011[/editline]
[QUOTE=Nathax;31143163]Fuck Apple[/QUOTE]
[img]http://puu.sh/3nc3[/img]
I used my psp as a mobile media center, it beat the shit out of iphone and ipod touch games by one factor, actual controls. also storage capacity was upgradeable to 32gb.
[QUOTE=triFeral;31143197]I still regret purchasing an iPod Touch 4G, it just didn't feel worth the 8GB capacity.
[editline]15th July 2011[/editline]
[img]http://puu.sh/3nc3[/img][/QUOTE]
I got a walkman for £30 with a capacity of 8Gb.
You dumb shits and your anti-apple angst. It's pathetic.
Haven't loads of people already bought one? Surely the market for mp3 players is so saturated right now that there can't be a realistic expectation for sales in ipods to increase?
Also I've had mine since I was 16 so they don't exactly beg for replacing every year.
put a hard drive on an ipod touch
i cant wait for the new nano's to fail so i can buy one on the cheap
[QUOTE=Performula;31143277]You dumb shits and your anti-apple angst. It's pathetic.[/QUOTE]
Most people don't hate apple it's just that you can buy a cheap sony walkman device that costs 100's of dollars less and does the exact same thing.
Apple ipods are nice. Their computers however are terrible for what the offer and overpriced. Of course sales are going to decline if there arent any new generations of ipods coming out.
I got annoyed at how EVERYBODY and their 8 year old sister wanted an iPod around that time so yeah I guess that was the peak.
But if it does decline to the point where another takes over, what company will reign at the top? or will it be an even split between all companies kind of how the computer industry is?
As for what you guys are posting about your preference:
I like my Zune. Somtimes I wish I had more apps for it but that would only make me antisocial.
I do not want to turn this into a debate.
[QUOTE=Reimu;31143419]I hope this means all of the iPod products could face dramatic price cuts.
Don't need to spend $500 for an inflated iTouch.[/QUOTE]
that will be outdated and people will make fun of you for owning a year later...
As soon as my Zune dies I'll by a walkman or something cheap. I never watch movies on it and rarely use the internet unless its just for convenience or I want to feel cool..
I hope this means all of the iPod products could face dramatic price cuts.
Don't need to spend $500 for an inflated iTouch.
The least Apple can do is make an iPod Classic with a built-in accelerometer in the hard disk; they might have a bottomless capacity, but god help you if you drop it, it'll never work again.
Original was great, then every other Ipod after that was a slight improvement for the same price.
And why the hell is it showing me using an iPhone with Navigator? Icm on a Droid phone with the FireFox app.
I don't really see why you guys are so happy about this
Maybe its declining because everyone and their dog owns one now. Whats the point in buying one when you own a functional one.
last year it was my first year of middle school and all my friends turned up with they`re new ipods and iphones. from what i've read on here apple sucks big time so i bought an mp3 player from the dollar store for $20. it broke on the second day and my friends think i'm stupid as hell but at least it wasn't an apple
[QUOTE=SomeDumbShit;31143660]Maybe its declining because everyone and their dog owns one now. Whats the point in buying one when you own a functional one.[/QUOTE]
I don't know about the rest of you but my parents iPods break all the time. They go to the gym with them and keep them in the case but they break within months
and every one of my friends iTouches have broken screens.
and their support and repair policy ain't the best either from my experience.
[QUOTE=Walrus.;31143342]Most people don't hate apple it's just that you can buy a cheap sony walkman device that costs 100's of dollars less and does the exact same thing.[/QUOTE]
Doesn't seem like the case here.
Apple is a successful company because it realizes what consumers want, and does a good job at making products that do just that. I could elaborate more. If you want.
Seems like a lot of the posters here just dislike the fact that a company is so good in what they do, and that people are willing to pay up for their goods and services.
You guys say the Sony Walkman does great job at doing what it does. Maybe that's true (I haven't used one). But for some reason, Walkmans aren't flying off the shelves. Why? Well it seems most consumers don't want what it has to offer. Seems Apple is a [I]little [/I]more keen on what most people want.
That's what's up.
[QUOTE=triFeral;31143197][editline]15th July 2011[/editline]
[img]http://puu.sh/3nc3[/img][/QUOTE]
Apple can go fall off a cliff for all I care.
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