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Apple’s iPod has blood on its Click Wheel: Virgin Electronics is dead

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 · 2:05 pm · 44 Comments

“Yep, Virgin Electronics is dead. We’ve just gotten confirmation from their PR rep that the company failed to receive additional funding from parent Virgin Group and that they’re quietly discontinuing all of their product lines (mainly MP3 players and portable speakers),” Peter Rojas reports for Engadget. “…we’re guessing sales must have been way, way worse than they’d expected.”

Full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Let the domino tumbling begin. Note for Ralph in Sioux City, Iowa and Lou in Rochester, New York, “the rep made it clear that they will continue honor all warranties,” Rojas reports.

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Comment Feed

44 Comments

1 2 Next »

rogozhin

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 - 3:20 pm · Reply

Branson spent too much money on sending his billionaire buddy Fossett on his solo non-stop flight around the world, and so now the blood starts flowing at Virgin Abbatoir…
JadisOne

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 - 3:21 pm · Reply

This is what happens when you don’t get it and take Apple as a toy company, you get crushed. Bets on who’s next? 100:1 on Napster, 50:1 on Real, 25:1 on Wal-Mart, 10:1 on Sony’s music store.

Apple’s brow may have been bloodied during the 90s, but its head remained unbowed.
ndelc

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 - 3:22 pm · Reply

I guess you could say the virgin was deflowered

Sorry!
NY Post

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 - 3:24 pm · Reply

Inspired headline, MDN!
Rob Nash

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 - 3:27 pm · Reply

You’ve gotta check out their comparison with their mp3 player and the ipod, it’s really funny now

RIP

link
Rob Nash

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 - 3:28 pm · Reply

for some reason the long address don’t work…

sorry

go to http://www.virginelectronics.com and then check out the 5gb mp3 player and then the compare button
easy money

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 - 3:31 pm · Reply

well shit JadisOne ill put 100 on all of them, i know there all going under, im gonna be rolling in it.
botox

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 - 3:35 pm · Reply

iRiver is next!!! CryRiver!!
Mac Web Awards

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 - 3:37 pm · Reply

And the award for “Best Headline on the ‘Mac Web’ for 2005″ goes to MacDailyNews for their post on Tuesday, March 08, 2005…

MDN Magic Word: “indeed”

Now I’m scared!
soup dogg

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 - 3:37 pm · Reply

Fossett might have been listening to an iPod to pass time during his solo flight!
Rhoytink

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 - 3:40 pm · Reply

And when they break. what d’you do then?
MacGyver

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 - 3:42 pm · Reply

Do you think Virgin will be smart enough to just eat crow and start selling iPods again?
Boeing777

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 - 3:51 pm · Reply

MDN, a day will come when many will laugh at your pitiful way of holding an apple’s fan news website that it’ll be very difficult to find any sympathy.
Keep laughing at others misfortune like an immature kid instead of reporting news that is relevant to apple.
Apple doesn’t need scum like you.
Virgin Customer

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 - 3:56 pm · Reply

Now what do I do with all of these proprietary WMF songs on my Virgin Device?????

How do I convert them to the Industry Standard AAC and transfer them onto the Industry Standard iPod????
RC

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 - 3:58 pm · Reply

Geez, Boeing…Get a sense of humor you dumbass…
Macaday

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 - 4:05 pm · Reply

“MDN, a day will come when many will laugh at your pitiful way of holding an apple’s fan news website that it’ll be very difficult to find any sympathy.”

…what on earth is he saying? Just as well Boing777 isn’t writing any headlines.

Seemed to me to be a pretty appropriate use of language. Although understandably irritating if you happened to work for Virgin Electronics.
ABQ Peter

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 - 4:16 pm · Reply

well, they lasted a year. wonder if business week will do a follow up article and compare what actually happened to what they said a year ago. probably not.
Jeremy

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 - 4:18 pm · Reply

Boeing,

You must work for Virgin, loser!
Didja Faarget

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 - 4:21 pm · Reply

Boing777, you were sitting right next to me in dramatic monologue class! I can’t BELIEVE you forgot RUE. No big deal, buddy, I’ll pick up your slack.

MDN, you will RUE the day you spoke ill will upon the heads of Virgin Electronics!!
Judeg Bork

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 - 4:32 pm · Reply

I find it hard to believe that MDN will rue the day they spoke ill will upon the heads of Virgin Electronics, since they didn’t do that to begin with, and, of course, there is no Virgin Electronics.

Muahahahahahahaha!
Tuner Equalizer

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 - 4:32 pm · Reply

I think iRiver will not fold.
Winston

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 - 4:38 pm · Reply

Hey, I for one love snarky headlines. Here are a few more…

Immaculate Rejection: Virgin Gets Snubbed

The Virgin Suicides: The Day the Music Died

In Music’s Garden of Eden, Apple Tempts, Virgin Tanks
edgeknight

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 - 4:39 pm · Reply

Virgin, as a whole, is a brand image company. No one expects Virgin to be a pioneer in new technologies. Virgin markets “things” under the Virgin logo to turn a profit. Usually this is a short term strategy (3-5 years at least). For example, Virgin Air was a niche airline that catered to the edgey and hip traveler, not business travelers. Virgin cola was an attempt to cash in on the pre-carb-crazy soda wars of the late nineties. Virgin mobile is set up to cash in on hip/trendy people who want to buy a phone anywhere without having a subscription. Virgin electronics was set up to cash in on consumer electronics that were trendy at the time. Virgin Galactic services (or whatever they’re calling their space service) is all about cashing in on rich people’s desire to travel to space. None of these are long term market strategies. The goal is to make a profit in the short term and then reinvest. Virgin owns a lot more than what I’ve stated, but those “things” that clearly brandish the Virgin logo are trying to cash in on the Virgin “image”. This news above is nothing unexpected. I wouldn’t read too much into it. Virgin Electronics ran its course.
edgeknight

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 - 4:45 pm · Reply

One more thing…
A smart CEO knows when to enter and exit a market. A smart CEO knows how to transition out of a losing market. A smart CEO knows how to take advantage of a rising market. Smart CEOs don’t drive their company into the ground, they keep themselves profitable.
If the CEO of iRiver is smart, they’ll be looking to transition to another product just in case they lose the MP3 player market. Smart CEOs don’t drive their company into the ground, they keep themselves profitable.

NOTE: Not all CEOs are smart. Hence the dilemma. Competition is a minor problem in business if the CEO is not smart.
king_alvarez

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 - 5:12 pm · Reply

Who’s going to the Napster to go tour? You can get some free coffee and possibly a free iRiver, Creative or Dell mp3 player (presumably to stir the coffee with).
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1497877/20050308/index.jhtml?headlines=true