“When Steve Jobs, Apple Computer Inc.’s chief executive officer, unveiled iPod mini in January, critics frowned. They said that iPod mini, a slimmed-down version of Apple’s runaway hit, the iPod digital music player, was too expensive and that cheaper versions from Apple’s competitors would eat its lunch,” David Akin reports for The Globe and Mail.
Akin reports, “The critics couldn’t have been more wrong. Even before it hit the stores on Feb. 20, Apple had received 100,000 orders for the $249 (U.S.) iPod mini. (The item goes on sale in Canada next month, the company says.) The product has also won raves from reviewers, one of whom said using one was close to being a ‘religious experience.’ Sales of iPod have also helped to win new fans among investors.”
Full article here.
Related MacDailyNews Article:
iPod success opens door to Mac OS X on Intel – March 04, 2004
Lost you, eh? Serves me right for being ironic. (We Mac users may pride ourselves on being smarter than PC users; but in my experience, we’re just better informed about one small area of technology. That’s no guarantee that we’ll be especially smart about anything else.)
Look, I’ll spell it out in the smallest words I can:
Just because a thing has happened before does not prove it will happen again. It does not prove that it will ALWAYS happen. The sun rises, but it does not go up for ever. Microsoft dominates the OS & office software markets, but that does not mean it will dominate every business it enters. Apple does not make cheap computers, but that does not mean that all its products will be more expensive than the competition. Clear so far?
Already, with the iPod mini, we see Bob S’s prediction disproved. The entire Mini retails for less than the retail price of the hard drive alone. A few other manufacturers also have 4-GB music players for $249, but nobody has one under $200. Likewise, 99 cents per track at iTMS is competitive with most other online music stores. Apple is fully price-competitive in those two markets. To claim that they cannot compete on price is a lie, because they are already doing just that.
(By the way, markups in consumer electronics are TINY, & most of the successful retail chains buy direct from the manufacturers, Wal-Mart style, in huge quantities. If Apple gets a deal on those hard drives, you can be sure Best Buy & Circuit City will press hard to get the same deal.)
okay, Jay.
I think “Bob S” was replying to the previous writer about Apple having no serious competition in the ipod product line.
The thought being that once other competitors get the same deal on the hardware components then Apple may have problems.
But as you state, the entire mini sells for less that the hard drive….so maybe apple is taking a loss on each of the ipods???
Hoping to build market share and maybe get some computer sales?