Marco R. della Cava writes for The USA Today, “Befitting a contraption that has captured the fancy of everyone from working stiffs to head-bopping celebrities like Nicole Kidman and Leonardo DiCaprio, the iPod has created its own:
Economy. Dozens of new companies cater to the faithful, including accessory manufacturers that turn your iPod into a digital audio recorder; fashion firms making clothes with iPod-ready pockets; and companies that will load your entire CD collection onto your iPod.
Cultural trends. Some nightclubs are offering patrons the chance to DJ via their iPods, while even bolder owners practice iPod “jacking,” momentarily swapping units with a stranger to tap into another devotee’s musical soul.
Naysayers. Some consumers still balk at the top-of-the-line iPod’s cost, and others have yet to be convinced that Apple’s version of the MP3 player will ultimately dominate the category. Recently, Dell CEO Kevin Rollins dissed the iPod as a “one-product wonder” that his and other companies would top soon.
“Tell that to iPod’s legions and get ready to duck. All you need to know is that one woman calls hers My Precious after the prized Lord of the Rings talisman,” della Cava writes. “Interviews with owners of various ages tell the same unsolicited tale. They shun today’s radio programming (too much talk, not enough good songs) and resent buying CDs that are full of songs they don’t want (they gladly spend 99 cents a song at Apple’s iTunes online music store, where 1.2 million songs are snapped up daily).”
The rest in the full (and we mean “full,” as in “small book”) here.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
BusinessWeek: Rather than dismissing Apple products as fads, Dell should try starting a few – January 31, 2005
Dismissive Dell CEO not impressed with Apple Mac mini, calls iPod a ‘one-product wonder’ and a ‘fad’ – January 17, 2005
“Economy. Dozens of new companies cater to the faithful, “
So they are using “the faithful” for iPod users now too. I kinda like that. I have read in many other articles where Mac Users are referred to this way (as opposed to Mac Addict, MacHead, MacFan, etc.).
“The Mac Faithful”
Shortened to just “The Faithful” hehehehehe. That’s kinda cool.
I am one of “The Faithful” hehehehehe.
That is what I am gonna use from now on. Are you one of the faithful?
ME & son were way cool before everyone else. 1G iPod
I’m an old timer too– love getting looks when I have it out. People look inquisitive because they see it’s not like the new ones.
I love that it’s Mac only, too.
Another 1G owner here. People with later generations ipods think my scroll wheel that actually, physically scrolls is way cool. After playing with a mini recently, I think i have more control with my scroll wheel.
The funny thing about ‘naysayers’ is that..
It’s MY iPod..
I’m not going to buy a piece of crap and listen to MY music on a Dell Junkbox to make YOU feel good. I pay the consequences for the purchase.
There is no benefit to buying a POS. Even hardened PC drones tell me… ‘bah.. just get an iPod’.. they know what’s up.
1G owner also, now on the click wheel…i like the click wheel better. All my friends now have ipods…seriously…every single one of em….and now one has an emac, another a powerbook, and one ibook….they are starting to get it
The funny thing is that the only “anti-iPod” comment is about albums/album art. However, this comment is not specific to the iPod, nor to digital music players: the same argument applies to the radio, the walkman, and, as far as the album art, is an argument I’ve heard about CDs.
My points here: first, the idea of iPod being “proprietary” never pops up, which is good because it’s retarded. Second, its seems the author is essentially using iPod and HD based music player synonymously, which is in some ways good. iPod is the best current incarnation. The tradeoff is that one of the best features of the iPod, the seemless integration with iTunes on both PC and Mac, is not discussed. I think it’s far superior that the “plays for sure” track – downloading from multiple stores must make track management a nightmare and I can only imagine the fun of having to download drivers for whatever crappy player you have.
“…and others have yet to be convinced that Apple’s version of the MP3 player will ultimately dominate the category.”
If having most (if not all) of the market share in the category isn’t dominating, then nothing will convince these people.
Everyone still thinks that this stuff is in its infancy, and when all the others catch on, the market will mature and Apple will lose its hold. The thing is, all the other companies have caught on, and can’t get any sort of footing. This suggests that the market has matured, and Apple has “ultimately dominated the category.” I mean, has anyone even come close? Will anyone? Consider the category dominated.
Old-timer here as well. The ironic thing is that my wife bought the 1G iPod for me for Christmas when they were first introduced, then when she replaced it with a 3G another Christmas, I passed on the 1G to her. She was extremely skeptical about the whole digital music thing, preferring to take her morning walks with her trusty Discman. I convinced her to try out the ‘Pod, showing her how easy it was to build playlists etc., now she wouldn’t give it up at gunpoint. What’s really amusing is how on one of her regular trips to the Apple Store to bask in the Cupertino karmic radiation, one of the Geniuses spotted her 1G, and she was quickly crowded by a bunch of Apple Store employees who had never seen one before. She was absolutely flabbergasted by the Apple people treating the 1G iPod like an historical relic.
was quickly crowded by a bunch of Apple Store employees who had never seen one before
—
that is quite funny…
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” /> in a good way..
2001 is old-school? hehe
“with shuffle you don’t have to find your music, it’s shuffled up for you.”
steve jobs
I was at the soho store(amazing store im going 2 work there) I was looking at the classic ipod and even in general it’s high. It’s so good. I have all three ipods photo mini shuffle. There all good. It feels like that’s the best one. Classic. Apple created that originally. ah even with the shuffle it’s still third best seller.
Ipod photo 60 gig, green mini engraved, shuffle, 17″ G5 imac 1G ram 160 gig hd bluetooth, 12″ 1.33GHz powerbook superdrive 768MB ram 80 gig 5400rpm hd
I recently was in an Apple Store when a sales person asked if I was familar with Apple. Oh yes, I started out with the Apple Lisa and have used Apple computers ever since. The sales person almost fell over that this almost 70 guy knew something about Apples. Then he blurted out that he wasn’t even born when the Lisa came out (82). Finally he got around to asking me if he could show me anything. Nope but I would like to purchase the Mac mini. I didn’t need to test it and what a deal it turned out to be! I pulled my Power Mac 7600/132 off my network and had my mini working in less than 5 minutes. Don’t ask me how much Apple stock I own or what I paid for it. Soon the Apple will be the standard.
it’ll b a scary world when the mini has 512 ram in it for 499 and when tiger comes out. Oh my god. mac mini with 512 ram with tiger for 499. You have the unstoppable machine that no one can deny. oh yeah. and add in a superdive.
sorry before 512mb shuffle
the made gold when they made this steve jobs unveils the original mac it’s the most amazing most moving video you have seen it’s still revolutionary today:snake:
http://81.92.6.144/1984macintro_2.mov
My 1G iPod will be 3 years old in May, and I can’t believe how well it’s held up. I can tell the battery doesn’t have quite the same staying power it used to, but with my moderate usage I still need to charge it only about once a week.
You know the toughest thing about owning an Apple product? Finding an excuse to replace it…
(Ooh, the magic word is “leaders”! Must refer to Apple…)
LordRobin:
Yep, my 1G is a “first weekend in the UK” unit purchased in October or early November 2001.
I notice that the battery life gets better the more I use it (i.e. if dormant for a couple of weeks, the battery will only last a couple of hours but then it seems to get back to normal), which sounds perverse but is true.
Of course, the headphones were useless so were replaced with B&O’s rather dinky little units.
harry!
that link is “golden”!!!
glad steve dumped the bowtie…
awsome
thanks
Went to WalMart on Saturday night…in the electronics section was an iPod mini AND a white iPod…not sure which gb version, but it wasn’t the iPod photo.
I was so surprised to see the regular white iPod there! The display was locked and not easy to see…it was way down at the bottom. There was no ad or sign or anything, just the boxes for both the iPod mini and the iPod in a locked case side by side.
I complained to the employee that no one would even notice them where they were. He turned out to be just another person that immigrates to this country and thinks we are going to learn his language instead of him having to learn English. He didn’t have a clue.