“There is no doubt in my mind that the iPod Nano is a hit. Sleek sexy and signaling a move from the aging white ID to a more contemporary black this product is well priced and uses the successful iPod interface. For the iPod users ready to get the next big thing in music players and for those just coming into the fold this should be a hit,” Rob Enderle writes for Technology Pundits. “However the phone is another story.”
Enderle explains that he feels that Apple doesn’t partner with others very well, using the HP iPod as an example. Of course, it could be argued rather easily that HP was the company that didn’t partner very well. After all, HP changed courses midstream with a new CEO who didn’t broker the original deal (which was bad for HP in our opinion; Fiorina got “Jobbed”). Also of note, even as HP announced the end of the deal, HP was number two in U.S. market share with 5-8% of the market. Remember, it was Rob Enderle who said in February 2004 that the Apple iPod by HP would “instantly triple or quadruple [iPod] sales.” Because that never came remotely close to happening, instantly or otherwise, it was Apple’s fault for not partnering well? Of course not.
Enderle continues, “While there is a chance that loyal iTunes users could heavy lift this phone to large numbers it probably won’t have the impact that an Apple designed phone might have had for all three players. Such a device may still be coming, but to us this phone simply doesn’t have enough Apple in it and that will limit its success.”
Full article here.
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We agree that the iPod nano will be huge. While we think the ROKR phone will be a good seller, it is just the first in a line of phones from Motorola, so it bodes well for Apple’s iTunes and iTunes Music Store however you slice it. Of course, we would definitely love to see what Apple’s Jonathan Ive could do if he designed a mobile phone.
Related articles:
Jupiter analyst Gartenberg: ‘the market is going to go for Apple iPod nano in a big way’ – September 07, 2005
Analyst: iPod nano ‘could be Apple’s next home run’ – September 07, 2005
Video of Steve Jobs introducing iPod nano, ROKR iTunes phone now available online – September 07, 2005
Apple’s Steve Jobs predicts ultra-thin iPod nano ‘will become the highest volume iPod in the world’ – September 07, 2005
Apple introduces iPod nano – September 07, 2005
HP CEO Hurd: why HP stopped selling Apple’s iPod – September 01, 2005
Hewlett-Packard ousts CEO Carly Fiorina, and what was with that ‘Apple iPod by HP’ deal anyway? – February 09, 2005