“Apple-bashing seems to be at a fever pitch lately. Non-believers say Mr. Jobs has been making too many ‘this-product-is-going-to-change-the-world’ presentations. They argue the company continues to make over-priced, under-powered computers. They compare Apple devotees to a cult, a herd of self-important wannabes who blindly fawn over everything that comes out of headquarters in Cupertino, Calif.,” Christopher Hutsul reports for The Star.
“As a long-time Apple user, I’ve always been quick to defend the company. My computing experience is divided between the slow, cumbersome PC I use at work, and the crisp, breezy Apple environment I use at home. My G4 tower, nearly five years old, hasn’t crashed in over a year, and still handles tasks briskly. The brand has earned my respect,” Hutsul reports. “But I have to admit that Mr. Jobs’s shtick is wearing thin, and there are some troubling developments in Apple-land. First, the iPod itself, despite its success, presents problems. Today, the company’s success is based not on computer sales, but on MP3 players. Can Apple keep finding new iPod customers? Doesn’t everyone who can afford one already own one?”
“iTunes. The MP3 software used by Apple was once a lean, simple program. The most recent version, equipped to manage podcasts and the iTunes music store, is a dud. In a push to make online music buying more habitual, Apple has removed the option of switching off the music store. The result: there’s so much happening in iTunes, that it resembles an early version of Realplayer — one of the many ungainly PC-based MP3 players that prompted people to seek out the simplicity of iTunes in the first place,” Hutsul writes.
Note: As MacDailyNews reader “Suicidal Gingerbread Man,” notes below: In iTunes’ Preferences, go to the “Parental” section and check the box for “Disable Music Store.”
Hutsul also uses the Motorola iTunes-capable ROKR phone as an example of hardware getting “sloppy,” and blaming Apple for Motorola’s design. Another sign that the company is scrambling is the recent release of the lacklustre Motorola ROKR MP3 phone.
Full article here.
For the fiscal year ending September 24, 2005, Apple’s Computer’s revenue on iPod and iTunes Music Store sales, iPod services, and Apple-branded and third-party iPod accessories, accounted for $5.439 billion of Apple’s $13.931 billion in annual net revenue or 39% of Apple’s business. Mac hardware and Mac software sales accounted for the other 61%. And so, Hutsul is inaccurate and misleading when he writes, “Today, the company’s success is based not on computer sales, but on MP3 players.” Apple’s Mac lineup is stronger than ever and about to get even stronger. Next, iTunes is not a dud, the iTunes Music Store is a website; is Hutsul complaining about the ever-changing design of an online store? The store is meant to show the latest releases and maintain a fresh look with each visit. The rest of the iTunes player is comfortingly familiar and has maintained its simplicity very well. So, Hutsul’s wrong on this count, too. Finally, to blame Apple for Motorola’s design is another mistake by Hutsul. By the way, the Motorola ROKR is not a “crummy” phone, as Hutsul writes, its just too limited by song capacity for many people and uses a conventional “candy bar” design based upon a solid, proven phone design. The best thing about the phone is Apple’s contribution: the iTunes software. There are more and better iTunes phones coming from Motorola soon. Hutsul seems to have set out with an idea, and an old idea to boot: “the iPod is distracting Apple from the Mac,” and then conjured up “examples” in an attempt to support his old idea. Sorry, Mr. Hutsul, it didn’t work.
[Update: 10:40am EST: Rewrote portions of the take to clarify that the $13.931 billion figure was Apple’s annual net sales, not quarterly.]
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Related article:
Motorola’s upcoming ROKR E2 Apple iTunes music phone based on PEBL design – December 02, 2005
Motorola to redesign ROKR iTunes phone with new sleek look and 1,000 song capacity in early 2006 – November 16, 2005
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