“In spite of the massive success that Apple has enjoyed with its iPod line of portable music players, the company must still be feeling the pressure from the competition. Apple has filled a patent application on how future iPods will use wireless for electronic media purchasing online,” Susan J. Campbell writes for TMCnet.
Campbell writes, “This application filing occurs not too soon before the much-anticipated release of the Microsoft Zune. While this could be an effort to fight the software giant and its product directly, it should be noted that Zune’s built-in Wi-Fi will be limited to the file sharing between devices with no direct Internet purchases from the handheld.”
Campbell writes, “The events that have led to the filing of a patent application still remain unknown; however it should give an indication that Apple fears its dominance in the market is threatened. This is interesting given the reasons for the iPod’s success in the first place.”
Campbell writes, “Apple and its iPod didn’t earn its throne in the portable music player industry because it had the easiest to use player that offered the best song selection. This success also didn’t come because it offered the most competitive price. Apple has been able to dominate this market because of its marketing campaign, pure and simple.”
She keeps on writing in the full article here.
Can you believe these writers have what we assume are paying jobs? Apple has filed hundreds of iPod-related patents in order to protect their inventions, pure and simple. The “fear” is that some company will steal your invention. Obviously. Apple has filed so many wireless-related iPod patent application, that we don’t even know precisely which one Campbell is referencing (she does not provide a patent number or link). We assume Campbell’s talking about this iPod patent application. And, in order to have fear of the competition, it would be helpful to first have some credible competition to fear, Susan. We’re not going to bother recounting why iPod is successful, but its marketing, while formidable, is certainly and obviously not the only reason. TGIF.
Related articles: Search for “patent” at the bottom of any MacDailyNews page to see articles about iPod and other patents.
HAD to write this woman in the articles “Talk Back” section. Wrote:
_
Author stated: “Apple and its iPod didn’t earn its throne in the portable music player industry because it had the easiest to use player that offered the best song selection.”
Did you seriously mean to say “didn’t earn” or was that a typo? That is the craziest statement I’ve heard from a writer. EVERYTHING Apple designs is easier to use than anything else out there. The Operating System, the iPods their AirPort wireless base stations, Apple’s software. Apple is all about ease of use since it’s inception in the 1980’s many years before Microsoft copied with Windows. I think ease of use is at the TOP of the list for most iPod users I know. Have YOU ever used one? Our 10 year old uses his easily. He also is skilled in PC and Mac. He MUCH prefers the Mac.
–
High School Counselor: “Susan, I know you love to write all kinds of stories, but there isn’t a lot of money out there for fiction book writers these days, I mean who reads books anymore. I suggest you go into journalism. There are many of those fields with new ones opening up, like the big technology field that’s always expanding.”
And the rest is history.
How to become an analyst.
1) Write an article attacking an Apple product.
2) Based on the traffic from mac zealots, show how popular you are.
3) Get a job. :rolleyes:
This is what I wrote to Susan Campbell:
First, I assume that writing articles like “Apple Files iPod Patent: Fear of Competition or Exposure?” isn’t your day job. Secondly, it’s obvious that you have a PC sitting on your desk and have never had the “Mac” experience, otherwise you would never write a naive and uninformed article like this. Thirdly, you probably own an iPod, but but have bought “other” ear buds to conceal it.
All companies feel the competitive pressure of protecting their products and Apple is certainly one of them, but to say that the success of the iPod is because of its marketing is an insult to the consumer. The public is much more sophisticated than that. Yes, consumers buy products because marketing makes them aware of the products, but sustained success comes from a product that is indeed easy to use, offers selection and is affordably priced.
“the iPod was the portable player of choice for the rich and famous” ? AND “our quest to be like the rich and famous” ? Absurd. “The fruity giant” has sold 70 million iPods because it’s a useful product of high quality at a good price that consumers are NOT anywhere close to tiring of. Picture it…70 million people running around with an iPod all saying, “hey look, I’m just like the rich and famous”…ridiculous.
Maybe you should consider going into politics…running a smear campaign for one of our “fruity” congressmen.
I think that with the responses that Susan will get from the readers of her article, the Mac faithfull will have kept their reputation. Even if her assumptions were completely wrong in the first place.
Susan Campbell is pissed because her patent filing on stupidity proved too late. Bob Enderle and I are battling it out in court, but I’ll win because I’m a lawyer. There’s no room for her. I won’t share my stupidity with anyone. She’ll have to pay for a license, like everyone else.
If anyone says I’m too smart to misspell my own name, I’ll sue you, too!