“Wednesday’s Apple announcements included some significant market advances, particularly the iPod Touch and the iTunes Wi-Fi Store. The new lineup of devices should keep the company clearly in the digital-media drivers’ seat through the end of 2007, at least, and the pricing strategy is rock-solid,” Matt Rosoff blogs for CNET.
Rosoff writes, “Even so, a few things that Apple didn’t announce might leave some room for other innovators.”
Rosoff’s list of what Apple didn’t announce:
• Subscription store
• Wireless sync
• User interaction
• The Beatles
Full article here.
Why no subscription service? Let me count the reasons . . . .
1. Users don’t want it.
2. For all this talk about Wi-Fi, the reality is that there are a relatively few number of free hot spots where you could access the service.
3. Users don’t want it.
4. The “impulse buying” he talks about wouldn’t affect revenues at all. It doesn’t matter if you listen to 10 or 10,000 songs in a month if it still costs you $10.
5. Users don’t want it.
6. Apple’s affiliation with Starbuck’s is MUCH more advantageous. The “impulse buying” is actual purchases, at $.99 or $1.29, Wi-Fi is already in most Starbuck’s, and Apple, Starbuck’s and the musician/music label all benefit. The end user has a very easy method to get new music they like.
7. Users don’t want it.
Perhaps he meant a subscription movie rental service?
Now that would work!
“user interaction”:
WiFi on the iPod touch could allow remote browsing/control/streaming of my own iTunes library already on my Mac to a stereo.
Also, the basic ability to edit, delete files, change playlists etc directly on the iPod without a PC is long overdue.
Funky Chicken: “Raise your hand if you want a subscription music service…anybody…anybody? No?”
No, but who else here wants to do the Funky Chicken?
Subscription movie service, more movie studios added to iTunes.
Apple always leaves a little something for next time.
Hopefully we’ll be able to download movies and TV shows from iTunes directly onto the iPod by next year’s event.
User interaction?
You fart and the track changes? That would be kinda cool.
A. Who gives a frickin’ damn about the The Beatles!?
B. Subscriptions peril to the abilities of iTunes and iPod – and people know it. This stuff is just too juicy to ignore, and its worth giving up a subscription deal to get what one gets with iPods and iTunes.
C. Wireless Sync. Need to connect and charge the iPod anyways, so sync that way while charging. Not a huge deal, and no one on the planet will make a purchasing decision on this idea – none. Apple is likely to included it mid-year with a SW update on iTunes and for iPods anyways.
D. What the fresh is user interaction? Please people!
iOrgasmatron
lbuschjr: I think you left out “Users don’t want it”.
One – perhaps the only – good use for a subscription service would be for classical music lovers, who have the choice of a multitude of recordings of the same composition. A 30-second preview is insufficient to base a purchase on, so subscibing and having the option of hearing several versions in full before purchasing makes some sense. But what percentage of iTunes sales are in classical music? I’m betting it’s pretty small.
“You fart and the track changes? That would be kinda cool.”
A Bluetooth Toot Tone would be great!
TT: There’s a lower cost model, the iJaculate if you’re just a little buy curious.
read my lips:
NO
SUBSCRIPTIONS!!!
…i LOVE this website and all its posters!
“TT: There’s a lower cost model, the iJaculate if you’re just a little buy curious.”
Yes, I have one……it was a hand-me-down!
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I want wireless sync…OTA for email is great, but iCal is a must for biz users. They already do it with .Mac…seems like it’s just a s/w update is necessary.
This article missed the two most compelling non-announcements… a 16GB iPhone with a price tag of $499.00 and a iTable for starting at who knows what!
The clock is ticking!
There the next big announcements that Apple has up it’s bag of tricks…
And I for one would buy both in a heart beat…
Wireless sync? Why? You still have to plug into charge, and synching is nearly instant.
I was hoping for a replicant, perhaps an actoroid.
Has it occurred to anyone else that perhaps one reason that the iPhone doesn’t interact better (or at all) with a Mac with Bluetooth is because Macs will need Leopard to communicate properly with iPhones? (Dunno about Windows, maybe they’re just gonna be SOL.) I’m probably wrong, but since it’s generally believed that the iPhone OS is a variant of Leopard (or however it’s properly stated), then maybe the iPhone can only interact with Leopard’s Address Book and other features.
I’m basically thinking about cool features like on-screen Caller ID for your iPhone while working on a nearby Mac, using your Mac to answer your iPhone or make calls, using your iPhone to remotely control iTunes, stuff like that. Just dreaming.
the name is Mike Rosoff
the beatles had a wide variety of music. if you say you dont like the beatles you have never really listened to them.
“You still have to plug into charge . . .”
Yeah but, wireless charging may be coming soon too.
@MacMorsel
ooohh, sorry, you’re way off on part of this one. .Mac may be involved but the price will not go up in any significant way. Steve knows human nature, lower the price and sales go up. This has been done recently with .Mac and is working. Including a streaming music service subscription as part of a free ” upgrade ” is much more likely and Apple-esque.
I have all of the Beatles music alredy loaded on my iTunes – oh let’s see – I want to buy it again because…?
Give it a rest!
I would like to see more jazz, classical and Yawni! music befoe I wnt to see more Pelvis or Beetless …
What Apple didn’t announce – ask Phil “nothing we can talk about at this juncture” Shiller!
Patience – apple has a plan and you are all invited…
MDN = all
I’m totally raising my hand for a subscription service. Two hands, in fact. The ability to listen to anything I wanted from the iTunes Music Store at any time, in front of my computer or at someone else’s place via my iPhone or iPod touch? I’d pay around $15 a month for that. I bet I’d listen to hundreds more songs — and then I’d still buy permanent, high-quality DRM-free copies of whichever songs I liked best.
This is such a no-brainer. They’d make a lot of people happy with this.