“When the iPhone first hit store shelves, Apple was on top of the world. Not only did the company enjoy the biggest product release of the year, its stock price was on the rise, Mac sales were soaring and, for the first time, it looked like Apple might be able to supplant Dell and HP as the proven leader in the hardware business,” Don Reisinger blogs for CNET.
“But just a few months later, it’s amazing how quickly things have changed. Mac sales are still strong, but the iPhone has become the topic of heated debate, Apple has come under fire for dropping the iPhone price too early and too substantially, and its iTunes Store is under attack from content producers and new, formidable competitors,” Reisinger blogs.
Complete inanity here.
Total absurdity from beginning to end from a hack with a childlike understanding of what’s actually happening. iPhone’s price drop “affected” some portion of 0.33% of the U.S. population. The other 99.67% of the U.S. and the entire rest of the world sees only that they can now get an iPhone for $200 than they thought. This is “bad” somehow? We’re tired of this “iPhone price cut bad” stupidity.
Also, Apple must protect their relationship with AT&T regarding unlocking, otherwise companies will not want to work with Apple in the future. There are contracts with carriers (AT&T in the U.S.) for iPhone exclusivity. Because the iPhone is a unique product that has no equal, it can therefore demand unique terms. If you don’t like it, don’t get an iPhone or learn how to unlock it and deal with the problems that voiding your warranty may cause (figure out how to relock it before updating or leave it unlocked and forgo new features) or wait out the exclusivity contract (see you in 3-5 years, depending on where you live).
As for the iTunes Store, which according to Reisinger is supposedly now under some massive threat from Amazon’s DRM-free MP3 store:
• Amazon does not offer Wi-Fi download direct to iPod touch and iPhone (and future iPods which will undoubtably gain Wi-Fi downloading capabilities)
• Amazon does not offer the convenience of iTunes Store’s integration into the iTunes application or it’s user interface and features
• Amazon currently offers less than 1/3rd the library of iTunes Store
• Amazon’s store was created by Steve Jobs. Because he wants more stores to sell iPod-compatible content (as long as Microsoft and their DRM is not involved), so he can sell more iPods. He did not want the responsibility of licensing FairPlay to a broad range of licensees, and upholding the integrity of the DRM as called for in contracts with the music cartles, so he did even better by calling for and precipitating the end of DRM itself.
• One more time, dumbed down for Reisinger-level IQs: Steve Jobs doesn’t much care if you buy tunes at Amazon or iTunes, as long as you don’t buy something encoded with Microsoft DRM and as long as you play it on Apple hardware. It’d be nice if you used iTunes Store, but it’s not essential to Apple’s success.
We welcome Amazon (and we bet Apple does, too). Non-exclusionary competition that serves all users only helps consumers and grows the market. There are millions upon millions of people who do not yet have digital media players. Apple’s iPods can stand and sell very well on their own (as they did before the iTunes Store even existed). Surely, Steve Jobs is so confident of iPods’ lead that he can “afford” to spread the non-wealth that iTunes Store sales generate for Apple, especially since doing so will sell more hardware that actually does generate profits for Apple.
Okay, that’s enough. We’ve wasted enough time on a guy who’s probably not even qualified to clean out the shake machine at Mickey D’s, much less criticize the business strategies of a major technology company.
Is Reisinger’s insipid 2nd-grade level of economics understanding and business analysis really the best CNET can muster nowadays?
Mmmm… cheezburgr . .
Notice how this guy doesn’t make any hard predictions which would prove his points.
For example, does anyone think that Apple is not going to have another record-breaking iPod holiday sales season?
Does anyone think the iTunes store will not dominate the online download business?
Does anyone think Macs are not going to have a record holiday season?
Lets all fall in line behind MDNews take. They continue to lick the bbots of apple.
As for the iTunes Store, which according to Reisinger is supposedly now under some massive threat from Amazon’s DRM-free MP3 store:
-The threat is real, heres why… – .89 cent downloads.
• Amazon does not offer Wi-Fi download direct to iPod touch and iPhone (and future iPods which will undoubtedly gain Wi-Fi downloading capabilities)
-How important is this really! How often am I going to run over to Starbucks to grab some bandwidth to download a song. – .89 cent downloads.
• Amazon does not offer the convenience of iTunes Store’s integration into the iTunes application or it’s user interface and features.
– .89 cent downloads. People will get used to it. Just adds two extra steps to get music. I tried it and it works great! MP3 vs AAC who cares, sounds the same to me.
• Amazon currently offers less than 1/3rd the library of iTunes Store
– .89 cent downloads. TIme will solve this issue.
• Amazon’s store was created by Steve Jobs. Because he wants more stores to sell iPod-compatible content (as long as Microsoft and their DRM is not involved), so he can sell more iPods. He did not want the responsibility of licensing FairPlay to a broad range of licensees, and upholding the integrity of the DRM as called for in contracts with the music cartels, so he did even better by calling for and precipitating the end of DRM itself.
– Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Oh BUY the way – .89 cent downloads.
• One more time, dumbed down for Reisinger-level IQs: Steve Jobs doesn’t much care if you buy tunes at Amazon or iTunes, as long as you don’t buy something encoded with Microsoft DRM and you play it on Apple hardware.
– Now I can buy the MUCH less expensive players (sandisk) NOT FROM APPLE + buy the less expensive music NOT FROM APPLE = $ in my pockets.
One more time. – .89 cent downloads.
This guy must be on crack or he has AAPL puts and if the latter is true, then as of today he is getting ripped a new one. Heated debate for iphone? where? when? why? this guy sounds like he wants some negative news to drive the stock down…LOL yea this guy is def on crack!
@Synthmeister, EL OH EL 😀
Bill Maher said that people need to stop complaining about the iPhone price cut. He said it’s not a price cut, it’s a repeal on the Nerd Tax : )
Hey… those shake machines at Mickey D’s are not that simple to clean… you have to take them apart to do so.
Dark days of cnet seems more like it. Once Veronica Belmont moved on… (Okay did they ever have golden years?)
I took my 6 year old into the Apple store to see the iphone and new ipods and believe me this is a NEW golden age. The ipod generation’s hearts and minds lead to substantially higher mac sales. It is only beginning. And THAT is where serious money remains to be made.
Apple just has to keep their eye on quality for those of us that have to pay for the things.
and, no, i didn’t click, of course not…
These tunes from Amazon are not DRM free. DWM is DRM. Are we to believe that these files are not marked just because some company (Universal, BMG, whatever) say so? Please!
Troll
Everyone look at how today’s AAPL stock reflects this guy’s stupid comments. Enough said.
At least give a bonafide rebuttal of your lame “Troll” expository. At least I took the time to address each of the isssues and show why they were wrong.
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One of the thousands employed by MS.
It’s making mountains outta mole hills.
Don Reisinger suffers from what the rest of the MS clowns are suffering from… the pre-release of Leopard jitters.
He should also brush his teeth, his breath smells like ass.
I would be curious to know if these tracks are marked with a virtual RIFD? So maybe the RIAA or Music SIGS could track where these songs go and how many times they have been duplicated? This is a test for DRM free tracks, at least according to Universal. “Apple” is the control in this little experiment if I remember right. Oh, by the way. Does anyone know if I have the right to resale one of my downloads at say 49 cents to someone else, as long as I do not listen to it again or have it on my computer? I know I can resale my cds.
Okay, here is a bona fide rebuttal:
.89 cent downloads are good because it broadens the market for MP3 players. iPods play MP3s as well as AAC, so people with MP3 collections can manage them with iTunes & play them on an iPod.
Downward pressure on music prices puts upward pressure on player capacities. This equals new player purchases.
Note, none of this is inherently bad for iPods. iPods have in the past, and will in the future continue to sell as an excellent line of MP3 players with nice software. The iPod line stands up very well without the iTunes store.
People who want cheaper players can already buy a Sandisk, and only a few do. With ubiquitous MP3 purchases, the iPod can become even more universal because more stores carry music that works on the iPod.
So there is a basic assumptive flaw in your doom n’ gloom assessment.
But you are still a troll.
Apple may not care where we get our tunes, but we should! What does not change in this situation is the ability of content providers to control which companies can participate in digital downloads. If they split the market between Apple & Amazon, that becomes leverage for subsequent price increases (variable rates and “package” [album] sales requirements. Watermarking will help to stamp out file sharing (the content providers hope). The rational strategy for consumers is to give iTunes, and not Amazon, your business, because Apple has the least to gain from high music prices. This is the only explanation for why Amazon is being granted the (short-term) flexibility to underprice iTunes.
The people that make up MacDailyNews are so full of it. First off, the pro-Apple bias is horrendous. While I understand that this is an Apple fan site, the writers (god knows I wouldn’t refer to them as journalists) defend everything Jobs and company do to the death. Regardless of the fact that it may be bad for consumers, or even detremental to Apple in the long run. Let’s face it, Apple has gotten greedy. From the suspension of student discounts on all iPods, right down to shortening the USB dock connector cable by a foot. Small details, but they play a big part. Now they’re riding on their laurels. Quality had been dumped as a virtue, in exchange for profitablity.
The “MacDailyNews Take” is a pathetic attack on anyone who takes a hit at Apple, whether they’re right or wrong. Rather than spending all your time figuring our ways to defend Apple, maybe you guys should be slightly more critical and actually question some of these decisions. This site is the Fox News of the Apple universe…. without all the flashy graphics. If readers are really interested in news about Apple, I would recommend AppleInsider, or ArsTechnica. If you want op-ed, check Engadget or Gizmodo. At least they have sense of humor.
I guess the scales have tipped…
Congrats to Apple Inc.
Amazon store or no…
1. Apple still sells boatloads of iPods (where the real $$$ is.)
2. Apple has totally set the rules for music downloads—cheap, simple, forget subscritptions, less and less DRM
3. Apple will still control >60% of the music download market for the foreseeable future.
4. Who has anything close to an iPod touch? Oh yea, no one.
The only hope of the record companies to free themselves from Apple’s iron grip is to set up DRM-free downloads on as many sites as possible which will only help sell more iPods.
To the “lemming” who crowed over the 89 cent offerings on Amazon…first off, 89 cents as a price point is not new. Walmart, with mediocre results, has been hawking 89 cent songs for a while. In addition, not all of the offerings on Amazon are that low price. The most popular titles are 99 cents (or more).
The record labels are looking for ways to charge more than a dollar not less. So enjoy the “bait” for now, I’ll sit back and wait for the “switch”.
I’m sure Univeral/Vivendi absolutely loves you as a cusotmer.
I was downtrodden. I had a mishapened cranium and blunted brain and then I met Don Reisinger who had unusually large feet ..hideous feet ..oh, yeah and an article that I will never read. I mean what happened ..earlier this year he seemed to be just fine …and now this, an article so lacking in interest as to weary the brain of my cold rigid roach. Put yourself back together Don. Someone said you just weren’t trying but I think it’s worse than that. I think you’ve descended to my level and I’m a moron. I’m not complementing you, Don. How could I ..I’ve got a poor self-image ..and now I’ve got a poor Don image.
Wow….doesn’t it figure that the fanboys that make up this site will respond with “he who bashes apple is an infidel….and all out wrong”. i own an iPhone and am thinking about getting a mac….but you guys really need to start looking below the surface. The fact of the matter is, Apple has ways to go to catch up to Dell and HP. More copies of Vista have sold this year than Macs….period. Look it up, it’s true. To think that Apple will catch up, anytime soon anyways, is absurb.
http://fakesteveballmer.blogspot.com
Another sign of the decline: LAWSUITS!
“In what may be the clear sign of an emerging trend, a second suit filed this past Wednesday in California’s northern district alleges that Apple and AT&T;knowingly withheld information about the iPhone’s true battery replacement costs until after the June 29th launch, effectively misleading some customers into buying the device when they would have otherwise refrained.”
It has been my contention that the Apple people have an “above the law” mentality for quite some time! Others are starting to see this pattern of deceit and treachery and sueing over it. That’s right guys hit them where it hurts, the wallets!
Remember you guys, MS is your friend, sue Apple.
He tells it as if the story began 4 months ago?
Perhaps he’s on drugs
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