MacDailyNews Take: Apple didn’t lower their standards, they just lowered their price by passing lower component costs [flash memory] along to the consumer. The iPod shuffle is the same quality as before: excellent.
“There’s no doubt the US giant is one of the coolest companies in the tech sphere. It makes products that look good and have you salivating over them,” Weinberg writes. “Who else could have produced the ultra-thin MacBook Air?”
Weinberg asks, “But by pricing the 1GB Shuffle so cheap, are Apple not in danger of making themselves far too popular for their own good?”
“Why would anyone want a 1GB Shuffle anyway, when you can buy a 2GB for just £10 [US$20] more? The simple solution would have been to discontinue the one-gig and replace it with the affordable two-gig [US$69], thus retaining the premium price around the Apple brand,” Weinberg writes.
More in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Brawndo Drinker” for the heads up.]
Obviously Mr Weinberg does not understand marketing 101. When you reach product saturation this is a classic tactic plus we are in a tight economy right now. At $49 some current iPod owners may pick up a second iPod for the road. Let’s also remember that there are ecomies of scale that are coming into play as prices of drives continue to decline.
“”Why would anyone want a 1GB Shuffle anyway, when you can buy a 2GB for just £10 [US$20] more?”
—————————–
A better question is why would anyone buy iPod earbuds for $29 when you can get the earbuds and the shuffle together for $20 more?
No, the shuffle seeds the market for future upgrades – it creates value.
A product at every price level. Noone can point the finger at Apple and say their prices are too high. I think the move is brilliant. Most people that can afford it will go 2GB and higher, anyway. Over time, people seem to accumulate more than 1 iPod, anyway, and a lower price point on the entry level player encourages the behavior. One for the gym, one for the car, one for podcasts and audiobooks, etc. I’m sure a lot of people wish Apple would do this for their laptops at the $500 price point!
To quote from the article, “The simple solution would have been to discontinue the one-gig and replace it with the affordable two-gig [US$69]…”
That’s a great idea… The only problem with that idea would be what to do with existing stock of 1gb shuffles when you introduced the 2gb shuffle. Perhaps, to resolve this issue, you could discount the 1gb shuffles by – well, let’s say about $20 until you sold them. That’d probably work….
1 or 2 gig, not really much difference, you have to load a small subset of your music anyway. $50 might pull in a lot of impulse buyers.
Charging more because of the brand?
That’s a popular myth about Apple products and one that isn’t true. The new low price shuffle is proof of this
MDN Magic word: own. As in he got pwned by the take
The shuffle is en entry level iPod with little control. It should not be expensive.
When Apple does this, it really means they’re adding or soon going to add something new at the top. Hence the secret event coming up at the end of the month.
How many people actually buys iPod shuffle? Probably not as much as other iPod models. At $49 per Shuffle, companies cangive them away as gift (at high quantities, I’m sure Apple can sell them at lower price). The record labels should start giving them away to stimulate the album sales. In the past record labels sold records and CD through a club, where members got discount but had to buy certain number of CDs per year. They can do same with digital download. Give away shuffle when the members sign up then allow the members to go to iTune and purchase albums at lower price (like Apple Store for Education) or just give them iTune gift certificates (but a problem with using a gift certificate is, you cannot prevent people from purchasing songs instead of album).
lowering the entry level price extends the Apple brand experience and iTunes to many more people.
+ reaches many existing iPod and iPhone owners to buy a second for the beach or the gym.
+ the new $50 mixed tape…
JUst my opinion but I feel that Apple wishes to get more of the general public / pc users into Apple. The curious will want to go to an Apple store and buy one of these low cost but elegant entry level iPods. While they are there they will discover the magic of Apple. Bottom line, increase in sales.
Ken
Maybe not selling as expected because some will prostitute themselves to get a nano instead? If the warehouses are full….
The under US$50 is a very sensitive price point. It’s psychologically easier to spend $49 than $51, even though there is little actual difference.
This feeds into what others have said about offering 1GB Shuffles as premiums, prizes, and other sorts of giveaways.
This was a great marketing move by Apple.
Just a thought. Apple lowered the price to move the remaining product. Once all of the 1gb is gone the entry point will be 2gb.
It is not rocket science; it could be that simple.
Wouldn’t it be great if the Shuffle could double as the remote control for your Mac?
An idea for you Cupertino…
Everyone knows Apple owns the high end of the music player market. By owning the low end as well, they can prevent a competitor for gaining a foothold there.
Beyond that, it’s about branding and mind-share. Selling low end products means that Apple products are in more people’s hands. Those low-end buyers may also buy laptops, Apple TVs, etc.
As long as Apple can cover the low end of the spectrum with a product simple and fool-proof enough that it won’t be a drag on the company, they should do so. They can do this with the Shuffle, they can do this with Apple TV. Eventually (maybe sooner rather than later) they will do this with the iPhone. Laptops, by comparison, are too complex and prone to obsolescence and breakdown, for Apple to try and own the low end. That’s why cheap competitors have been able to move in there. Apple’s strategy is that users will grow tired of cheap machines, and move up to the Apple brand when/if they can.
the guy writes for a scum bag publication. so cut him some slack that he doesnt understand marketing or branded products.
1. harvest time for 1GB, harvest it.
2. clearup channel inventory to ensure it doesnt get discounted by retailers who get stuck with it
3. EOL it as stocks run out so no massive returns to apple.
4. the brand retains pole position on pricing, not the trade
5. he doesnt even mention the obvious to apple fans: this is the clearest sign that a new model is emerging that will take this ones place as the bottom of the line.
6. use purchasing economies of scale to ensure no one provides more value than you at the margin sensitive lower price range. eat Creative’s lunch.
very clear, very straight forward, very apple (post elimination of the word computer from their name)
“in danger of making themselves far too popular for their
own good?”
That is one of the more stupid comments I have ever had the misfortune to read.
So basically the message here is: Gee I won’t buy or recommend Apple products because they’re just too expensive, and I won’t buy Apple stock because they’re products are priced too low.
In other words – A Windows duped world just refuses to see anything except what it wants to see – or more accurately, what it’s told to see and to say.
I ask yet again – why won’t Windows just go away?
Yes, no more sleeping with the rich radio pundits. iPods are for the common John now.
Just my $0.02
Funny, no one said anything about MICROSOFT devaluing itself when it was blowing out Zunes……or XBoxes…….or just about any other piece of hardware they make and sell.
This is a good move on Apples part. There are many sub $50 players out in the market with screens. Make an entry level/2nd player more affordable and it can’t go wrong. I would be tempted to have a 1G (refurb for an even better price) as a second…ok..third ipod.
“…are Apple not…”??? Shouldn’t Apple be refered to as a singular entity…”IS Apple not…itself far too…”
As I’ve often posted Apple bashing is now in vogue.
No matter what it does the ‘pundits’ will bash it.
If Apple kept the old pricing for the new model they would have blared “Apple NO LONGER COMPETITIVE with low priced competitors” etc. etc.
Just a few months these ‘experts’ were lambasting Apple for having the shuffle too expensive for Christmas – ‘no longer a popular stocking stuffer!’. Although ipod revenue INCREASED 17% Apple stock fell 30% due to these moronic “Apple is DOOMED” articles.
Today if you’re Apple (in the minds of the pundits) you can’t win.
If Apple invented a Star Trek MATTER TRANSPORTER the headlines will read “Apple transporter is a massive FAILURE, it does NOT do TIME TRAVEL as well! Apple is DOOMED!”. Sheeeeesh.
umm. in case people haven’t noticed…apple is ever expanding iTunes content. if you’ve never used a pmp before and want to start with the best and the lowest price…guess what, the shuffles got your number…and Apple is betting that once you get hooked on itunes content, you’ll be shoe-in for better hardware down the line…isn’t it obvious?!