“When it comes to portable media players, there’s no product I could recommend more highly than an iPod Touch [sic]. The trouble is, no one asks me for recommendations anymore,” Donald Bell writes for CNET. “When people catch me using an iPod Touch, I’m met with mixture of awe and confusion. The awe comes from the assumption that it’s some kind of svelte concept smartphone from the future. At less than a half an inch thick, the iPod Touch makes the iPhone 4 look like a hamburger.”
“There was a time when the word ‘iPod’ sent trembles through an entire industry. A time when products bearing the name conferred a feeling of smug rock stardom onto their owners. But those days are gone,” Bell writes. “At last count, iPod sales made for just 5 percent of Apple’s revenue, down from 12 percent the preceding year. Apple still has a 70 percent share of the MP3 player market, but it’s a shrinking market no one cares about anymore.”
Bell writes, “Better, I think, to retire this iPod with dignity than to hasten its fade into obscurity. Apple can make a better device, and the company has always done well to prune away products that no longer make its customers excited. It’s time for the iPod Touch to step down and make room for something exceptional.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: First off, it’s “iPod touch.” If you’re going to be calling for its death, you should at least get the name right. Secondly, Apple sold 15.4 million iPods in its fiscal 2012 first quarter which ended December 31, 2011 for revenue of $2.528 billion. During the quarter, iPod touch continued to account for over half of all iPods sold or, in other words, $1.264 billion. Flushing away $1.264 billion for no good reason doesn’t make much sense unless you work for CNET, Microsoft’s “R&D” department, or the government. Yes, believe it or not, there is still a market for a thin, light, Multi-Touch™ iPod for myriad uses (gym, car, etc.) with which we are all very familiar.
Ok so just because the iPod, by the views of Mr Bell, is not “popular” anymore. We should follow his gut-feeling that we should tell apple to stop developing it?
Wow, no wonder why no one cares about his reccomendations anymore because this is by far the stupidest thing I have heard.
The iPod owns the music player industry, it give people who cannot afford to buy an iPad or iPhone to experience the iOS platform. Just because Mr. Bell thinks he the iPod Touch is not the talk of the town anymore. People still refer the word “ipod” to all music players. Their vocabulary will remain to advertise the device.
I think its time for Mr Bell to retire.
I just bought an ipod touch and find it HIGHLY usefel and cool. I don’t want to spend the extra money on an ipad(phone) and the touch works wonderfully as long as I’m around wifi, which I always am when I’m traveling. The most important aspect for me is the size! It fits in my jean pocket and I don’t know it’s there!
Retire it? What would take it’s place?? Just plain dumb.
Ipod touch is brilliant for parents who wish to buy there young kids a MP3 player & camera but not a phone.
Basically kids around 7-8yrs old get ipod touch whereas most parents get there kids a 1st mobile phone around 12-13ys old
Number One daughter asked for, and received, one of these.
Result = happy young woman.
No wonder no one asks him for recommendations anymore.
just wait, the iPod Touch will morph to become a larger display in order to improve the video game experience and be the best remote/game controller for the Apple TV.
Actually the Apple TV SHOULD or MUST be able to play MKV and Divx files!
MDN comment… Very funny. One of the better ones XD
“It’s time for the Donald Bell to step down and make room for someone exceptional.”
I know a lot of entrepreneurs that would love to have that kind of “obscurity” ($1.264 billion a year).
They should just turn the time capsule into an always on, always available media centre – apple tv, AirPlay speakers etc. could access it and then the iPod touch would evolve into a super fancy remote that controls it all