A certain irony in all of this.

[Phoenixfury]

I often hear of people claiming that the hard drive based iPods are meant to sell Macs. However I don't have or never will have a desire to buy a mac but yet people insist iPods sell macs.

Now here's the purpose of my post and why this is ironic. I see the iPod shuffle for what it is, a basic digital audio player that anyone can use even if it doesn't have a screen. However I also see it as a marketing ploy to sell more hard drive based iPods. :) Although it's being marketed on simplicity, I believe it really is a stepping stone to get to a hard drive iPod. :)

First off I want to make it clear, I don't think that Apple made this in a manner so the customer would not be satasfied with it and move up to a hd ipod. I think it will do the very basics which is what a lot of people want anyway. However I think this thing will give a taste to people who have considered getting an iPod or otherwise to people who otherwise hadn't even considered using the ITMS. I have a hunch this player alone will single handedly send HD iPod sales through the roof.

On it's own I believe it delivers on the promises Apple made on a flash iPod. It does connect to the ITMS/iTunes. It is simple to use. This can be used in places no HD iPod should be. Actually it's a two way street here because this product also apeals to owners of HD iPods and the more I think about it, the more it becomes apealing even to me.

I think Apple is playing smart with this one. They'll sell in the flash market and ultimatly inflate their sales on the HD's because of it.

[-James]

Um, where's the irony? It's just Apple being clever with their sales tactics. And i agree with you, i think the iPod shuffle will help sell even more full sized iPods. It'll give them a taste for iPods and their pure style and simplicity. Eventually they'll want more space and it would make a lot of sense for them to go one step further and get a mini or regular iPod.

[baggss]

Originally posted by Phoenixfury
I often hear of people claiming that the hard drive based iPods are meant to sell Macs. However I don't have or never will have a desire to buy a mac but yet people insist iPods sell macs.


It may not have happened to you, but it has happened to alot of folks. There are a good number of regulars on this forum that have switched or at the very least tried a Mac because of the iPod. Without it, they never would have done so. The ones that pop to mind first are Doug Gilmore, toothpaste, Blue_Dawg and moxxi. There are others, I just can't think of their names off hand.

[Niz]

actually ipod does sell mac, i read on my mobile that because apple have shown how good their ipod is people want more of mac and they have released the new mini mac yup mini mac. Its real cheap (apprently), i think its to just get people into macs first, once it kicks off theyll probably bring on bigger and better. Never know PC world could change its name to MAC World. Now im using Windows XP in a few we could all be using MAC OS 12, never know i think Apple has it all planned. I wonder what Microsoft has planned im sure theyre not gonna go off easy on this.

Ill find the news article **searches**

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4170591.stm

[TommyMagic]

Originally posted by baggss
It may not have happened to you, but it has happened to alot of folks. There are a good number of regulars on this forum that have switched or at the very least tried a Mac because of the iPod. Without it, they never would have done so. The ones that pop to mind first are Doug Gilmore, toothpaste, Blue_Dawg and moxxi. There are others, I just can't think of their names off hand.

Me Me Me :D lol

The iPod simply opened my mind to Mac's - it wasnt really how good the ipod was, it was because I was going on Apple.com/uk (which I hadnt before) and started looking around!

Like baggss said, just because something hasn't happened to you doesn't mean that it is the general fact!

[kgirlsbug]

add me to the switchers, used powerbook shipping from philly tomorrow

[baggss]

Originally posted by Niz
I wonder what Microsoft has planned im sure theyre not gonna go off easy on this.


It's called LONGHORN and it won't really ship until 2007, if ever....

[yinyang]

Originally posted by kgirlsbug
add me to the switchers, used powerbook shipping from philly tomorrow

congrats :)

let us know how it goes/have any questions, etc!!

[baggss]

Originally posted by kgirlsbug
add me to the switchers, used powerbook shipping from philly tomorrow

Once you get it, please join us at the forums linked at the bottom of my Sig....

[yinyang]

Originally posted by baggss
Once you get it, please join us at the forums linked at the bottom of my Sig....

just be careful - i think they're some kinda cult....! :D

[Phoenixfury]

The irony to me at least is in that iPods are thought to sell macs, but yet now we have a smaller iPod which will undoubtedly sell it's older bigger brother. But then this all go's full circle back to the HD iPod selling Mac's. :)

I do understand people switch to Mac's because of the iPod, I just haven't understood why. I mean sure the iPod is simple and I'm sure the Mac's are simple but I still have trouble putting the connection together that iPods sell macs. To me the PC is simple, but then again I've been using the PC since before many of you were born. LOL Does Dos command prompt come to mind? ;)

Well anyway just watch HD iPod sales in the next 6 months or so, I bet they'll really be booming by then. :)

[baggss]

Originally posted by Phoenixfury
The irony to me at least is in that iPods are thought to sell macs, but yet now we have a smaller iPod which will undoubtedly sell it's older bigger brother. But then this all go's full circle back to the HD iPod selling Mac's. :)

I do understand people switch to Mac's because of the iPod, I just haven't understood why. I mean sure the iPod is simple and I'm sure the Mac's are simple but I still have trouble putting the connection together that iPods sell macs. To me the PC is simple, but then again I've been using the PC since before many of you were born. LOL Does Dos command prompt come to mind? ;)


Not be rude or anything, but I actually feel sorry for you. The fact that you seem to have NO interest in what else is out there and are not even the least bit intrigued by something a bit different seems, well, sad to me. I too have used Windows since the days of DOS, but have been using a Mac full time at home for the last 8 or 9 years. Sure, XP isn't a bad system and M$ has made great strides in stability and plug and play, but it's just not the same. I'm sure it's very hard to understand why anyone would want to use anything other than Windows, but I can't understand why anyone would want to limit themselves ONLY to Windows. Too bad you can't look outside of Windows (no pun intended) and see the other things that may be out there...

[smirf83]

Originally posted by baggss
It's called LONGHORN and it won't really ship until 2007, if ever....
hehe as Steve said in his Keynote speech. ;)

[jhollington]

Originally posted by Phoenixfury
I do understand people switch to Mac's because of the iPod, I just haven't understood why. I mean sure the iPod is simple and I'm sure the Mac's are simple but I still have trouble putting the connection together that iPods sell macs. To me the PC is simple, but then again I've been using the PC since before many of you were born. LOL Does Dos command prompt come to mind? ;)
Well, I do see the iPod as the "thin edge of the wedge." I've been a PC user since DOS 1.0, and had already been looking in the general Mac direction.

After having bought an iPod (and then another one for my wife), I've firmly decided that my next laptop is going to be a PowerBook G4.

I'll probably stay solidly PC on the desktop, as there is simply too much I do right now that is PC dependent (although I'm sure that's only a matter of time too). For a laptop, however, I've pretty much decided that an iBook/PowerBook is the only way to go.

For me I think the real issue has been that OS X is now basically Unix, which I've always preferred to DOS/Windows anyway from a purely technical level.... It just never had a really desktop-useable interface until Apple got a hold of it....

I see the iPod as the first step in my transition from using technology for the sake of technology, to buying technology that actually works seamlessly with my daily life.

[Phoenixfury]

No need to be sad Baggss as I'm perfectly happy with XP. XP does everything I want it to do and it does it well. However I'm always open to other OS's and Linux is no exception. I run Suse Linux on my other PC which I really do enjoy toying with. Actually I want to get my hands on the 64-bit version of Suse which for some reason I'm having a real hard time finding as I have a Athlon 64 3200+ under the hood.

I have to admit the $500 price tag for the new Mac Mini does make it desireable and I may consider getting one. However it by no means would be a replacement for my main PC. Why would I replace my computer if I'm already perfectly happy with it?

Well anyway I'm not here to argue over why people switch over to Macs. I just find it interesting the notion that iPods sell Macs. To me this would be the same as someone buying a PC because they liked the simpilicity of using a PDA running Windows CE. Who knows, maybe that happens. I don't know! Don't get me wrong, I do get that the simplicity of the iPod sells people on the Apple brand name which in turn sells macs. What I don't get is that most people that buy iPods are already aware of the Apple brand name but are somehow influenced after getting one to go buy a mac. To me the iPod and the Mac's are completely different beasts with their own perspective OS's and such. In my eyes using my iPod is as simple as using my Windows PC. So please forgive me if I'm having trouble grasping this concept.

Now back on what I say about the Shuffle, I can clearly see that sell iPods. Everything about the Shuffle tells me your going to want a full iPod eventually.

[baggss]

No need to be sad Baggss as I'm perfectly happy with XP. XP does everything I want it to do and it does it well. However I'm always open to other OS's and Linux is no exception. I run Suse Linux on my other PC which I really do enjoy toying with. Actually I want to get my hands on the 64-bit version of Suse which for some reason I'm having a real hard time finding as I have a Athlon 64 3200+ under the hood.

Thank you for clarifying that. You seem like a bright fellow and I would hate to think you were hung up on Windows....;)

I have to admit the $500 price tag for the new Mac Mini does make it desireable and I may consider getting one. However it by no means would be a replacement for my main PC. Why would I replace my computer if I'm already perfectly happy with it?

Isn't that the point of trying something new? Many of the folks here who have started using Macs had no intention of switching. They just thought they would try something different. Yet a large portion of them suddenly found themselves not wanting to use their super PCs anymore.

Well anyway I'm not here to argue over why people switch over to Macs. I just find it interesting the notion that iPods sell Macs. To me this would be the same as someone buying a PC because they liked the simpilicity of using a PDA running Windows CE. Who knows, maybe that happens. I don't know! Don't get me wrong, I do get that the simplicity of the iPod sells people on the Apple brand name which in turn sells macs. What I don't get is that most people that buy iPods are already aware of the Apple brand name but are somehow influenced after getting one to go buy a mac. To me the iPod and the Mac's are completely different beasts with their own perspective OS's and such. In my eyes using my iPod is as simple as using my Windows PC. So please forgive me if I'm having trouble grasping this concept.

I think that you are missing the fact that up until 3 or 4 years ago many folks had forgotten that Apple even existed. EVERYONE knows about Windows, and pretty much learns on it. The iPod was the first "breakout" product that Apple has had since the mid 80s, the first one to remind PC users that the "Computer company with the weird fruit name" was still around and still thriving.
Not many Mac/Linux users are going to go to Windows because of a PDA, they have been there and already left. MANY if not MOST PC users had never even thought Apple an option. You know, to expensive, no software, crappy products etc, until they got their hand on an iPod. Suddenly the reaction was "WOW, Apple made THIS? What else do they make?"

I'm not trying to belabor the point, just trying to explain to you why this happens. It is interesting to watch...

[[zerophase]]

depends on the age group apple is going for... the ipod shuffle is for like teens that don't have 5,000 songs or 300 bucks to spare but want an ipod.. whereas adults will think its stupid.

[Starboard]

yep, the iPod induced switch phenomenon even has a name; the "Halo Effect" as it is dubbed to the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post.

[baggss]

Originally posted by [zerophase]
depends on the age group apple is going for... the ipod shuffle is for like teens that don't have 5,000 songs or 300 bucks to spare but want an ipod.. whereas adults will think its stupid.

I would disagree with that. I'm an adult, have over 5000 songs AND have $300 and I don't think it's stupid. I'm going to buy one.....

[Starboard]

yeah, with both the Mac mini and the iPod shuffle, people keep wanting to say that they're only for the lower end market, but that's not the complete picture. There is a huge secondary market for these products. Even people in the upper end market want them for other, more specific uses.

[FallN]

I have always had my eye on other choices. I was torn between buying an Apple or a M$ machine almost 5 years ago. I've been looking again at Macs because I want to upgrade my current PC... I fully know M$ isn't the only option. (I've also looked into Linux and still am).

I would love to have a nice little iBook to wet my feet, but honestly, I'm thinking the things I have now for my XP PC won't work on a Mac and I'm not specifically talking about software although I'm aware that Apple sells Microsoft "Suites" that give Mac users cross-platform functionality with Windows... it's more of the HARDWARE issue. I have a ton of perphierals. Not everything is USB, mind you. I don't feel like selling out hundreds of dollars to replace the already functioning items that I have just to get a comparable model for a Mac - that is, if ther eIS a comparable Mac model. That's my biggest concern. I have a PCMCIA WiFi card that I use to connect to my SuperG router. I paid through th nose for it and the ability to get the fastest Wireless Throughput on the market (outside of Pre-N which just came out)... with the Airport Extreme internal card you can only go 54 MBs and mine currently goes 108 MBs... I'm not paying more to go back in technology...

So, most likely I'll stick with M$ because of the oversight in cross compatiablily when it comes to some standard laptop hardware... and the extra cash I'd have to shell out to migrate my info to a Mac platform as well as the M$ suite that I'd have to purchase in order to make M$ compatible documents like M$ Word, Excel, etc... If I could remedy that without a huge price tag, I'd probably switch to a Mac the second I have the funds to buy a new laptop...

[aviationwiz]

I always wanted a Mac before I bought my iPod, but after a year or so of having iPod's, I got a PowerMac G5.

[archurban]

the phenomenon is not just to move people up to disk based on ipod. Apple already sold 4.5 millions ipod last year. it's been 500% growth. now, with new ipod shuffle, a lot of market experts expect that ipod (of all family) will become American icon very soon. so you know what it means. the spread of ipod fever will be more faster than we think. that's why ipod shuffle is very important product to expand Apple territory into people's mind.