Surf Monkey said:
You keep mixing up ideas and making unwarranted assumptions. I've never said that Apple would "leave the existing 5G iPod stagnant." Those are your words, not mine.
Actually, I'm not mixing up any ideas... The topic of this thread is based
specifically on whether or not Apple is going to add more multi-media like features to the next-generation iPod, or remain with a device that retains the present "iconic" look and feel.
You seem to be responding as if my comments are directly specifically at you, and they are not. This is an open thread, and the topic of the thread is still
"Why Apple Won't Make 6Gen Wide/Touchscreen" and it is
that point to which I'm
still responding, and specifically trying to clarify my previous comments and the reasons and context for those comments.
All other discussions are tangental to that, and my
only point is that the demand for a high-capacity player that is
primarily focused on
music playback is not likely high enough to justify Apple remaining with the current design to appease what would appear to be a relatively small segment of the potential consumer base.
What I said was that you have no corner on objectivity. Sales figures for Nanos do not necessarily indicate the lack of "need" for larger capacity. Surveys of the size of individuals' libraries do not necessarily indicate a solid standard for what the average user "needs" in terms of storage space.
Actually, sales figures for Nanos are a
very good indication of what the needs of users are. If people truly
needed higher-capacity players, they wouldn't be buying iPod nanos, particularly when they can get 30GB for the price of 8GB. The same would hold even
more true for the iPod mini.
Yes, there are other considerations such as size, aesthetic qualities, and the solid-state memory that go into these decisions... However, if people truly
needed the additional capacity, that would be an overridding consideration, regardless of these other factors (ie,
"sure it's smaller and cool looking, but I can't store enough stuff on it, so forget it").
At the end of the day, Apple is going to be looking at the surveys, and the sales figures, and all of this other data when they decide what to do in terms of the direction to take the product in. They will likely reach the exact same conclusions based on the available data. These conclusions may or may not be
entirely correct, but they're the logical response.
Remember again here as well that we're talking about the
average user -- the person on the street who reflects the
majority of the DAP-buying public. When I say "average" user, you seem to be extending this as if I'm somehow describing
every user, which I'm most certainly
not... There could be 50,000 users who want a high-capacity audio player that is
exactly like the 5G iPod and have no desire for a touch-screen widescreen device. However, even 50,000 people is a drop in the bucket when 100
million iPods have been sold.
This is not about what
specific users want or need, and it's not about what
every user wants or needs... It's about what the
majority of users are going to be looking for in a product.
Apple, or any other business, must primarily consider the needs of the
majority of its consumer base when developing a product... We only need to look at numerous other products in history to see what happens when you market to the needs of a few. Apple has managed to avoid this, and
that is why they have sold 100 million iPods.
Furthermore, your continued attempt to divorce the wide range of content that the flagship iPod can store from music is patently absurd. It supports your argument but it doesn't reflect the real world. Sure, I may not have 80 gig worth of music to store but I DO have enough things to store on my iPod that it all won't fit in 80 gigs.
The fact is that it supports my argument only because it's the
only argument I'm trying to make.... That I believe that Apple will evolve the 5G iPod into a more multimedia-focused device, rather than concentrating solely on audio playback.
Sure, but those "things" are why you bought a video iPod. Those "things" are also what is going to interest you in a future-generation iPod that provides better support for those other "things" like video and photos.
Even if music
is your primary focus, and the video is just an ancillary feature, the reality is that Apple will be left trying to decide whether it's more practical to continue to produce and market a device to that niche consumer base who only wants a high-capacity
audio player and occasionally dabble in video, or to produce a device that is far better-suited for video playback.
By far the largest single element of that storage requirement is music. No doubt that's pretty common. I've never suggested that Apple needs to cater to people who only want to use the flagship iPod as a music player. What I've been saying and continue to say is that YOU have no ability to say what the average user "needs" in terms of capacity. It's not an objective target, no matter how much you say it is.
Again, I'm not suggesting that you said anything of the sort, so please don't take my responses as being directed specifically at you. They are directed at the topic of this thread, and the topic, as proposed by the original poster, was that Apple
is going to keep the 5G iPod stagnant, and that Apple therefore
is going to cater to people who only (or at least primarily) want to use the flagship iPod as a music player. I'm not suggesting that
you are saying this... I'm merely contributing to the debate in the thread in general, and trying to clarify what I was originally
saying and
why I was saying it.
However, to respond to your specific comments, what the
AVERAGE user needs
does need to be at least
considered as an objective target for any company to be able to successfully produce and manufacture a product. The target may change from time to time, and how well a company is able to measure such a target will determine their success in producing any product. However, when a company produces a product, they are going to consider market research, surveys, and sales figures of existing products. All of this data presently points to the fact that the
average user (again, not
every user) does not
presently require a high-capacity device
only for music. This much is fairly obvious from the available data.
I'm not saying this won't change a year or two from now, although Code Monkey makes some
excellent points about the amount of music that a person can listen to, which leaves this as a fairly static target for a device that
only plays music.
As for the next-generation iPod... All of the above, and everything I've said thus far is intended to demonstrate
why I believe that the next-generation iPod will
not take a form similar to the present 5G, but will have to expand into the realm of a more multimedia device.
JazzyMac said:
I need a 100GB music player for the same reason I needed a 40gb music player. I was scared the movers would destroy my computer or steal my cds. They stole my cds.
Yes, that's an example of a perfectly valid reason, but you're still in the minority of users who think this way. After all, if
everyone thought the way you do, then Apple would have never sold a single iPod nano or iPod mini because they wouldn't be big enough.
Lighten up folks. A quick look at the Apple bestseller list shows the ipod as #1. Shrug.
I'm not sure what sales figures you're looking at, but the "iPod nano" is clearly number one on every list I've observed. The next iPod-based position seems to flip-flop between the iPod Shuffle and the 5G iPod, depending on the day of the week, and I'll certainly agree that the Shuffle cannot be considered a valid comparison to either the Nano or the full-size iPod, as it's far too different from either of its larger cousings both in price range and design to make for a fair comparison.