And it was when iTunes came to Windows that the iPod took off in sales (ironically, reversing a LONG trend by Jobs to keep Apple products on the Apple platform). In 2002 and 2003 they sold less than a million units. The first quarter they had iTunes on windows, they moved over 2 million units--more than double what they'd sold the previous holiday quarter.
People look at the iPod as this huge instant hit. It wasn't even 'till Q4 2004 that Apple sold more than 1m units in a quarter. And sales in 2005 came in a large part from selling through Wal-Mart, too.
priceless
Have iPods really changed the world, or have they just sold well?
When I had a discman and I wanted to listen to music, guess what I had to choose from? One burned CD if I was lucky, and Mutter by Rammstein if I was slightly less lucky. When I have an iPod or iPhone and I want to listen to music, I can choose any song I own.
I suppose the majority of people are commuters, so maybe commuting alone is sufficient to explains the high market penetration of iPods.
This forum post practically dates itself.
It does more than date the post. Its the most perfect example I've found of how Apple sneaks up on markets and changes things. Is there anyone left who might think that a cd walkman and a burner are somehow equivalent to an iPod? Nobody called him out though. In 2001, it seemed reasonable.
I can't help but compare this to the "why do I want an iPad? I've already got a laptop and a smartphone" crowd. I was underwhelmed by the iPad as well. I found myself saying "all this hype for this!?" I probably won't be buying one.
Its going to change the way humans use computers forever.
“Apple’s Musical Rendition: A Jukebox Fed by the Mac”, New York Times (David Pogue, no less): http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/25/technology/state-of-the-ar...
“Apple doesn’t change the world (yet)”, Der Spiegel (sorry, German): http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/tech/0,1518,164056,00.html
“Apple enters the hi-fi market”, heise (sorry, German): http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/Apple-entert-den-HiFi...
What a strange world in 2001, though: no Gizmodo, no Engadget :)
I mean I know I'm an Apple fanboy and all but I think they could have learned from their failures
Yes Apple may add more innovations later, and it may succeed even without them (coz of iPhone users moving up, Apple's brand & marketing, etc.) but the 'Apple will succeed because the iPod+iPhone did' argument is getting old.
I absolutely believe in a simpler less-general-purpose device for casual home computing, and a lightweight tablet seems like one of the top contenders for the form factor, but the iPad itself is a pretty weak product.
"I still can't believe this! All this hype for something so ridiculous! Who cares about an MP3 player? I want something new! I want them to think differently! Why oh why would they do this?! It's so wrong! It's so stupid!"
Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
"I really wanted to like it. Really. But do the math: 20GB hard drive: $199 from APS tech. MP3 player: $50 from Best Buy. You save $150 plus get an extra 15 Gig of storage! "
"All that hype for an MP3 player? Break-thru digital device? The Reality Distiortion Field™ is starting to warp Steve's mind if he thinks for one second that this thing is gonna take off."
"No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame. "
