confusi0n: It doesnt hurt their gross margins. I looked it all up, iPod accounts for their entire profitability. Without it, Apple is losing money again.

And I own one, because I got it free. It's alright, better than any other mp3 player I've ever used, but it's definitely not worth the retail cost of one.

10/23/2005 9:20:32 PM

Quote :

"people do fucking buy them because it's "trendy," and it's the stupidest fucking trend EVER, based off of the idea of the "oh look at me" factor... "

Haha, that's the most retarded thing ever. MOST people when they are using their iPods don't have them pinned to their shirts or anything gay like that, they keep them IN THEIR POCKETS. It makes it hard to say "oh, look at me" with an iPod, if it's in your pocket. I'm pretty sure the people with iPods are more concerned with listening to their music than saying "oh, look at me" with their iPods.

10/23/2005 10:07:23 PM

eh, not so sure about that. alot of people refuse to buy better priced and superior sounding earbuds because they aren't white. alot of people do like to show off their ipods by wearing those white earbuds. probably not most, but still.

10/23/2005 10:17:02 PM

Absolutely. But it helps out now that companies like Shure & Ety are making high-end buds that are white.

10/23/2005 10:22:57 PM

most do, but people are still generally willing to pass up price and quality for the ipod style.

Does that matter? nope

[Edited on October 23, 2005 at 10:25 PM. Reason : ]

10/23/2005 10:25:08 PM

I know one thing is for certain.

I'm not the type of person who likes something but doesn't buy it because other people say "that's gay" or "you just want it cause it's trendy." iow, I have a spine.

10/23/2005 10:40:29 PM

Quote :

"most do, but people are still generally willing to pass up price and quality for the ipod style."

the iPod is a very high quality product, but it's still overpriced in comparison to other products in its class (there are much cheaper alternatives that have a lot greater functionality, but whether they have the same style/ease of use is debatable)

10/23/2005 10:46:48 PM

^ which is why it's a "trend" item as there are products with a better price/performance ratio available.

10/23/2005 10:51:41 PM

Some people only consider what is important to them when they pass judgement on other people's choices. My wife didn't know anyone who had or wanted a nano, but loved it when I surprised her with one.

Many people like small technology even if it's performance/price ratio is slightly lower than the competition.

10/23/2005 11:00:44 PM

hey, look at that -- a bunch of nerds who are befuddled by the preferences of the regular consumer!

No wonder none of us are heads of billion dollar corporations. Form and style have some value??? Perish the thought! It's not as though people value this when buying other products (clothes, cars, houses, shoes, pretty much everything)!

Then again, not everyone can have the superior preferences of jew-dorks without taste.


[Edited on October 23, 2005 at 11:16 PM. Reason : l;']

10/23/2005 11:08:52 PM

that's pretty much where I was going. thx

10/23/2005 11:30:30 PM

Hey, look at at that, some faghat who thinks he's being funny by trying to emulate literate prose! Imagine his world caving in on itself when he discovers that his haughty demeanor on a messageboard earns him absolutely no cool points, and doesn't divert attention from the proven fact that he is a faggot.

10/23/2005 11:45:51 PM

Hooray! Someone else who isnt a dumbass!!! iPods are for fucking idiots. If anyone wants a decent mp3 player check out the iAudio x5. Not only is it not overpriced, it also has a shitload of features, and doesn't use some shitty ass audio format.

iPods are for faggots.

10/23/2005 11:50:06 PM

Didn't you hear, AAC is the music format of the future.

10/23/2005 11:53:24 PM

What is wrong with AAC?

^^ That's a nice product, but the iPod has a higher resolution screen, and plays back video at a higher quality (30fps and h.264), and the iPod also has a better interface than that thing. It does seem like it could have better sound quality though, and it has user-setable equalizer. Most people seem satisfied with the iPod's sound quality (and the 5G is suppose to be better than the other iPods for sound quality too).

[Edited on October 24, 2005 at 12:04 AM. Reason : 2]

10/23/2005 11:54:56 PM

At the end of the day, you are still paying nearly half a grand for a TOY

10/24/2005 12:16:34 AM

Quote :

""It's an excellent question," said Shaw Wu, an analyst at American Technology Research, who estimates the gross margin average of all iPod models is about 22 percent, narrower than the margin earned on its higher-end Macintosh computers. "You look at last quarter, their gross margin went down a bit sequentially.""

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticleSearch.aspx?storyID=152712+21-Oct-2005+RTRS&srch=apple

The iPod margins are lower than the Macs, and this analyst is expecting Apple's margins % overall to decrease as the iPod becomes more popular.

10/24/2005 1:11:07 AM

...and that is hurting Apple's bottom line, right?

10/24/2005 1:15:06 AM

someone buy these freakin fags an ipod so they can be 'in' and shut them up

10/24/2005 1:37:13 AM

^^^The volume they sell makes a much much bigger difference than the dip in margin they are experiencing. And if they ever find a profitable service offering (which the tv/movie store might be), the margin on ipods wont really matter much at all.

10/24/2005 4:13:29 AM

Quote :

"30Gb iPOD, color, video, big screen, super-thin for 299 bucks is overprised??"

haha.. omg, you can't be serious... big screen?!? omg, that's like the one reason why it can't and shouldn't be labeled an video ipod because quite frankly video has no purpose being on an ipod with a 2.5" screen

and yes folks, these things are overpriced, $200 is reasonable for the ipod (w/ video), not $299... especially when there are products like this out: http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?prodid=11068695&whse=&topnav=&cat=&s=1

10/24/2005 7:32:06 AM

The only time I ever need a portable mp3 player is when i'm running, biking or lifting.

I have an ipod shuffle, but i'd never buy one of the full size ones.

10/24/2005 8:23:11 AM

damn if this phone wasn't going to be 700$ I'd want one

Nokia N91
4Gb mini-drive mp3 phone... without the fagriffical 100-track limit and shit

10/24/2005 10:42:26 AM

Quote :

" If anyone wants a decent mp3 player check out the iAudio x5. Not only is it not overpriced, it also has a shitload of features, and doesn't use some shitty ass audio format. "

hahaha...i hope to god you arent saying that mp3 isnt a shitty ass audio format.

but in all seriousness, i have an ipod, and i absolutely love it. i travel a lot, and i love listening to music. i used to carry hundreds of CDs around with me in my car and backpack when i travelled, which was a pain in the ass. after i buy a CD and rip it, i dont touch it anymore. my house is set up so i can play all my music files anywhere in my house. i have an aux input into my car stereo, so i dont carry around any CDs anymore.

i work in a secure environment so i cant have mp3s on my computer and i cant bring in a camera or recorder, so i dont care about any fancy features...i just want it to play music and be convinient. i like iTunes interface and ease of use.

i live in the city, so i walk everywhere, so its nice to have some music to listen to as i walk. i also go to the gym a lot, so its nice to be able to carry tunes there as well.

but if some 18 year old kid sitting in front of his computer wants to call me a faggot, im fine with that....it doesnt bother me at all.

10/24/2005 10:54:44 AM

^i'm not sure why you can't do all that with any other mp3 player...

it's just that you're overpaying for it...

then again, i got both my ipod and ipod shuffle for free, so i have no complaints

10/24/2005 11:29:09 AM

how did you people get the thing for free?

10/24/2005 11:30:38 AM

One thing that is good about the iPod and has nothing to do with the product itself is the service Apple offers. They are really good about fixing or replacing anything under warrenty. When my iPod broke, they sent me a new one within the same week. I think the quality customer service they gave helps justify the cost for me.

10/24/2005 11:40:06 AM

Quote :

"i'm not sure why you can't do all that with any other mp3 player... it's just that you're overpaying for it... "

i like the organization and ease of use of iTunes...not only with my iPod, but as a home networking tool.

....id rather pay more to have some things in my life simplified. this is one of those times.

[Edited on October 24, 2005 at 11:56 AM. Reason : d]

10/24/2005 11:54:28 AM

i hate itunes with a passion

10/24/2005 12:12:19 PM

iTunes is for fags too

10/24/2005 12:25:37 PM

So is technology religion.

10/24/2005 12:28:32 PM

Quote :

"you know what I actually agree with tiberius here iPods are the gayest thing known to man"

i agree with this agreement

[Edited on October 24, 2005 at 12:31 PM. Reason : edit]

10/24/2005 12:30:50 PM

Do I really need to explain why iTunes sucks? Everyone that's pissed hundreds of dollars away on it is going to be like "iTunes rocks, it totally fits my lifestyle just like the ads say, what do you mean there are cheaper, superior alternatives that I have never explored, that's blasphemy man, and tangentially Apple has good warranty support!1 The other day I sent them a broken music file and they e-mailed it right back fixed and everything!1," and everyone else already realizes why iTunes sucks.

10/24/2005 12:37:02 PM

oh and cue some fat fuck to be like, "I never paid for iTunes! I got all of my songs free on my Big Macs, so I'm not gay like those other fags!"

10/24/2005 12:39:36 PM

please teach me the ways of life!!

i use iTunes, have an iPod, ive never had an alias on here, ive had more gfs then computers, and i dont really give a flying shit about what other people use/wear/or like.

TEACH ME HOW TO LIVE AGAIN!




as a side note: there may be some confusion...ive never used iTunes to buy music (i wont pay money for compressed music)...i just use it for organizing and networking my music.





[Edited on October 24, 2005 at 12:50 PM. Reason : ps..im listening to my iPod right now!!]

10/24/2005 12:40:00 PM

I don't give a rat's ass what you use.

I'm just letting you know that you use it implies to me homosexuality, computer/technological illiteracy and laziness.

10/24/2005 12:42:38 PM

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ iRiver stuff is pretty nice, probably one of the best harddrive based system makers out there.

10/24/2005 12:43:37 PM

Quote :

"I'm just letting you know that you use it implies to me homosexuality, computer/technological illiteracy and laziness."

well, considering i like women and i have a degree in computer engineering, then we can rule out the first two.

and the third one, well you hit the nail on the head. as ive already said:

Quote :

"....id rather pay more to have some things in my life simplified. this is one of those times. "

i have enough things to worry about in life to really care about how cool i look when i listen to my music. once you get in the real world, you'll understand.

10/24/2005 12:47:00 PM

It's funny that you bring image into this, to dispel the notion that image is a factor in your decision.

There's laziness, and then there's laziness. What you have is a case of being too lazy to learn several technologies that could reduce your chore of "organizing and networking" your music to seconds. Windows has had support for networking since before this was an issue... relying on iTunes ADDS complexity if you have bothered to familiarize yourself with your operating environment. That familiarity is occassionally known as "being computer literate." However, since iTunes has for you the function of reducing complexity, it must be assumed that you are not computer literate.

Furthermore, there are libraries that allow scripting of ID3 tags and MP3 parameters, which in conjunction with regular expression support, makes the maintenance of naming conventions and album sorting... simply trivial... assuming, again, the prerequisite computer literacy, which you claim to have, in spite of all evidence indicating against?

iPods and iTunes are for computer illiterates that don't have a problem with homoerotic marketing. That's all there is to it.

[Edited on October 24, 2005 at 12:55 PM. Reason : *]

10/24/2005 12:53:58 PM

I guess those fat pizza delivery checks don't bring in the big bucks you need to afford an iPod.

10/24/2005 1:03:00 PM

Speaking of fat checks, what's the job market look like for a Communications major again?

You'll be here with me in a short while, worry not my flame-kissed friend.

10/24/2005 1:05:37 PM

Not bad, actually.

Think you could deliver me another failed insult in 30 minutes or less?

10/24/2005 1:06:41 PM

wait...a pizza delivery guy is telling me im computer illiterate? haha.

when you start supporting yourself on your knowledge of electronics, then we will talk.

10/24/2005 1:07:40 PM

Actually, Stein-y Steinberg, yours would be delivered last because jews don't tip.

10/24/2005 1:08:54 PM

i use itunes and Ihave an ipod... but once my ipod inevitably dies, I'll buy something else. They look nice, but they aren't worth what they cost when you consider how often they break.

also, itunes would be WAY better if it let you drag and drop tracks to chagne their tags like wmp lets you do

10/24/2005 1:36:05 PM

Quote :

"how often they break."

because they almost never break unless you are an idiot and don't know how to use it?

One thing i learned about ipods working at the geeksquad is that when someone brings one in for service because its 'broken', 9 times out of 10 its not. Nothing a restore + reflash won't fix in 2 minutes. The only ipod i ever saw broken was truly defective from apple and that was once.

10/24/2005 1:42:02 PM

I bought mine for its size. This was back when every other player had the proportions of a brick.

10/24/2005 1:43:06 PM

Quote :

"WAY better if it let you drag and drop tracks to chagne their tags "

what do you mean?
you can make mass-changes to any number of tracks

and yes, how often does your ipod break? sounds like an individual problem

10/24/2005 1:43:47 PM

someone should go over to his house and show him how to restore it. or do a 'hard' reboot.

10/24/2005 1:44:36 PM

iPods are for faggots

10/24/2005 1:45:23 PM