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Apple AirPods: iPhone accessory or the next big thing?

kevinrooke.com

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Re: Apple AirPods: iPhone accessory or the next big thing?

#191

Post by eddiecalzone »

mastazi wrote: post #141

I can't wear any earphones for more than 5 minutes without them falling off, this is due to the morphology of my ears. I wonder: how large is the percentage of people with the same problem? Anecdotal, but I know personally at least a couple other people that can't wear earphones for the same reason. Note: I'm talking about earphones/earbuds exclusively, headphones are fine for obvious reasons. Also some types of earp…

Interesting! Do foam earplugs work for you (expanding in the ear)? If so, Comply makes foam tips to fit various models of earbuds.

Re: Apple AirPods: iPhone accessory or the next big thing?

#192

Post by velosol »

mastazi wrote: post #141

I can't wear any earphones for more than 5 minutes without them falling off, this is due to the morphology of my ears. I wonder: how large is the percentage of people with the same problem? Anecdotal, but I know personally at least a couple other people that can't wear earphones for the same reason. Note: I'm talking about earphones/earbuds exclusively, headphones are fine for obvious reasons. Also some types of earp…

Does this mean you can't wear in-ear monitor type things, e.g. memory foam tipped earbuds that stay in (I thought) through pressure in the ear canal?

Re: Apple AirPods: iPhone accessory or the next big thing?

#193

Post by kristianc »

_trampeltier wrote: post #181
kristianc wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And make no mistake about it - a huge portion of these sales are people buying Apple's marketing - not buying the tech itself. By definition all of the businesses that survive are good at marketing - Apple has managed to drive extraordinary value through positioning and differentiation and left everyone else to compete over the collapsing middle market. Sony’s precise problem was underinvesting on positioning and b…

Sony's problem was never the hardware or the design. The problem was, special in the beginning of the MP3 / Smartphone age, they tryed to lock everything so hard with DRM (because other parts from Sony does sell Movies and Music). The even installed something like an trojan already very early in the MP3 market. So al lot of tech guys said "bye, bye Sony" when the market still was very young. I think they lost a lot b…

Apple had DRM on iTunes with FairPlay and AAC for around six years until the courts forced them to remove it. iTunes was still a huge business for them at the time. Sure that DRM was the real issue?

Likewise, claiming that the Root Kit business (by which time the iPod had been around for a good 5 years) sunk Sony’s business seems like a bit of a reach.

Re: Apple AirPods: iPhone accessory or the next big thing?

#194

Post by iwalton3 »

Fnoord wrote: post #112
gz5 wrote: post #40

Amazing how Apple managed to make the first cool MP3 player, then the first cool smartphone and now the first cool bluetooth headset. For almost 20 years now, Apple has owned electronic fashion. Sony for example was unable to parlay its Walkman dominance into similar positions with new devices. And make no mistake about it - a huge portion of these sales are people buying Apple's marketing - not buying the tech itsel…

> Sony for example was unable to parlay its Walkman dominance into similar positions with new devices. Sony WF-1000XM3 are a popular in-ear Bluetooth headphones with noise cancelling. 80 EUR cheaper than Apple Airpods Pro.

The other nice thing is that it appears it might be possible to change the batteries in the WF-1000XM3. (https://hifigo.com/blogs/tws/deep-dive-teardown-of-true-wire...)

Re: Apple AirPods: iPhone accessory or the next big thing?

#195

Post by fancyfish »

mastazi wrote: post #141

I can't wear any earphones for more than 5 minutes without them falling off, this is due to the morphology of my ears. I wonder: how large is the percentage of people with the same problem? Anecdotal, but I know personally at least a couple other people that can't wear earphones for the same reason. Note: I'm talking about earphones/earbuds exclusively, headphones are fine for obvious reasons. Also some types of earp…

You’re not alone, I have trouble keeping earbuds in also. If I keep my head still, they will slowly slip out after about a half hour. Doing any sort of exercise will make them fall out. I have tried many different tip types and sizes for these and other earbuds/IEMs. Outside of expensive custom-fit IEMs, I’m not sure what to do besides resort back to over-ear headphones.

Re: Apple AirPods: iPhone accessory or the next big thing?

#196

Post by madeofpalk »

dsalzman wrote: post #25

Airpods are an integral part of Apple's future medical ambition. Always in ear Airpods constantly taking your Temp, HR, Glucose, GSR, etc. With the kicker that it is only stored locally and securely on your device, all processing done locally via HealthKit. That customized data will change how we think about patient care.

> Airpods are an integral part of Apple's future medical ambition. Always in ear Airpods constantly taking your Temp, HR, Glucose, GSR, etc

I don't think there's nearly enough evidence for this to be an _actual_ thing.

Re: Apple AirPods: iPhone accessory or the next big thing?

#197

Post by rkuykendall-com »

gz5 wrote: post #40

Amazing how Apple managed to make the first cool MP3 player, then the first cool smartphone and now the first cool bluetooth headset. For almost 20 years now, Apple has owned electronic fashion. Sony for example was unable to parlay its Walkman dominance into similar positions with new devices. And make no mistake about it - a huge portion of these sales are people buying Apple's marketing - not buying the tech itsel…

AirPods don't have a single competitor. There's no clear alternative on the market.

It's Air Pod or...

TOZO T10? Sony XB950B1? LETSCOM IPX7? KOVEBBLE IPX7?

Fuck I have no idea what all these numbers and letters mean, I'll buy some Air Pods.

Re: Apple AirPods: iPhone accessory or the next big thing?

#198

Post by penagwin »

spullara wrote: post #169
gz5 wrote: post #40

Amazing how Apple managed to make the first cool MP3 player, then the first cool smartphone and now the first cool bluetooth headset. For almost 20 years now, Apple has owned electronic fashion. Sony for example was unable to parlay its Walkman dominance into similar positions with new devices. And make no mistake about it - a huge portion of these sales are people buying Apple's marketing - not buying the tech itsel…

You missed the first cool smart watch.

Pebble?

Re: Apple AirPods: iPhone accessory or the next big thing?

#199

Post by MBCook »

Vysero wrote: post #167

I really don't understand. Why would someone pay $120 for a product they can buy online from a off brand retailer for half the price? I must be missing something. How are airpods better than say Cambridge Audio Melomania's which are almost half the cost?

Have you used them?

They’re ridiculously low friction. Stick them in your ears and they’re on and paired and ready. Take them out and they’re off. Store them and they’re charging. Trivial to swap them between Apple devices, easy to pair the first time.

And they sound great considering their size.

They’re little magic gizmos that make me (and millions of others) happy because they work so well.

Re: Apple AirPods: iPhone accessory or the next big thing?

#200

Post by mattkevan »

jVinc wrote: post #162
gumby wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Sony for example was unable to parlay its Walkman dominance into similar positions with new devices. Actually the Walkman (which was arguably Sony's second breakout product, the first being a transistor radio) Sony was definitely the cool kid. And don't forget the Playstation or the Trinitron. In fact Steve Jobs explicitly emulated and admired Sony for their (then) sense of style, customer appeal and quality. The S…

OP wasn't saying walkman wasn't cool or have a significant market position, in fact he's saying the exact opposite. That Sony had the position an failed to use it to position new devices. Apple turned the iPod into the iPhone and iPad and now they have AirPods coming off of the same train using each product brand to push the brand of the next. Sony had the Walkman but missed the mp3-player market, didn't bring out a…

I didn’t understand Sony’s strategy back when the iPod was big and I still don’t now.

At roughly the same time I got an iPod, and an Apple-hating housemate bought a Sony MP3 player with a name only a barcode scanner could love. Also it couldn’t play MP3s, instead a weird proprietary format that didn’t work anywhere else. Songs had to be converted using their crappy software.

He swapped it for an iPod within weeks.

Even now, the conversation is ‘what are those?’, ‘oh, they’re AirPods’. Compared to ‘what are those?’, ‘oh, they’re Sony WC-31... err, Sony headphone things.

Good work guys.

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