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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?

#281

Post by scarejunba »

madrox wrote: post #76

A couple years ago, I got a bit of saltwater in my iPhone and the headphone jack failed. Since the next generation of iPhone (the iPhone X) was about to come out, I held onto it for a couple months and bought AirPods. I then realized this was Apple's real reason for eliminating the headphone jack. It had nothing to do with courage. It was about eliminating a deeply ingrained user habit so they could solve the problem…

You could see this a different way. Apple has a way of being the forcing function on tech: serial ports, CD drives, low-res displays, Flash, USB-A, headphone jacks.

They push us into a new shift in technology each time. It's like accelerating us by being a single large agent. No one else has the market presence. Suddenly I was able to buy Jabra earbuds that are pretty damned good but the equivalent of which cost twice or thrice as much.

I've always wanted ones like this, not the weird "around the back of the head like I can't keep my glasses on" ones that make me look like a dork and not the "sound quality is worthless and you look like a stock trader" jawbone ones. This is the best world.

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

#282

Post by nomel »

Fnoord wrote: post #243
addicted wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I strongly disagree about the fashion bit. The iPod was better than any competitor it faced ever. The UI with the click wheel was completely unmatched. Maybe the Zune, years later, came close, but Apple absolutely crushed it with the iPhone and iPod touch. The iPhone was leaps and bounds ahead of its time, to the point that the then King of the hill, BlackBerry, didn’t even think it was possible. And the smoothness o…

My iRiver H340 was ahead of its time. It supported MP3 and Ogg Vorbis and had 40 GB, while the iPods of around that time were running around with 4 GB. Oh, and iTunes DRM. I bought an iPod Classic later on (with 160 GB) to experience the genius usability of the iPod. Except, I didn't experience it. The major innovation of the iPhone was that it had a capacitive touch UI (which allows finger use, gestures, etc). The i…

Why was this downvoted? The first thing I thought of was the iRiver. It was incredible at the time.

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

#283

Post by asutekku »

JoBrad wrote: post #267
sandoooo wrote: post #249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Remember itunes? UI was horrible from day one and got worse over the years until they killed it. I don't think it was ever a dealbreaker. UI is not the whole story here.

iTunes is very much alive for the majority of IPhone/iPad users.

I really don’t think so. I’d say only minority is using it after streaming services became popular and you can easily do OTA updates. Not much of a reason to use it anymore, that’s why Apple even discontinued it.

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

#284

Post by dkonofalski »

Fnoord wrote: post #243
addicted wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I strongly disagree about the fashion bit. The iPod was better than any competitor it faced ever. The UI with the click wheel was completely unmatched. Maybe the Zune, years later, came close, but Apple absolutely crushed it with the iPhone and iPod touch. The iPhone was leaps and bounds ahead of its time, to the point that the then King of the hill, BlackBerry, didn’t even think it was possible. And the smoothness o…

My iRiver H340 was ahead of its time. It supported MP3 and Ogg Vorbis and had 40 GB, while the iPods of around that time were running around with 4 GB. Oh, and iTunes DRM. I bought an iPod Classic later on (with 160 GB) to experience the genius usability of the iPod. Except, I didn't experience it. The major innovation of the iPhone was that it had a capacitive touch UI (which allows finger use, gestures, etc). The i…

Replies like this miss the point completely. The iPod wasn't aimed at people like you who know what Ogg Vorbis is/was. It was aimed at the average, non-techy person and it absolutely crushed it.

Same with the iPhone. The major innovation of the iPhone was that it was simple to use and anyone could pick it up and use it without knowing anything about it.

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

#285

Post by ksherlock »

kristianc wrote: post #193
_trampeltier wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

You should probably blame the music labels (for example, Columbia/Sony) for the DRM.

https://web.archive.org/web/20070207234839/http://www.apple....

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

#286

Post by dkonofalski »

asutekku wrote: post #283
JoBrad wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

iTunes is very much alive for the majority of IPhone/iPad users.

I really don’t think so. I’d say only minority is using it after streaming services became popular and you can easily do OTA updates. Not much of a reason to use it anymore, that’s why Apple even discontinued it.

Uhh... what? Apple didn't "discontinue" iTunes. It just got renamed to Apple Music. They separated out the syncing features but it's still the same product.

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

#287

Post by dkonofalski »

kristianc wrote: post #193
_trampeltier wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

>until the courts forced them to remove it

Citation needed. Steve Jobs was incredibly anti-DRM and it was only added because the content owners wouldn't license the music to Apple without it. Once the iTunes Store exploded and became a primary sales channel, Apple renegotiated their licenses and required all media to be DRM-free because, at that point, they had the upper hand.

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

#288

Post by cosmodisk »

ozim wrote: post #147
paxys wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am of course not debating that AirPods are successful. However, - If one random sales estimate is $6 billion and the other is $12 billion, it is clear that there isn't enough information out there, or something else is amiss. This isn't just a margin of error difference, and would completely change the graph in the parent article. - There is nothing useful to be taken away from comparing its sales numbers against a…

1) I don't know the estimates but I see it on the streets. Everyone and their dog has AirPods. I already have seen people with Pro version as well. I do not see people walking with their GoPros. If I go skiing I don't see people with their GoPro (people mostly just go skiing and then do some pictures with their phones from what I noticed), Chromecast I have seen some but not as many. There is no comparison. 2) There…

Of course you can make money making physical things.The only problem is you either make them premium or you have to sell zillions of units to make profit. We have "Apple" in every industry ( fashion, automotive, catering,etc.), however that's still only a handful.Making software is probably more likely to earn you tons of meney.

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

#289

Post by elsonrodriguez »

Fnoord wrote: post #243
addicted wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I strongly disagree about the fashion bit. The iPod was better than any competitor it faced ever. The UI with the click wheel was completely unmatched. Maybe the Zune, years later, came close, but Apple absolutely crushed it with the iPhone and iPod touch. The iPhone was leaps and bounds ahead of its time, to the point that the then King of the hill, BlackBerry, didn’t even think it was possible. And the smoothness o…

My iRiver H340 was ahead of its time. It supported MP3 and Ogg Vorbis and had 40 GB, while the iPods of around that time were running around with 4 GB. Oh, and iTunes DRM. I bought an iPod Classic later on (with 160 GB) to experience the genius usability of the iPod. Except, I didn't experience it. The major innovation of the iPhone was that it had a capacitive touch UI (which allows finger use, gestures, etc). The i…

The iRiver H340 came out in 2004, the iPod came out in 2001. Apple basically had the world's entire supply of tiny hard drives on lock for a year or two, after that other players could finally compete in that form factor (contemporary MP3 players either had little storage or were almost walkman sized).

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

#290

Post by htfu »

Grazester wrote: post #252
kristianc wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which I guess would explain why there are Android phones that crush the iPhone on tech specs but make a minuscule (and sometimes negative) proportion of the industry’s profit?

I am like you but with the Android. Every time I use my wife iPhone I want to toss it across the room. I think primary because it doesn't have a dedicated back button.

You mean "swipe in from left of screen"? Sure it might only apply 80-90% of the time but I'd say that's about on par with the back button behaving like I expect it to..
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