[opendtv] Re: QuickTime Player on Windows
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2008 22:12:07 -0500
At 1:16 PM -0800 12/16/08, John Willkie wrote:
Yes, the switch to Intel (which you variously said would never happen, nor
would never work) has increased Apple profit margins, and has helped them
increase their share of the computer market from minuscule to at least a
notch above. They are still offered at a serious premium to comparable
wintel machines.
But, both profit margin and market share for computers is paled by both for
iTunes/iPod/iPhone, which have continuing revenue streams.
Computers are still 45% of Apple's total business and, if you had
read the article I linked, you would note that Apple maintains an
enviable 30% profit margin on its computers, while many PC vendors
are lucky to make 6%.
Yes, the iPod has a market share that rivals Microsoft's juggernaut
in the PC OS market. And I agree that Apple has managed to develop a
business model with continuing revenues streams for the iPod and
iPhone lines. There were some stories today that they may do the same
for the rapidly evolving "netbook" market, using the App Store to
generate ongoing revenue streams.
I would note that this matches up nicely with my "vision" of a larger
Touch or tablet computer that would have HD resolution. We probably
won't have to wait long to find out, as Macworld is January 9th and
the 25th anniversary of the Mac is a few weeks later.
By the way. Apple announced today that they are pulling out of
Macworlkd after this year - Adobe already announced that they will
not exhibit at MacWorld. And Apple pulled out of NAB last year. This
is just the tip of the iceberg, as trade shows are struggling
everywhere.
And, let me highlight something that you haven't picked up on. iPods and
iPhones don't last. Regular users tend to buy them again every year or so.
Lucy Kellaway of the FT just loves hers. She reported on a BBC essay that
she has bought seven of them for her family, but only one works now, and
only in one channel.
I have not had and significant problems with reliability - but
batteries do wear out. I am still using my 4GB iPod Mini at the
Swamphead warehouse with a set of powered speakers. The battery is
all but gone but it works fine with the charger ( and this is a HDD
model).
My iPhone is approaching 2 years old and keeps on ticking...
My daughter got one for her birthday last year (March). She dropped
it recently and a portion of the touch screen stopped working. She
scheduled an appointment at the Apple store in Orlando and the
customer service rep plugged it into a computer to run some
diagnostics. A few minutes later he told her it was broken and gave
her a new one.
Actually the street is pessimistic about future growth in the iPod
market, since they believe the market is saturated - apparently they
are not in agreement that people replace them every year. Clue: since
Apple moved to flash memory they don't have many problems.
But the street seems blind to the reality that Apple is migrating the
customer base to upscale devices like the iPhone and iPod Touch,
which are much more than MP3 players. These devices run a scaled down
version of OS-X and the Safari Web browser, and are redefining the
mobile gaming market.
Now, I don't want to 'excessively' pick on Apple in this regard. I was a
full-frontal participant in the Walkman/etc revolution of the 1980's. I
must have bought 20 of various ones, and found that they broke or
disappeared. One fell from it's holder on the way home from the department
store, thankfully I was able to return it, but I was prepared to pay another
$200 for another one.
But, iPod users find out when they try to repair something that new units
cost less than replacement parts, and this without excessively highlighting
the effects of serious price decreases.
There is some validity in the disposable aspect of the iPod and many
other consumer electronics products. I think you are exaggerating the
reliability problem, but there is another issue that tends to fuel
the market for upgrades.
Capacity.
People love to collect music, and these collections tend to grow and
grow and...
My collection now significantly exceed the capacity of my 4GB iPod.
Fortunately, iTunes let's me manage multiple iPods/iPhones and
control what I choose to load onto each.
In this light, many people have added an iPod shuffle to their
collections of gadgets. For $49 you get a tiny device you can clip to
a t-shirt while jogging or working out. That's roughly equal to the
cost of three or four CDs. Small wonder the market for CDs is dying...
People don't tend to rent computer hardware. The same cannot be said for
iPod/iTunes/iPhone.
I still don't get this whole notion of renting music. A number of
companies have tried subscription music services, but this business
model has largely failed.
Apple provides a serious set of tools to manage and build your
personal music collection, and devices that allow you to enjoy that
collection anywhere, anytime. Most iPod users build their iTunes
library from the CDs they already own, and enhance their collections
with songs they purchase from the iTunes store.
I just checked my iTunes library. It contains 1057 songs, 170 of
which I purchased from the iTunes store.
Here's a dirty little secret John. Some of those songs are from CDs
that friends brought over to share while we are brewing or playing
darts and drinking beer. I just put the CD in my MacBook Pro and
import it while it is playing. I can even burn AudioCDs with songs
that I purchases and from my collection , just like the custom
cassettes I used to spend hours recording to play on my Walkman
clones.
Apple does rent movies, but the music business model is not about
renting anything. The business model is built around giving you the
ability to manage the stuff you already own or buy
Regards
Craig
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways:
- Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at FreeLists.org
- By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word
unsubscribe in the subject line.
Other related posts:
