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Topic: AT&T

Apple brings out killer revamped iPods but stabs AT&T in the back

Summary: Apple’s done it again and come out with a killer revamp of the iPod line.What many wanted was an iPhone sans the phone, and Apple has made that dream a realityThose new iPod touch devices look really cool.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

By for Hardware 2.0 |

Apple’s done it again and come out with a killer revamp of the iPod line.

new_ipods.jpg

What many wanted was an iPhone sans the phone, and Apple has made that dream a reality Those new iPod touch devices look really cool.  So cool that I want one.  I know I shouldn’t because they’re first gen and that’s likely to mean all sorts of headaches, but I want one.  And because the iPod touch comes equipped with WiFi and that means being able to stay connected when on the move, I can justify wanting one very easily – it’s a productivity tool.

I’m not too sure about the new iPod nanos.  If the storage had been boosted up to 16GB then I might overlook the fact that it looks like a tombstone, but since it offers no increase in storage over my existing nano (and I know how fast I filled that up) I’m going to pass.

The iPod touch is, without a doubt, going to be big, but by releasing it Apple has once again demonstrated that it’s a company that doesn’t work well with other companies.  The iPod touch competes directly with the iPhone and by releasing it so close to the iPhone, Apple’s stabbed AT&T squarely in the back.  A $600 cellphone that requires an ongoing contract was never going to be as big as the iPod, and even with the latest price drop, the exclusive AT&T contract is still a deal-breaker.  I knew that the iPhone was overpriced at launch and that the Apple was taking advantage of the hypeWhat many wanted was an iPhone sans the phone, and Apple has made that dream a reality.  While the iPod touch doesn’t totally murder the iPhone, it certainly pushes it into the background.

new_ipods_iphone1.jpgBut what’s with the iPhone price drop already?  Sheesh, the iHype is hardly over and Apple cuts the price by two hundred notes.  Apple is one of a small handful of companies who could cut the price of a product so close to the launch date without upsetting people who’d paid full price for the product.  If you recently bought an iPhone and feel a bit miffed that the price has come down, here’s how you can get that $200 back.  I know that if I’d stood in line for hours and paid full price for one on the launch day that I’d be feeling more than a little emotional about the price drop.  On the other hand, I knew that the iPhone was overpriced at launch and that the Apple was taking advantage of the hype and sticking a vacuum pump into customer’s pockets and sucking until there wasn’t even lint left.  Steve Jobs has spoken, the price has been cut, and very few Apple customers will complain.  Reality distortion field working at 100%.

Thoughts?

Topics: AT&T, Apple, iPhone, Mobility

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63 comments
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  • Distortions

    AT&T was a villain, now they're a victim. iPhone was expensive, now it's cheap. It
    was a hype magnet, now it's yesterdays news.

    Clearly this means the downfall of the iPhone. This opinion, like so many other will
    be correct and inviolate, right up until it's not.

    Apparently opinions change. Within 1 year OSX will be in the palms of millions of
    people. Expect a few more opinions to change. The biggest platform trojan horse
    ever, just got appreciably bigger.

    You want one? Join the club. You know that club... the koolaid drinking, robe
    wearing, misguided, sons of silver spoons that you've implied have more money
    than brains. At that point, you are sure to be the fist proletariat Apple user.

    Distorted reality indeed.
    Harry Bardal
    Reply Vote

    • OSX in the palms of millions?

      [i]Within 1 year OSX will be in the palms of millions of people.[/i]

      And what good is it to have OSX in the palms of millions when it shares [b]nothing[/b] of what makes OSX so good on the Mac? Let's see:
      1. Easy installation of programs? Nope.
      2. Restricted rights user by default? Nope.
      3. Time Machine? Nope.
      4. Expose? Nope.

      OSX on the Mac doesn't have multi-touch and you can't even share programs between the Mac and the iPhone/iPod Touch. In fact, how many people are even going to [b]know[/b] they are using OSX? If people don't know it is OSX, it will hardly act as a springboard. People are hardly going to go: [i]Wow, this OSX on my iPod is a really powerful, secure, easy to use OS, I should check out OSX on a Mac!![/i]

      Is there a halo effect? Maybe, but if so, it has more to do with the Apple logo on the device than the OS running the device. Mac zealots have been freaking out over the last few years about the halo effect before a single iPod had OSX on it. Have they all been wrong all along?

      Seriously, if there was even [b]one[/b] OSX only program that worked on both the iPhone/iPod and the Mac, you would have a point with your trojan horse theory. Until then, it smells like something else horse related. :)
      NonZealot
      Reply Vote

      • Awesome!

        Let me get this straight.

        The Mac isn't awesome because it doesn't have the awesome capabilities of
        multitouch. iPod Touch isn't awesome because it doesn't have the awesome
        capabilities of the Mac. These two are even less awesome because the obvious and
        awesome potential for all of this stuff to be leveraged across the board.

        The price cut isn't awesome because of our new found empathy with those people
        who happened to be "not awesome" when they bought their iPhones first.

        Finally, the fact that all this awesomeness is coming from one company is deeply
        suspicious. We should avoid the potential of a awesomeness monopoly by
        endorsing a second rate ACTUAL monopoly.

        TOTAL GENIUS!
        Harry Bardal
        Reply Vote

      • They do have more than ONE program....

        So what about iTunes, Safari, YouTube app and all others user developed apps that can be used on iPhones, iPods and Macs just the same?
        jetorr
        Reply Vote

        • Er.. Only ONE program...

          iTunes runs on the Mac/PC - not on the iPhone itself.

          YouTube.. BFD. You can get YouTube vids on just about every platform - as long as it supports Flash.

          So all you're left with - Safari...

          And from all intents - pretty much everyone agrees it sucks - even Mac users.

          SO.. Your point is..?
          Wolfie2K3
          Reply Vote

          • Er... Yes, two programs and more coming....

            Well no, iTunes, whether it's a "special" version or not, runs (or will real soon) on the new iPod touch and iPhone. And the content and funcionality will be the same as on Mac computers.

            Check it out: http://www.apple.com/iphone/wifistore/

            And I guess my point is that much more is coming for the iPod and iPhone as far as taking advantage of OSX and integrating with the regular Mac computers.
            jetorr
            Reply Vote

    • Watching an Apple apologist squirm...Happy days!

      Harry,
      Stop. Enough is enough.

      Apple shafted the early adopters of the iPhone with the $200.00 price drop because they were too expensive to start with, plus the fact that they know they won't sell in Europe and the fact that the iPod Touch will never sell at iPhone prices.

      If you want to ramble on like a demented oaf about how brilliant Apple is, then expect the ridicule you are getting here today.

      Steve Jobs just dumped a big load from up high onto the true Apple faithful (you know, the ones who queued up for five days straight to get an overpriced paperweight), and yet those very same people are hailing it as a success...

      Steve Jobs is the proof that fools and their money are soon parted!

      Happy days...
      Scrat
      Reply Vote

      • How is this different from an airline that does the same thing?

        The iMac went down in price and up in capacity. All manufacturers do this. Why is Apple different? Because they tell you. Nokia, Sony, MS, they don't make a big deal out of lowering their prices, they do a press release.

        Where is your disgust?

        Apple refunds the $200 if you bought within the last 2 weeks and you ask for it within 2 weeks.

        The airlines do the same thing. They will lower prices day before a flight to fill it. If you find out about it and ask them for it, they will refund you to the "sale price" if they had equivalent flying conditions.

        No outrage there!
        mlindl
        Reply Vote

      • The Ultimate Fanbois

        They never admit anything those Apple Fanbois. Apple is like a great artist, wonderful design but a real nut case.
        I like my 2 year old iPod, it plays music! I put up with iTunes and after a number of issues I will not ler QuickTime anywhere near any of our computers. The i Phone, it is a great anything BUT a phone and at least Apple figured that out. The $399 is still to high for a phone that sounds as bad and is that slow.
        Baer
        Reply Vote

    • Not the end if iPhone, unless you are a Palm OS user

      I don't think the iTouch comes close to competing with the iPhone (or integrated phones with data connections like Windows Mobile or Palm phones). Anyone who has enjoyed having internet access via a data connection virtually all the time will attest that using Wi-fi is for the birds -- especially when you have to set it up and pay each time you get to a wi-fi spot. Perhaps those people who are used to Palm Pilots with wi-fi only will look into the iTouch, but those people who have or want a fully integrated experience - email, phone, contacts, calendar, internet, games, music, video, camera, spreadsheets, word processing, GPS, slide-show presentations would not even consider the iTouch.
      dpiccus@...
      Reply Vote

  • My thoughts?

    Your last couple sentences will give you a -9999999 rating as all the Mac zealots [b]FREAK[/b] out that anyone dare suggest anything as blasphemous as you did. Apple is the "little guy" in the media market with "only" 70% of the market so it is important that you buy an iPod to let the market know that you are [b]against[/b] monopolies as evil as Microsoft and their 1% marketshare.

    Apple is against DRM and would never make you pay twice for the same song... well... unless you want to use a song as a ring tune... then Apple has no qualms at all about charging you twice.

    Oh yeah, then there is the embarrassing NBC situation where NBC wanted to give consumers a discount if you bought the entire season but Apple said [b]NO GET OUT OF HERE[/b]. Hmm, only a monopolist reseller could dictate the price of the items they are reselling. Come on DOJ, time to investigate! :) :) :)
    NonZealot
    Reply Vote

  • iPhone, not a phone

    If you can't dial with one hand, it's not a phone.
    Sorry iPhone Folks.
    D T Schmitz
    Reply Vote

    • Well...

      Well...that would be like a phone...but then again QWERTY mobiles usually need two hands like the cingular 8525 + T-Mobile Dash...right?!
      madshock
      Reply Vote

      • Ah...

        ...but even those devices can be used as a phone with one hand.

        The iPhone is a 'two-handed' deal for any type of activity.

        Thx
        D T Schmitz
        Reply Vote

  • RE: Apple brings out killer revamped iPods but stabs AT&T in the back

    I hope the touchscreens last...not for my sake.
    Yours.
    Feldwebel Wolfenstool
    Reply Vote

  • Your car looses that much value when you first drive it off the lot

    Anyone who thought that the original price of the iPhone
    was too much wasn't forced to buy it.

    That's how supply and demand works.
    YinToYourYang-22527499
    Reply Vote

    • used car market isn't the same thing at all.

      If I buy a brand new, wicked cool Audi for 60 thousand, and two months later they drop the price of a NEW car to 40 thousand, it'd be an accurate analogy.

      Besides that, a car doesn't depreciate 30%+ when you drive it off the lot, not any car worth owning at least.
      rtk
      Reply Vote

    • Original iPhone price

      Yin:

      "Anyone who thought that the original price of the iPhone was too much wasn't forced to buy it."

      And those suck^H^H^H^H people who purchased an 8Gb iPhone for US$600 14 days prior to 09/05/07 can demand that either Apple or AT&T to cough up US$200.

      Those who purchased one [b]15[/b] or more days prior are SOL.

      P.T. Barnum was right.
      M.R. Kennedy
      Reply Vote

    • How many of us have bought a computer ...

      ... only to find the price of the very same model dropped in the very next month. Nothing new here!
      M Wagner
      Reply Vote

      • Because we care

        Of course. You wanna play, you'll have to pay. Steve is giving them $100 to lessen
        the pain.

        http://www.apple.com/hotnews/openiphoneletter/
        Chiatzu
        Reply Vote
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