iPod: 5th Generation

[Asher]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Asher: And you wonder why people ignore you when Apple or Microsoft is in the discussion (hint: It may be a result of unsupported assertions)?

Because people want to believe in what they wasted their money on.

A "standard drain test" just screams of letting the device loop til it dies.

You are the one that is using CNET as some kind of reference to battery life, yet they're clearly not exactly professionals -- and they don't even describe their conditions.

You are the one that is using unsupported assertions. I'm the one being realistic.

For virtually every consumer electronics product, the battery life stated by the manufacturer is not realistic for average uses after a month or so.

[Atahualpa]

Originally posted by Adrian Hon
From the CNET review you linked:



Maybe they're not singing its praises, but it did exceed Apple's rated battery life. Plus the editors gave it an Excellent rating.

Anyway, who cares? It's better than the old iPod. It's got a nice screen, the battery life is good enough for the majority of people, and it's smaller. It doesn't have as many features as other mp3 players do - it's still lacking recording or radio capabilities, for example, and lots of people don't buy it for that reason. I just don't understand why people get so worked up about it.

Framerate is life!

[Asher]

As a side note, Firewire is officially dead for iPods.

[Asher]

While Apple will only talk about how great of a quarter they had, shareholders had quite a different interpretation. It appears iPod sales have peaked, and indeed Apple missed some consensus estimates for sales by quite a bit.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20051011.wapple1011/BNStory/Business

Apple Shares Fall

By ROMA LUCIW

Wednesday, October 12, 2005 Posted at 4:39 PM EDT

Globe and Mail Update

Apple Computer Inc. slumped 4.5 per cent Wednesday after sales fell short of a consensus target and shipments of its popular iPod music player missed some analysts' forecasts.

Shares of Apple fell $2.34 (U.S.) to $49.25 on the Nasdaq Wednesday, after falling more than 10 per cent in late trading on Tuesday.

After markets closed Tuesday, the computer maker unveiled fiscal fourth-quarter profit that almost quadrupled. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company said profit rose 300 per cent to $430-million or 50 cents a diluted share in the three months ended Sept. 24 from $106-million or 13 cents a share a year ago.

The company said its earnings were boosted 12 cents a share by several tax-related items. Excluding that, Apple earned 38 cents a share. Analysts were expecting a profit of 37 cents a share, according to a consensus provided by Thomson First Call.

Sales climbed 57 per cent to $3.68-billion from $2.35-billion, below a consensus analyst target of $3.72-billion.

“We're thrilled to have concluded the best year in Apple's history,” said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO, adding that the quarterly results were also the “highest revenue and earnings” on record.

But investors appeared more focused on sales of the iPod music player. Apple said it shipped 6.45 million iPods during the quarter, up 220 per cent from a year ago.

Analysts, however, were calling for Apple to report iPod sales of between 6.75 million and 8.5 million units, which would have been a four-fold increase from a year ago, based on a survey by Bloomberg.

Sales of the company's Macintosh personal computers reached 1.24 million shipments, Apple said, up 48 per cent from the year-earlier quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the iPod accounted for nearly a third of the quarter's revenue while Mac computers — Apple's historical core product — accounted for about 44 per cent.

Apple's gross margin, or the per cent of sales remaining after subtracting costs, rose to 28.1 per cent from 27 per cent a year ago, the company said.

The company forecast that profit this quarter will be about 49 cents on sales of about $4.7-billion. Analysts are expecting profit of 48 cents on sales of $4.53-billion.

The company is set to unveil yet another new product Wednesday, and industry observers speculate it will be an iPod capable of playing video.

After Tuesday's report, however, perhaps investors are sobering up, analysts say.

“When you're such a class act, it's hard to keep it going,” said Shaw Wu, analyst with American Technology Research. “I think investors got a little too excited, the stock got too high, and the stock is just trying to correct itself now.”

Apple's newest portable player, the pencil-thin iPod Nano, sold well during the fourth-quarter, with 1 million flying off the shelves in 17 days, Apple chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer said during a conference call with analysts.

Mr. Oppenheimer cited an “enormous backlog” in orders for the iPod Nano released Sept. 7. He refused to say when he expected production constraints to ease so that supply would meet demand.

I'm also not sure how much I buy into their story about Nano shortages. They're sitting in big piles at the local Future Shop, CompuSmart, and CompuSmart Express stores that I've been in the past couple of days. Their websites similarly have iPod Nanos available.

[Agathon]

I'd say Creative is pretty much finished. Who would want to buy one of their **** players now.

Well, mental cases. but apart from them....

[Asher]

Originally posted by Agathon
I'd say Creative is pretty much finished. Who would want to buy one of their **** players now.

Because Apple is charging $1.99US for marketing packaged as a music video that consumers are used to getting for free?

Or perhaps because people who buy Creative products care about quality over trends.

The Zen Micro has been successful, and in fact the market of Zen Micros is large enough to sustain an accessories market not unlike the iPod. As luck would have it, one of CNET.com top stories is a roundup of Zen Micro accessories. http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6519_7-...?tag=cnetfd.ld

[Agathon]

Waaa!!! Waaa!!!! Cry more loser.

Since you have been wrong about Apple and the iPod since I've been on this forum, your opinion is completely worthless. Wasn't it you who said that there was no way Apple could sustain a 60% share for another year (2 years ago)? Well, it is more now.

Events have made you irrelevant, as if your constant idiocy with regard to this subject hadn't already.

[Agathon]

Creative's players suck. They are ugly. The software is crap. The UI sucks and they sound average to my ears.

They are for the people who just want not to have an iPod because everyone else has one.

But who cares. Creative lost a long time ago and they are only going to lose more.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Agathon
Waaa!!! Waaa!!!! Cry more loser.

Events have made you irrelevant, as if your constant idiocy with regard to this subject hadn't already.

First of all, I await Urban Ranger to whack you with the banning rod. You are a self-admitted frequent offender, and you've got two unprovoked personal insults right there.

Second of all:

Since you have been wrong about Apple and the iPod since I've been on this forum, your opinion is completely worthless. Wasn't it you who said that there was no way Apple could sustain a 60% share for another year (2 years ago)? Well, it is more now.

No, I never said that. I said there would be a counterculture backlash as the iPod's popularity plateaus -- like happens with all trends. That appears to be happening. What Steve isn't telling you is iPod sales are up 5% over last quarter. A far cry of the 100/200% numbers he harped about last year.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Agathon
Creative's players suck. They are ugly. The software is crap. The UI sucks and they sound average to my ears.

They are for the people who just want not to have an iPod because everyone else has one.

Just because you're hearing impaired doesn't mean everyone else is.

Creative lost a long time ago and they are only going to lose more.

That's funny, because Creative's marketshare is rising last time I checked. Their profits aren't, but that's the price you pay by using quality components to make a market for yourself as you try to expand your marketshare.

[Agathon]

First of all, I await Urban Ranger to whack you with the banning rod. You are a self-admitted frequent offender, and you've got two unprovoked personal insults right there.

Cry more.

Your constant trolling on this subject over the years makes a mockery of your "unprovoked" claims. This thread is up to your usual standards I see: owned already.

I'm no angel, but I never request the mods ban anyone for insulting me. You asking the mods to ban people for disruptive behaviour and personal attacks is the height of hypocrisy. You deserve all you get and more.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Agathon
Cry more.

Your constant trolling on this subject over the years makes a mockery of your "unprovoked" claims. This thread is up to your usual standards I see: owned already.

How am I owned? iPod growth has slowed by orders of magnitude.

It's just not something Steve talks about, and therefore it's not something you would know about or talk about.

Their shares are falling because its investors can see the writing on the wall. 5% growth is piddly, especially when they just announced a product that Steve Jobs himself says there is no market for.

Not to mention the fact that Apple is now under Korean FTC investigation for collusion with Samsung for the memory chips in the iPod Nano.

[Datajack Franit]

fighting about iPods..

[Asher]

There's not much of a fight. Aggie's argument basically comes down to "it's good because it's popular", which is also used frequenty by Britney Spears fanatics when defending her music. It's not a real argument...

[Datajack Franit]

True, but style has nothing to do with valid argumentation: the iPod became popular because of its look and its design. These specifics made it a trendy product. Which actually happens to work properly. Price, software and hardware quality no longer matter since the day the iPod was on the front page of Newsweek