Cingular cell phone service - iPhone / iTunes in trouble

Author

iPhone / iTunes in trouble

Reality

2007-09-26, 10:33 pm

"Oxford" <colalovesmacs@mac.com> wrote in message
news:colalovesmacs-7084E9.17274026092007@mpls-nnrp-06.inet.qwest.net...
>
> And... it's only been 85 Days or so of the advent of the iPhone, so I'd
> say we are on the right track. It took over 1.5 years for VisiCalc to
> show up on the Apple ][, which wiped out IBM, and the 7 dwarfs:
>
> Burroughs, Sperry Rand, Control Data, Honeywell, General Electric, RCA,
> NCR
>
> the same thing is going to happen to ALL Cell companies. Just watch!
>
> -

Talking about "Just watch!"........

When the iPhone first hit store shelves, Apple was on top of the world.
But just a few months later, things have quickly changed. Mac sales are
OK, but the iPhone has become the topic of heated debate, Apple has
come under fire for dropping the iPhone price too early and too
much, and its iTunes Store is under attack from the content side
and new, formidable competitors.

Could it be that Apple has lost its touch? Will the Mac faithful finally
lose confidence in the company it feels so strongly about? Even worse,
will Apple's two cash cows - the iPhone and iTunes - meet an early
demise? It could certainly happen.

iPhone

People rushed to stores to get their hands on the iPhone. But it needed
quite a bit of additional functionality. For that reason, users began to
hack it and make it do the things they actually wanted. There is certainly
no crime in hacking an iPhone. And while Apple did not specifically
threaten those people who hacked their iPhones, it did warn those who
unlocked their iPhones and said that a future software update will render
an unlocked iPhone useless.

If Apple decides to release a software update that will "brick" the iPhone,
Apple should be ready for an extremely hostile user base and a
backlash that will affect every device it produces. Some are naive enough
(OXFORD) to think that Apple can do no wrong and its cult following will
stick with it through thick and thin, but if Apple decides to brick iPhones,
NO ONE will be its friend.

Some will claim Apple was forced to do it by AT&T, but that's BS. If
Apple releases a software update that will brick iPhones, it has nothing
to do with AT&T and everything to do with making as much money as
possible through VERY highly questionable business practices.

No one really knows if Apple will brick iPhones, but if it does, the PR
crisis will far outweigh the price drop debacle. If Apple wants to play
hardball, it should realize that if it does, Apple will surely face the wrath
of a hostile public that doesn't give a crap about the contract with AT&T.
This public, including those people Apple relies on to buy anything Apple,
will not stand by and take it.

A bricked iPhone would start a big battle Apple doesn't want to fight.
Current and future iPhone owners will remember what Apple did
when it finally releases iPhone 2.0 - if there even will be one after this
possible debacle. They will stay away in droves.

iTunes

Amazon has officially released its music download service. It's as
simple to use as iTunes. Even better, it allows you to download
software that will take the MP3 and import it directly into your iTunes
library. And, even better, some (but not all) songs are just 89 cents,
instead of the 99 cents or $1.29 everyone pays on iTunes.

And the songs are DRM-free. Unlike iTunes, you can do WHAT you
want with the songs you buy, WHEN you want.

This service will give Apple a run for its money. Just the ability to add
songs to iTunes is enough for anyone to use it and some songs that
you can't find on iTunes can be found on the Amazon service.

iTunes is in deep trouble. The Amazon service will let people OWN
their music, and that's extremely important.

Amazon has almost 1 million DRM-free songs are 10 cents cheaper
than a song with DRM from iTunes and 40 cents cheaper than a DRM
free song from iTunes. Does the music industry dislike Steve Jobs and
Apple more than we thought? Why was Amazon able to get that kind of
deal, but Steve couldn't?

Maybe the music industry sees the future here.

In just a few short months, an Apple fairy tale could quickly become a
nightmare. The iPhone, Apple's ticket to the future, is in danger of
being hated, and iTunes, the key to the iPod fortune, is facing a stiff
competitor with enough traffic and money in the bank to give it a REAL
thrashing in the marketplace.

Could it be that the golden years of Apple are behind us and the dark
days are coming on strong?

Time will certainly tell.

Scott

2007-09-26, 10:33 pm

"Reality" <reality@sucks.dontit.net> wrote in
news:34EKi.9057$Nn4.3132@trnddc02:

>
> "Oxford" <colalovesmacs@mac.com> wrote in message
> news:colalovesmacs-7084E9.17274026092007@mpls-nnrp-
06.inet.qwest.net...
>
> Talking about "Just watch!"........
>
> When the iPhone first hit store shelves, Apple was on top of the
> world. But just a few months later, things have quickly changed. Mac
> sales are OK, but the iPhone has become the topic of heated debate,
> Apple has come under fire for dropping the iPhone price too early and
> too much, and its iTunes Store is under attack from the content side
> and new, formidable competitors.
>
> Could it be that Apple has lost its touch? Will the Mac faithful
> finally lose confidence in the company it feels so strongly about?
> Even worse, will Apple's two cash cows - the iPhone and iTunes - meet
> an early demise? It could certainly happen.
>
> iPhone
>
> People rushed to stores to get their hands on the iPhone. But it
> needed quite a bit of additional functionality. For that reason, users
> began to hack it and make it do the things they actually wanted. There
> is certainly no crime in hacking an iPhone. And while Apple did not
> specifically threaten those people who hacked their iPhones, it did
> warn those who unlocked their iPhones and said that a future software
> update will render an unlocked iPhone useless.
>
> If Apple decides to release a software update that will "brick" the
> iPhone, Apple should be ready for an extremely hostile user base and a
> backlash that will affect every device it produces. Some are naive
> enough (OXFORD) to think that Apple can do no wrong and its cult
> following will stick with it through thick and thin, but if Apple
> decides to brick iPhones, NO ONE will be its friend.
>
> Some will claim Apple was forced to do it by AT&T, but that's BS. If
> Apple releases a software update that will brick iPhones, it has
> nothing to do with AT&T and everything to do with making as much money
> as possible through VERY highly questionable business practices.
>
> No one really knows if Apple will brick iPhones, but if it does, the
> PR crisis will far outweigh the price drop debacle. If Apple wants to
> play hardball, it should realize that if it does, Apple will surely
> face the wrath of a hostile public that doesn't give a crap about the
> contract with AT&T. This public, including those people Apple relies
> on to buy anything Apple, will not stand by and take it.
>
> A bricked iPhone would start a big battle Apple doesn't want to fight.
> Current and future iPhone owners will remember what Apple did
> when it finally releases iPhone 2.0 - if there even will be one after
> this possible debacle. They will stay away in droves.
>
> iTunes
>
> Amazon has officially released its music download service. It's as
> simple to use as iTunes. Even better, it allows you to download
> software that will take the MP3 and import it directly into your
> iTunes library. And, even better, some (but not all) songs are just 89
> cents, instead of the 99 cents or $1.29 everyone pays on iTunes.
>
> And the songs are DRM-free. Unlike iTunes, you can do WHAT you
> want with the songs you buy, WHEN you want.
>
> This service will give Apple a run for its money. Just the ability to
> add songs to iTunes is enough for anyone to use it and some songs that
> you can't find on iTunes can be found on the Amazon service.
>
> iTunes is in deep trouble. The Amazon service will let people OWN
> their music, and that's extremely important.
>
> Amazon has almost 1 million DRM-free songs are 10 cents cheaper
> than a song with DRM from iTunes and 40 cents cheaper than a DRM
> free song from iTunes. Does the music industry dislike Steve Jobs and
> Apple more than we thought? Why was Amazon able to get that kind of
> deal, but Steve couldn't?
>
> Maybe the music industry sees the future here.
>
> In just a few short months, an Apple fairy tale could quickly become a
> nightmare. The iPhone, Apple's ticket to the future, is in danger of
> being hated, and iTunes, the key to the iPod fortune, is facing a
> stiff competitor with enough traffic and money in the bank to give it
> a REAL thrashing in the marketplace.
>
> Could it be that the golden years of Apple are behind us and the dark
> days are coming on strong?
>
> Time will certainly tell.
>
>
>

Great freakin' post.

Bob Campbell

2007-09-27, 10:33 pm

In article <34EKi.9057$Nn4.3132@trnddc02>,
"Reality" <reality@sucks.dontit.net> wrote:
[color=darkred]
> "Oxford" <colalovesmacs@mac.com> wrote in message
> news:colalovesmacs-7084E9.17274026092007@mpls-nnrp-06.inet.qwest.net...

Wait a minute here. Visicalc on the Apple 2 had absolutely *nothing*
to do with "IBM and the 7 dwarfs". Mainframes were never running
spreadsheets.

Oxford is apparently sitting right in the center of the RDF - using
crystals and pyramids to amplify it - and drinking the kool aide while
jerking off Steve Jobs. This guy is biggest, most ridiculous fanboy
I've ever seen.

Bob Campbell

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