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rmeister0 · 01-17-2008, 12:03 PM

A few things I feel compelled to comment on.

Blanket Jobs/Apple bashing is both old hat and ill informed. They make missteps just like every other company; the curious thing is just how few big ones they've made over the past five years.

The iPhone is not trash. I own one. It is the first smartphone device I've owned that is consistently reliable. Mail reception works. Sync works. Gasp, it can actually place and receive phone calls. The battery life is excellent. Please don't spread FUD.

I've also upgraded several Macs in my lifetime, including a 2007 rev iMac and a 2006 rev MacBook Pro. It can be done. The Mac Pro tower is one of the easiest boxes to work in. Please don't spread FUD.

Now if you want to say that Jobs is an a**hole, go right ahead. He has that reputation, and he's a lightning rod for making comments like this. What you have to understand is that Jobs is not speaking his personal opinion here; he is speaking the official Apple stance, which will remain true until it changes in a release conference or keynote.

Remember when he said nobody would watch video on a tiny iPod screen?

Remember when he said nobody would rent movies in iTunes?

Remember how he continues to say nobody wants to rent music? If he perceives the market shifting in favor of subscription services, he won't let his past statements get in the way of pursuing that.

His statement that "nobody reads" has already had the desired effect - it got a lot of press attention. What it means in Jobs-speak is that the market for electronic books is too small to be interesting, and it isn't where the money is. Guess what? Apple is a company. They're not evil because they don't pursue the ebook market, and nothing Apple can do will stop others from trying. It's not like he said Bezos should close the company and return the money to the shareholders.

If you can read books on a Palm TX, than you'd do fine reading on an iPhone or iPod touch; all you need is the software, and with the release of the SDK coming in February I would be very surprised if somebody didn't try it.

The fact that eReader devices are backordered doesn't mean they are in high demand. If I build 10 of something and get 20 orders, then I'm backordered, but 20 orders doesn't equate to "high demand". We don't know how many Kindles Amazon manufactured for the first wave, but with JIT inventories and the seemingly constrained supply of the screen I would be very surprised if it was a large number.

The real test is going to be how many Amazon sells over the first year. Do sales trickle off once the early adopters have their fill, or do they continue to grow as word of mouth spreads? The Kindle has a good shot, but success is not guaranteed.

01-17-2008, 12:03 PM	#76
rmeister0 Addict Posts: 270 Karma: 298 Join Date: Mar 2005	A few things I feel compelled to comment on. Blanket Jobs/Apple bashing is both old hat and ill informed. They make missteps just like every other company; the curious thing is just how few big ones they've made over the past five years. The iPhone is not trash. I own one. It is the first smartphone device I've owned that is consistently reliable. Mail reception works. Sync works. Gasp, it can actually place and receive phone calls. The battery life is excellent. Please don't spread FUD. I've also upgraded several Macs in my lifetime, including a 2007 rev iMac and a 2006 rev MacBook Pro. It can be done. The Mac Pro tower is one of the easiest boxes to work in. Please don't spread FUD. Now if you want to say that Jobs is an a**hole, go right ahead. He has that reputation, and he's a lightning rod for making comments like this. What you have to understand is that Jobs is not speaking his personal opinion here; he is speaking the official Apple stance, which will remain true until it changes in a release conference or keynote. Remember when he said nobody would watch video on a tiny iPod screen? Remember when he said nobody would rent movies in iTunes? Remember how he continues to say nobody wants to rent music? If he perceives the market shifting in favor of subscription services, he won't let his past statements get in the way of pursuing that. His statement that "nobody reads" has already had the desired effect - it got a lot of press attention. What it means in Jobs-speak is that the market for electronic books is too small to be interesting, and it isn't where the money is. Guess what? Apple is a company. They're not evil because they don't pursue the ebook market, and nothing Apple can do will stop others from trying. It's not like he said Bezos should close the company and return the money to the shareholders. If you can read books on a Palm TX, than you'd do fine reading on an iPhone or iPod touch; all you need is the software, and with the release of the SDK coming in February I would be very surprised if somebody didn't try it. The fact that eReader devices are backordered doesn't mean they are in high demand. If I build 10 of something and get 20 orders, then I'm backordered, but 20 orders doesn't equate to "high demand". We don't know how many Kindles Amazon manufactured for the first wave, but with JIT inventories and the seemingly constrained supply of the screen I would be very surprised if it was a large number. The real test is going to be how many Amazon sells over the first year. Do sales trickle off once the early adopters have their fill, or do they continue to grow as word of mouth spreads? The Kindle has a good shot, but success is not guaranteed.