Apple Fanboys back in 2001 when iPod was announced.

[Sanitarium]

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=500

Originally Posted by Apple Phanboi

I still can't believe this! All this hype for something so ridiculous! Who cares about an MP3 player? I want something new! I want them to think differently!
Why oh why would they do this?! It's so wrong! It's so stupid!

A good read.

[Big D]

Damn my grammer is bad... and I can't edit the title... :'-(

Grammar has been corrected!

[LordMattman]

Aha this is crazy.

It's now at the online Apple Store!

$400 for an Mp3 Player!

I'd call it the Cube 2.0 as it wont sell, and be killed off in a short time...and it's not really functional.

Uuhh Steve, can I have a PDA now?

Well....

[1_1337_410]

I for one am disappointed and think that apple is making a mistake by trying to get into this market.

ROFLMAO.

With the irony in that thread... Jon Stewart, eat your heart out!!!

[DreamTactix291]

Wow, looking at that thread has made me realise how much the electronics world has changed in 5 1/2 years. For the better IMO. This little thread is a gen and I have it bookmarked.

[ShyAnne]

There were at least a few people in that thread who thought it was a good idea. The rest must be eating their words, what with those ubiquitous white ear buds.

Sanitarium, thanks for posting that link. It was a good read, in a blast-from-the-past way.

[sweetspot]

Well, traveler was the first 'Mactard/ (thanks Step !) to coin the 'revolutionary' term, on that board. Except, wasn't the Creative Jukebox already quite an item ? And didn't the IHP series arrive even before the iPod ? Yeeeah. Asshats.

We live in the YEAR 2001... not 6000 years from now when ridiculously awsome technology will exist. No other mp3 player has a harddrive like this... 5gigs... **** yeah. A rio of the same size offers 64megs. Jesum Crow, get over your moping.. .this is revolutionary.... plus it's just the beginning. This device literally bests anything on the market by about 100x

And the most "special boy" award goes to, well... "Nobody Special" with this comment:

All that hype for an MP3 player? Break-thru digital device? The Reality Distortion Field™ is starting to warp Steve's mind if he thinks for one second that this thing is gonna take off.

Holy LOL's Batman !

I don't want to read that anymore, because people were really imbecilic about the whole thing, especially those who WERE for it calling it revolutionary. Because it's smaller it's revolutionary ? That's some criteria for hype there...not. Yes, the Nomad Jukebox did get to the market well before the iPod and while it was bigger, so was the hard drive, and it also had a true line out. The iPod to this day, has NEVER had a true line out built in. (line adapters not withstanding) And the sound quality of the first and even second gen iPods was CRAP. The Nomad Jukebox series in its lifespan, boasted incredible audio quality.

To this day, I'm STILL not impressed with the iPod in its native environment, at all. I will however be SLIGHTLY interested in the touch screen version. Yet that still...will NOT be revolutionary, so I don't want to hear it !

Edit: (couldn't help myself damn it)

Originally Posted by metoo

3. Without a future. This Christmas you will see mp3 players be commoditized. Meaning that the players from Korea will be way less expensive tha iPod. The real money is in DRM and distribution (ala Real Musicnet). If Apple were smart they would be focusing on high gross revenue from services rather than a playback device.

Check.

[Step666]

Originally Posted by ShyAnne

There were at least a few people in that thread who thought it was a good idea. The rest must be eating their words, what with those ubiquitous white ear buds.

No, they probably own at least one iPod each and have conveniently 'forgotten' their previous doubts.
I mean, we're on about Mactards here

[ShyAnne]

Originally Posted by Step666

No, they probably own at least one iPod each and have conveniently 'forgotten' their previous doubts.

Ya, there's that 'selective memory' thing.

Current iPod fans certainly aren't the first to make previous boneheaded and/or short-sighted statements though. Consider this one:

"640K ought to be enough for anybody." --Bill Gates

Originally Posted by Step666

I mean, we're on about Mactards here

"Mactards"?!? Really Step, surprised at you! Why, there's plenty of happy iPod owners right on these forums .... wait, you're one of them!

But I guess that derogatory term might well apply to the white earbud sporting "iPod or nothing" crowd who routinely sneer at any other DAP. Really, they don't know what they're missing.

But just watch .. if Apple ever releases a DAP that has on-board FM and recording options then expect those children-of-the-corn eyed types to start crowing "Ingenious!" and "Revolutionary!"

[Step666]

Originally Posted by ShyAnne

"Mactards"?!? Really Step, surprised at you! Why, there's plenty of happy iPod owners right on these forums .... wait, you're one of them!

Picked it up over on Gizmodo (I think) as an alternative to 'Apple/iPod/Mac Fanboys'.
It rolls off the tongue far more easily

[Sempai Kei]

Oh the irony. That made my night. It's amazing how fast people go from "oh lame, it'll never sell" to "I'm willing to trade my soul for one just so I can be cool like every one else." Personally, I don't think the ipod ever was revolutionary. It didn't really do anything original, just maybe built upon previous technologies and called it their own.

[ShyAnne]

Originally Posted by Sempai Kei

It didn't really do anything original, just maybe built upon previous technologies and called it their own.

Welll ... can't really say they didn't do anything original with iPod. Not an original device but clever marketing, with emphasis on bringing what had been primarily a geek gadget (portable MP3 player) to the masses. Marketing was different than that usually used with electronic devices ....


a.) Take what was considered a geek gadget and turn it into a fashion statement.
Note most iPod owners use the stock white earbuds and no carrying cases, despite notoriously scratch-prone surfaces. Scratches be damned, they'd rather make sure you know they have an iPod. Also multi-colors and lots of accessories.

b.) Avalanche advertising designed to convince pre-teens and teens that they must have this brand and only this brand.
Ever see isolated one-star user reviews on DAPs other users rate highly, with a writing style that screams "KID"? It means somebody's disappointed Mom & Dad bought them something other than the iPod they pestered about for months. You correctly summed up their attitude in one sentence: "I'm willing to trade my soul for one just so I can be cool like every one else."

c.) Emphasize ease of use over expanded features.
Too many people are too lazy to either read manuals or look up answers elsewhere, an idiot-proof player that can be operated right out the box appeals to those types. Another reason for isolated one-star reviews on highly rated DAPs are those very tech-challenged adults who probably should have gone with an entry-level iPod instead, like a Shuffle or Nano.

d.) Integration of device and a software program made especially for that device.
Plenty of people here appreciate UMS, some must have it due to alternative operating systems like Linux. Plenty more people "out there" ... if you were to ask what operating system they're running they'll ask "What's an operating system?" Those second types don't venture into directory trees, they're afraid to flash firmware, they don't 'tweak' anything ever. They want nothing more than easy-to-use programs accessible from desktop icons.

Now this is not to say every iPod owner chooses that brand for the reasons above. Some actually do research brands and models and find one of the iPods to be the best to suit their needs in a player. But they're a different lot than the majority of iPod owners.