neceser
02.10.05, 22:19
Ameryka upada.
iPod Nano maintains Apple's halo
By David Reid
Reporter, BBC Click Online
The iPod Nano was the star attraction for the hordes in Paris
Of all its products, it is the iPod which has set alight Apple's brand the
most in recent years. And among the other computer-related items on show at
the Apple Expo in Paris during the week, the iPod Nano still stood out.
The star of this year's Apple Expo was as slim and elegant as an after-dinner
mint. Apple's latest candy-covered iPod, the Nano, comes in two or four
gigabytes.
While it has suffered some teething problems - Apple has agreed to replace
one batch prone to scratched or cracked screens - it still symbolises
everything the company stands for, says Phil Schiller, Apple's head of
worldwide product marketing.
"Apple is a company that makes products that are very advanced technology and
yet incredibly easy to use. And we have a tremendous number of engineering
skills and talents to do this.
"And it's the magic of how that all comes together to make a product work
just the way a customer would want, that's easy and that you love to have as
a part of your life."
Like Apple's boss, Steve Jobs, who returned to the company in 1996, the iPod
and the online music store iTunes have been a breath of fresh air for a
company that was somewhat becalmed.
'Halo effect'
The iPod has also given birth to what Jobs describes as an eco-system of
supporting products, by other outfits feeding off the iPod's success.
This includes the first mobile telephone equipped to work with iTunes.
However, Motorola's Rokr has received mixed reviews.
Apple was co-founded by Steve Jobs in 1976, and has many fans
But is the success of iPod and iTunes obscuring the struggle Apple is having
in increasing its global market share in its core business: computers?
That share is still stuck at around three percent, but Apple points to what
the media has dubbed the halo effect: the iPod is so dazzling that Apple's
computers will be bathed in its divine light and the public will have to snap
them up.
Phil Schiller says: "People for the first time are getting an Apple product
with the iPod and seeing how great it is and are thinking about checking out
our computers too."
Not everyone is so convinced, and sceptics say the halo effect might not be
all it is cracked up to be.
Christopher Phin, from MacUser magazine, says: "It is something that Apple
has decided they like the sound of and that they're using as a way of
convincing people, possibly themselves, that the Mac is indeed doing
everything it can in the market place and building its market share the way
they want it to."
Attracting new users
That said, one move Apple has made this year is to launch the moderately
priced Mac mini.
It is designed specifically for switchers: those already using a PC can plug
their existing mouse, screen and keyboard into this Mac-in-a-box.
Phil Schiller says: "We always like to have more customers and we haven't
stopped working hard to gain more. We are very proud that, over the last
three quarters, our business has been growing twice as fast as the rest of
the industry."
Is Apple forgetting its core product, computers?
Apple is also changing its chip supplier to Intel. Most say this is because
their chips run cooler, which is better for high-end laptops.
The change will also have implications for Mac's operating system OSX -
designed to run on Macs alone - and which supports software like Final Cut
Pro.
The new Intel versions of OSX have, however, already been hacked to work on
non-Apple computers.
It was so easy that it has got some people wondering whether Apple is
secretly planning to make OSX common currency for PCs as well, and challenge
Microsoft's operating system Windows.
Exclusive brand?
Or so says the latest conspiracy theory, according to Chris Phin. "The way
the story runs from there is that you have a system that's built to run on
Intel that's easy to crack, so it's been cracked.
Two or three years down the line, Apple will start selling Mac OSX for Intel
boxes
Christopher Phin, MacUser magazine
"So people will buy very cheap IBM PCs from Dell and other manufacturers like
them, that are much less expensive than Apple's own kit. They will then run
the operating system on that because Mac OSX is a fabulous operating system
to use.
"Then, two or three years down the line, Apple will turn round and officially
start selling Mac OSX for Intel boxes. And, of course, everyone who is then
using it already will upgrade."
Like most conspiracy theories, this one is fed by secrecy. Apple is as
concerned about its own image as it is about how its own products look.
One of the appeals of those products is that they feel exclusive. The danger
for Apple in targeting the mass market is devaluing this brand. When you
trade in cool, how long before cool becomes commonplace?
