The Age Of The iPod Is Over

H

HardOCP News

[H] News
Joined
Dec 31, 1969
Messages
0
When is the last time you even saw an iPod, let alone used one?

Over the holidays, Apple's iPad and iPhone sold better than they've ever sold before: 51 million iPhones and 26 million iPads in a single quarter. The lowly iPod, however, didn't do nearly as well. The company moved just six million of the trademark MP3 players, a 52 percent decline compared to the same period last year.
Click to expand...
 
I'm not surprised. Having a dedicated MP3 player is sort of redundant these days (and has been for the past few years honestly).

Even parents seem to be buying iPhone/Android phones for their kids instead of an iPod. My g/fs youngest is 12 and he says that most of his class has brand new Galaxy S4's and iPhone 5S's (and in turn, wants one too... yeah right)
 
This is like saying world war 2 is over. Where have these people been?
 
I heard a rumor that you can listen to music on phone now.
 
the wife still uses hers all the time, probably will until it finally dies
 
My kids just use my wifes old iPhone 4s instead of an iPod my newphews gave them. Phone not active anymore, but plays games just fine.
 
I saw the lumia 520, some windows pre-paid phone that looks pretty okay for $60-100. I just don't know why anyone would buy an ipod touch starting at $220+
 
I still use my 80GB unit with the actual hard drive in it.

My cell phone makes phone calls way better than a smart phone ever will. I'm a builder who spends most of my time building log homes in the middle of nowhere, for me a smart phone that has a signal range that reaches ten feet from each tower is completely useless.
 
dr.stevil said:
My g/fs youngest is 12 and he says that most of his class has brand new Galaxy S4's and iPhone 5S's (and in turn, wants one too... yeah right)
Click to expand...

And we wonder why each new generation has an increased sense of entitlement, and no sense of responsibility.
 
I see a market still for truly tiny MP3 players, as those can be more practical when running/biking, but to carry around a full size iPod when there are phones and tablets that do far more for the same green? That's going full retard.
 
Twisted Kidney said:
I still use my 80GB unit with the actual hard drive in it.

My cell phone makes phone calls way better than a smart phone ever will. I'm a builder who spends most of my time building log homes in the middle of nowhere, for me a smart phone that has a signal range that reaches ten feet from each tower is completely useless.
Click to expand...
Is this you?
80s-tech-03-0413-lgn.jpg
 
It could also be said that the Age of the Specialized device is over ... All of the specialized devices have been suffering (mp3 music players, portable video players, cameras, GPS units, etc) as their functions were absorbed into more and more powerful Smartphones and Tablets ... it doesn't mean the market for them completely disappears but they definitely become more niche, as the general use devices are "good enough" for all but the most demanding enthusiasts or professionals
 
While I don't have an iPod, I do have a dedicated MP3 player for audio that I use in the car and always will have one.
 
I still use my ipod shuffle just because of size. Trying to run/walk/work with a giant phone in your pocket isn't always pleasant feeling.
 
There will always be a niche market for high end players, that the ipods dont even touch. the DAC's in cellphones are typically pretty garbage, especially here in the US. the Note 2 has a decent wolfsam DAC overseas, but the US got a major downgrade for some reason.

Not to mention the fact that my phone cant drive high impedance headphones worth a damn
 
dr.stevil said:
Even parents seem to be buying iPhone/Android phones for their kids instead of an iPod. My g/fs youngest is 12 and he says that most of his class has brand new Galaxy S4's and iPhone 5S's (and in turn, wants one too... yeah right)
Click to expand...

this bugs me a lot. How can a 12 years old afford a phone of that quality , or even his parents? hell i have an iphone 5 , and if it wasnt supplied by my jobs , i wouldnt have one.
 
When is the last time I used one?

In my car, every day, with its ipod hookups I have an iPod touch in it... rather than stream by bluetooth which is pretty terrible for streaming audio.
 
I use an old smartphone and/or my old ipod touch for various things--music/audiobooks, watching netflix in bed while falling asleep; mainly because I leave my current phone to charge overnight. Otherwise, I agree, the ipod is generally antiquated with current consumers that stay up on tech. But for people who don't have smartphones, they're still popular; I don't know if enough to continue the ipod line.
 
For young kids who are not old enought for cell phones the ipod touch is great- I see a lot of 4-6 graders with ipod touches all the time. They are kind of apple's gateway drug to the iphone and ipad. lol
 
It doesn't hurt them, since they have basically stopped all development of their ipod line. The Shuffle/Classic are frozen in time, the iPod touch is being slowly stripped of features (including the ambient light sensor that went a couple of years ago). It's like they want to kill off the line.
 
kattana said:
the wife still uses hers all the time, probably will until it finally dies
Click to expand...

I use my zune every day and would purchase a similar device if this dies. I do not have or even want a smart phone unless I can get the data rates what I currently pay for my cell phone service. I mean I paid ~$150 for 2 years of service on my dumb tracfone. With that I still have ~1600 minutes and 300+ days left.
 
I see people on the train everyday using their phone and listening to music on another device. Never understood that.
 
drescherjm said:
I use my zune every day and would purchase a similar device if this dies. I do not have or even want a smart phone unless I can get the data rates what I currently pay for my cell phone service. I mean I paid ~$150 for 2 years of service on my dumb tracfone. With that I still have ~1600 minutes and 300+ days left.
Click to expand...

Although traveling by plane I do listen to mp3s on the kindle I purchased for my wife.
 
The problem is for an MP3 player, there has been zero reason to upgrade. While over the past 5 years, the price of flash has dropped significantly, Apple is still charging high prices for the iPod and hasn't even bothered to upgrade the memory capacity in 5 years. I mean $400 for 64gb flash MP3 player in 2014? It is almost like Apple doesn't want to actually sell them.
 
Megalith said:
I heard a rumor that you can listen to music on phone now.
Click to expand...

That statement is false. I know this because the vast majority of smartphones consist of complete and total crap for playback circuitry.

Yes one could play back media that originated from a source that contained music, but I wouldn't call the muddled mess that is MP3 music. Sure it means I have another device in my pocket, but I know that I'm going somewhere that I will want to really LISTEN to music (rather than just have something playing) I bring my Fiio X3 & Ultimate Ear 7 Pro Custom IEMs so I can hear everything.

Sure would be nice if a smartphone could play back at the same quality level, but too many people have chimed in and said that MP3 is "good enough" for me to think that high quality playback circuitry is worth the bother.
 
I keep my 30GB iPod permanently plugged into my car and use it pretty often. Sure, I use my phone more, but having one plugged in is easier and more convenient in the car.
 
Twisted Kidney said:
I still use my 80GB unit with the actual hard drive in it.

My cell phone makes phone calls way better than a smart phone ever will. I'm a builder who spends most of my time building log homes in the middle of nowhere, for me a smart phone that has a signal range that reaches ten feet from each tower is completely useless.
Click to expand...

Funny, my father is in the same business and spends most of his time out in the middle of nowhere as well. Yet a smartphone and tablet have completely changed how he does business and has given him the flexibility to do things he never imagined. Ever consider it might be more of the network you are with than the phone you are using?

Ducman69 said:
Is this you?
80s-tech-03-0413-lgn.jpg
Click to expand...

This might be fairly accurate..
 
I user mine all the time. No shit, they won't let me take my phone into certain areas but they will allow an IPOD so there it is. I still use mine alot, maybe I should buy a backup for when this one inevitably dies, or maybe buy 3 or 4 used ones off ebay for the same price.
 
Dekoth-E- said:
Funny, my father is in the same business and spends most of his time out in the middle of nowhere as well. Yet a smartphone and tablet have completely changed how he does business and has given him the flexibility to do things he never imagined. Ever consider it might be more of the network you are with than the phone you are using?
Click to expand...

Nah, this is Canada, your smart phone is just an overpriced MP3 player as soon as you're out of the major centres and off the major corridors.
 
Talk about bang of for the buck; TABLET!
ASUS Memopad 7 tablet, paid $129 at Amazon.
Got my son one for Christmas, replace portable DVD player, mp3 player, camera, and and most importantly killed the notion of a Nintendo DS. That is what he was wanting because all his little buddies have one. Games 20-30bux each. NO thanks.
Filled a 4GB micro SD with a bunch of his favorite music and a bunch of cartoons he likes. Bluetooth headphones, peace and quite on long trips.

We sat there Christmas morning; I ask "Ok, what kind of game do you want?".
he said; "oh, I love pinball!" I selected voice search in Google play. I told him to say pinball.
He did and up popped 3 different free pinball games. -sheer magic- to an 8 year old. ;)
 
Funny, my father is in the same business and spends most of his time out in the middle of nowhere as well. Yet a smartphone and tablet have completely changed how he does business and has given him the flexibility to do things he never imagined. Ever consider it might be more of the network you are with than the phone you are using?
Click to expand...

Can't answer for him, but some places have no good network choices and it's always a case of shitty or shittier.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top