Analysis of Apple's "It's Only Rock and Roll" iPod event

This one had the feel of a paint-by-the numbers session. All tactics and little magic.

Phil Schiller (re) citing the litany of bullet points that make the iPod Touch such a compelling device, educating us on the import of specific price points and offering "low-cost gateways" to the App Store.

A wow fest of big numbers to set the table:

• 20M iPod Touches sold
• 30M iPhones sold
• 100M iPod nanos sold
• 225M iPods sold
• 100M credit cards on file (with one-click activation)
• 75K apps (21K gaming titles v. 3.7K for Nintendo DS v. 600 for Sony DSP)
• 8.5B songs sold
• 1.5B app downloads 

In this respect, it felt closer to a trial attorney stating their case (or worse, a cabal of economists) than the usual dazzle and spectacle we expect from Apple.

But here's the rub. While they more than set the table, this was one of those rare cases where it truly felt like Apple either failed to wow us with the meal, or maybe, the main course never made it out of the kitchen (based on last minute rumors of technical issues on the much anticipated camera/video cam add to the next gen iPod Touches).

Either way, the net out is that the revs to the iPod nano feel like a valid, if uninspiring, effort to squeeze more life out of the aging iPod line (versus driving users to a converged iPhone OS based Touch/iPhone product matrix).

Specifically, the nano gets video (but not camera stills); radio; pedometer and voice recorder, all of which allows it to be positioned at $149 (for the 8GB model) as akin to baking a Flip Video device into an iPod for free.

By contrast, the iPod Touch gets cheaper but not better (other than a storage/processor bump), requiring no less than Steve Jobs to make his triumphant return to the big stage (and a coincident timed interview with NYT's David Pogue) to explain that people want iPod Touch for gaming, they want it cheaper and they don't want to pay for extras, like a camera.

I don't buy it, and am holding off buying iPod Touches for my family as a result, but that's the story and they are sticking to it. For now, at least.

Netting it out: the magical return of Steve, combined with Schiller spending way too much arm-waving time presenting the Touch as if we weren't already familiar with it for two years running. Candidly, it felt like filler, a by-product of something having gone wrong.

That said, maybe it's not that complicated. Maybe Apple has read the tea leaves, and for the time being is pushing price as a 'WHY NOW' differentiator, and saving gee-whiz features for a rainy day; namely, when a serious competitor emerges or the buying consumer demands more from Apple to open their pocket book.

In the mean time, if you care, check out iTunes 9. It's loaded with a slew of new features (iTunes Extras, Home Sharing, Facebook/Twitter sharing, App Organization, App Genius Bar, Genius Mixes). Me personally, not so much.

Related Posts:

1. iPhones, App Stores and Ecosystems
2. Apple, the ‘Boomer’ Tablet and the Matrix
3. Analysis: Apple June Quarter Earnings Call

Comments

[sfmitch]

I think Apple is in a no win situation with these events. There is nothing short of an iPhone / Tablet like product that could live up to the outsized expectations the gadget obsessed / bloggers have.

Let's face it, even if the iPod Touches did get the camera wouldn't you still be underwhelmed?

I agree the Touches not getting a camera is a let down (but a letdown of our own doing).

I recall that the majority of bloggers are disappointed after every recent Apple keynote / wwdc / special event. I was just surprised the stock didn't tank, like it usually does, after the event.

[Isa Lube]

No way, what was the new update for then??? Why nothing spectacular?

[Mark Sigal]

@sfmitch, actually you are right and wrong. You are right that Apple is in a no win situation in terms of the lofty expectations set, and the volatile nature of the stock.

As to myself, I look at the whole picture, and see the nano move as exactly what Apple would diss other vendors for doing - loading up a bunch of features for features sake.

As to iPod Touch, I expected a further move towards platform symmetry between iPhone and iPod Touch, and saw this as a disconnect.

I am pre-disposed to believe the rumors that it was a production glitch and that's why no camera on iPod Touch yet.

Beyond that, I have watched and analyzed Apple for a number of years now (40+ posts), and saw this one event as not quite fitting with the Apple I know.

Mentally, it's hard to see how all of these products fit a logical segmentation strategy, which Apple is generally superb at, and where they added features, it seems like they chose to add complexity.

Mark