The Masters of Technology?

Apple: Creators of the iPod, Mac and iPhone. Each of them products which have revolutionised the category in which they fall. I have long had a love hate relationship with Apple, for a variety of reasons. Great products, but compatibility and cost often let them down.

Either way, I think they are great innovators, constantly designing new and unique products. And they certainly know what appeals to consumers, and how best to market new releases.

So it is with great anticipation that I saw the following message on iTunes today, surely designed to generate as much hype as possible across the globe.



Speculation has been rife in technology circles about what this could mean (not that I belong to technology circles, I just googled it!) I think Nicole may have hit the nail on the head, when she said it could be that iTunes has finally acquired the rights to offer The Beatles music electronically for the first time. Other bloggers have suggested it could be that iTunes will be resigned, or that it will now offer a streaming subscription service like Spotify.

That the announcement comes at 7am Apple HQ time suggests it may not centre around Apple. Beatles fans have pointed out that the cities- New York (Lennon killed) Tokyo (yoko) and London (home to the B's)- and the hint at "just another day" all indicate the announcement will be about Beatles.

I honestly don't know. While I can acknowledge the immensity of finally having the Beatles back catalogue available online, it seems a little out of sorts for Apple to build up the hype like this, just to announce some new available music. Though they are huge, the entire population isn't in love the Fab Four, and I am sure iTunes bosses are acutely aware of the huge variety of music tastes out there.

I guess we'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out for sure what this is all about. I wonder if Mr. Apple Man himself, Chris Wright has any insider gossip?

Comments

[73666673]

The only thing Apple is a master of is marketing. Most of the "innovations" they put forth are simply things that the PC world has already done but have failed to put in an attractive package for consumers to pickup.

This is especially true since for the last few years Apple's computer components are entirely made by PC manufacturers. Their processors are made by Intel, their mainboards are made by Foxconn, etc. Gone are the days when Apple could claim some sort of technical superiority through their use of PowerPC chips like the G5 (and even then these were just claims with little basis in reality).

Apple's continual refusal to support Flash, an incredibly popular and technically sound multimedia platform used worldwide by nearly every major website, on platforms like the iPhone is an excellent example of the fact that Apple is nothing more than a narcissistic company with little real innovation. A master of marketing, and nothing else.

[Ben]

I don't know much about computers, but this doesn't surprise me. They are certainly innovative in marketing strategies, and I do honestly think they have great design teams. Something about their products just makes them seem so sleek and modern.

The iPod created a huge demand for mp3 files, which I really don't think existed previously, despite the availability of other mp3 players such as the Zen. The same is true of the smartphone. Apple popularized it, and took the upper hand with sales.

I agree with you that other products are technologically superior, but lack strong advertising. How is the general public supposed to know better products exist, when the culture we live in drives us to popular products such as Apple. Having said that, marketing only goes some way in explained the rise of Apple this past decade.