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What is the only real difference between zune and itunes? Subscription...
]]>So, competitive positioning says zune will win long term due to the additional functionality and significant cost saving versus itunes.
How to respond to the Zune launch? Let's see.
Option 1-- ignore. Result: declining hardware sales, and corresponding itunes sales.
Option 2 -- match. Result: Late to market ("follow me") positioning undercuts Apple's image. Worse, it validates zune model, and puts the 2 toe to toe to fight out marketshare in subscriptions. History says Microsoft always wins the marketshare battle.
Option 3 -- embrace. You know, go all crazy like a fox; art of warlike, etc.....live in interesting times..... In other words, ABANDON your current position and render your opponent's position unviable. Burn down the DRM'ed closed store and by extension your competitor's store. Why? Because it's to maximize hardware sales and profit. (By eliminating the store-related subsidy.)
Underlying Problem: Must...Not...Let...Subscriptions...become...viable.
Once people choose unlimited music for a subscription fee, it will be impossible to perpetuate $1 tracks sales (regardless of DRM). In other words, for many, many people, DRM'ed subscription music is perfectly acceptable as a value proposition.
This Apple must prevent from gaining more traction.
After all, a full year of unlimited access to subscription music costs $180. That's 180 songs--or just 12-15 CDs worth of Apple's $1 track music. Assuming I stayed subscribed for 10 YEARS, it would only cost $1,800. Listening to millions of tracks for 10 years VERSUS owning 1,800 tracks of Apple-sold music. I see a problem.
And the problem is that as device storage get bigger, you need access to larger libraries to fill them. How does Apple explain they are going to accomplish this for their purchasers? Removing DRM from tracks so that they will be somehow magically encouraged to purchase vastly larger amounts of tracks them they ever have?
Apple is trying to make money for the music industry by explaining to THEM how DRM will destroy the $1 track by making subscriptions VIABLE. If iPod owners were any good at math and the time value of money, they would have already sold their iPod collections and purchased a subscription-based player....
(This is the text of a comment I posted to non-literal earlier today.)
]]>Of course, if Cory's context is different, well then, my answer would change: You've won a once in a lifetime prize trip for yourself and any friends you could to visit a desert island resort--all expenses paid.
One last example: you are banished to a desert island with no provisions. You may choose to take one person with you...OR a fishing spear, as well as a supply of matches and potable water. What to do, what to do....friend or tools? Let's up the ante: your six-year-old child or the tools...hmmmm.
Conversation is king!?!?! Right, spoken like a true web 2.0 "expert."
]]>And worse, he doesn't have to explain ANYTHING. He doesn't have to defend his thoughts and beliefs, nor does he have to provide any context for his WORK-DEFINED points of view.
How does he get away with that? Why, it is the guilty secret of blogs and bloggers around the world. Many, many of the so-called "top" bloggers and sites simply IGNORE dissent and disagreement. They don't respond to e-mails, they ignore (or often delete) unwelcome comments; if they even allow them.
Sad really, here is someone who daily practices casual disrepect for others who are directly trying to dialog with him; yet he is quick to "RANT" on those he believes disrepect him.
By no means is this a limited phenomenon: There is pretty much an inverse relationship between a blogger's "cred" (not to mention their "advertising-related revenue") anbd their willingness to openly discuss topics.
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The official device says Verizon on the upper left, Palm on the upper right, and treo in the lower middle, just over the 5-way.
But not Engadget's!?!?!?!?!? Hmmmm.......
]]>And lest you try some other dissembling explanation, the size of the message, including attached mdb, was 223KB. Oh, and I verified that this happened whether or not the attachment was zipped.
]]>There is no such thing as "the Palm Experience" or "Treo Experience"
It's a PDA phone, or for that matter, a Smartphone. There's really nothing trademarkable or copyrightable or even patentable about the term "smartphone" and it doesn't specifically refer to one running Windows, or Palm, or whatever...Symbian is equally the basis of a smartphone as well.
The Treo has buttons and many various applications (running on top of an "operating system", sorta) that does things in addition to placing and receiving calls. Is it truly a one-handed device? Absolutely NOT! Does the Palm-written software even all work correctly? Absolutely NOT! (More on that in just a moment...)
So what is so great about the Treo? Physical size and button placement/arrangement/assignment; screen resolution and available/bundled software.
What's wrong with it? Poorly written software, limited memory, poor volume control, lousy camera, limited expansion, etc., etc.
So far, we are truly just talking about another phone/pda--and there are lots of them. It is NOT special.
The quintessential demonstration of the Palm Treo Experience: Launch the HotSync application, and then choose to view the hotsync log. If you are like me, the log will contain more than 1 screen's worth of event data. So, use the 5-way to change focus over to the up/down cursors on the lower right of the screen and start scrolling through the list...(I'll wait)...what's that? You CAN'T?!?!?! Me either, actually. Why? Because the software has NEVER been updated to support the 5-way or ANY hard button. Sure, you can pull out the stylus and start tapping just like on the ORIGINAL Palm Pilot...but hey, I thought there was this thing called the "Treo Experience".
Sad really.
All "Windows Mobile on Treo" really means is that there is no longer ANY PocketPC spec--or Smartphone spec. Microsoft itself has specifically approved and participated in the customization of Windows Mobile to interface with PRE-EXISTING non-spec hardware. Basically, they are saying, "it can run on ANY hardware, within processor/memory parameters."
Now that is a scary thing.
So the REAL story: Windows Mobile is just that--MOBILE. It can be run on ANYTHING. Now is that good for Palm? No.
By hooking up with Microsoft, Palm has basically instantaneously transformed itself (and the Palm Brand) into a Hardware-only company. Oh sure, they're still doing a little custom programming around the edges to delay the public perception of this change, but it has already happened. Worse, is that they don't actually MAKE anything. HTC does. Thus, Palm is really just a little file cabinet full of intellectual property: knowledge of user interface design, ergonomics in a mobile device, period.
Question: If Microsoft can shoehorn Windows Mobile into a Palm Treo, could they do the same with a Nokia Communicator? I think the (overly simplistic) answer is obviously "yes."
Sure this is all just another long rant, and I am sorry for that, but really, this is pretty tiresome. But I am just so overwhelmed by the apparent mismanagement of Palm. Supposedly, this Windows Mobile effort has been underway for 2 years or more! Could this secret partnership have played a role in so many of Palm's missteps in the Treo roadmap? Limited memory, low quality camera, lack of wifi? Was Microsoft calling these shots?
Many of us have wondered repeatedly how Palm could have consistently made the wrong choice in each of these matters. How DOES an INNOVATOR consistenly not INNOVATE?