Why Apple blows, go zune Options

[Epic]

slap bracelets, parachute pants, lightning bolt zig zags cut into your hair, these are things you'd be embarrassed to be seen in years after the fad is over

i can't see anyone being embarrassed from having an iPod in a few years

[Oasis]

lightning bolt zig zags cut into your hair

Wait a minute, that fad is over?

[impala454]

i was in junior high too and i remember about a year. if even that.

wikipedia says 'early 90s' which means there a 5 years tops. probably closer to 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slap_bracelet

it was late 80s early 90s. if I had to pin exact years i'd say like 88-93. you were between 6 and 11 during this time. ask anyone who's a couple years older than you are and they'd tell you the same thing. why the hell are you arguing with me on this? are fads not allowed to last for 7 years!? tell that to the people who bought green furniture and appliances for like 15 years in the late 60s - 70s.

iPods are a fad because they're items people don't have an inherent desire for. people don't think "golly gee I need some great way to play my music on the go!" and go out and get an ipod. they get one because everyone else has one. they see someone else with them and that generates the desire. same as how the slap bracelets were. buying electronics items based on looks alone practically proves it's a fad.

the prius is another great example.

[Mommy]

Eh... to be honest, I hate people who drive a Prius. I see them and think "fag" but then at the same time I think "man, I really need a fuel efficient car."

It can be argued both ways. I do agree with the iPods thing though. I mean, even the way they market them makes them sort of "faddy"

[Oasis]

iPods are a fad because they're items people don't have an inherent desire for. people don't think "golly gee I need some great way to play my music on the go!" and go out and get an ipod. they get one because everyone else has one.

Dumbass statement #2! Wanting to listen to music on the go isn't exactly a new concept. It's been around since the late 70's with the Walkman coming to the US. They've been hugely popular since the early 80's. The only difference is now, we have MP3's, whereas 25 years ago we had tapes and AM/FM radio. But something with 25 years worth of staying power certainly isn't a "fad"

And go find me one person who went out and bought an Ipod "because everyone else has one." They might have bought an Ipod because it's by far the most popular and well known portable MP3 player, but I dare you to find someone who went out and bought an Ipod because it was the cool thing to do. People like listening to their music collection on the go, working out, in their car, wherever, without having to tote around their laptop.

Seriously, I know you hate Apple and you're ignorant, but you can't honestly be that ignorant

[cmac]

are fads not allowed to last for 7 years!?

no, they're not. at that point its a standard. a way of life.

people don't think "golly gee I need some great way to play my music on the go!" and go out and get an ipod.

yes they do. i'd say when that question comes up, "iPod" is more often than not the solution to that problem. not an "mp3 player." who the hell buys an iPod just because everyone else has one? it's a solution to wanting to listen to music on the go.
(terms not products. i realize that an ipod is an mp3 player)

This post has been edited by cmac: Jul 9 2008, 12:06 PM

[Mommy]

Dumbass statement #2! Wanting to listen to music on the go isn't exactly a new concept. It's been around since the late 70's with the Walkman coming to the US. They've been hugely popular since the early 80's. The only difference is now, we have MP3's, whereas 25 years ago we had tapes and AM/FM radio. But something with 25 years worth of staying power certainly isn't a "fad"

And go find me one person who went out and bought an Ipod "because everyone else has one." They might have bought an Ipod because it's by far the most popular and well known portable MP3 player, but I dare you to find someone who went out and bought an Ipod because it was the cool thing to do. People like listening to their music collection on the go, working out, in their car, wherever, without having to tote around their laptop.

Seriously, I know you hate Apple and you're ignorant, but you can't honestly be that ignorant

I see what Impala is saying. People buy MP3 players because they want one for the reasons you listed. People buy iPods because of the marketing and the fact that all their friends have one. Rarely will you find people who buy one because the specs are better than the other brands. iPods have name recognition. People say "let me show you this song on my iPod." Rarely people say "let me show you this song on my MP3 player." Much less do you hear people say "Let me show you this on my Zune/my iRiver/ my Creative Zen." It's a fad.

[impala454]

Cmac and Will are missing my point.

I didn't say that people don't want music on the go. Their process of thinking in order to arrive at an iPod purchase does not begin with wanting music on the go. It begins when they see someone else with an iPod.

If you're troubled with finding a way to access your music on the go, you look into portable media playing devices (yes, iPod included). But there are hundreds of such devices available, with many of them being much easier to use than an iPod. Everyone I know with an iPod has bitched/called me to try to get me to help them put their music on the damn thing (ironically will has also bitched on here about it). People buy iPods because they're popular. IMHO products that are purchased because they're popular, not because they're wanted, are fads.

[Epic]

all the definitions i am finding indicate that a fad is something that is immensely popular over a brief period of time. i don't think 7 years is all that brief.

but do you all realize we're arguing whether or not the ipod is a fad?

Impala thinks it is a fad, most of the rest of us don't, case closed

[impala454]

Think about crocs. People who bought crocs did not go to the store thinking "hmm, I need a new pair of sandals" and tried on different pairs, looked at the various styles, and arrived on crocs as their purchase. They saw other people with them, and saw how popular they were, and sought out to buy them (whether subconciously or not) solely because of the popularity. The functionality is still there, sure, but the intent before purchase IMHO is what determines it as a fad.

[Mommy]

It's the same thing with the Walkman and the Boombox. I mean, we still use portable music devices, but nobody calls them by the term "Walkman" anymore. People say cassette player or cd player. The Walkman was just a popular brand. Back in the day though people said "Walkman" when talking about their device.

[Epic]

i guess we all get to decide what we consider "brief"

and i think its tough to compare products in completely different price ranges

what about big trucks? Aren't those fads then? because most people I see in trucks are rarely ever hauling anything.

[Oasis]

I get the point. Someone wants a portable MP3 player, so they invariably buy an Ipod most of the time because *gasp* Ipods are the most popular and best selling MP3 players on the market. That doesn't particularly mean they are the best in comparison to other MP3 players, it means it means they're the best selling.

When I drink soda I usually drink Coke or Dr Pepper because those brands are the most popular, easiest to find, etc. I'll usually drink them over Jones Co. Soda, even though I personally like Jones better than the other two. Does that mean Coke and DP are "fads"? Hell no. It means they're the most popular, best marketed, and a lot of people would argue best tasting

Ipods are marketed better (and heavier) than other competitors, they're more common, and they became commercially popular earlier than Zunes, Creatives, etc. The Ipod, if nothing else, has staying power and a huge customer base, making them the complete antithesis of a "fad." If some upstart company came out with an MP3 player with a hot new design, around the same time people were looking for hip alternatives to the Ipod because Ipods are too cliche, common, or whatever, that would be a "fad." Invariably, people will flock to the new one, buy a bunch of em, then get turned off once they're no longer considered hip and unique and eventually go back to what they were using before...which odds are, was the Ipod

To call the Ipod a fad is ridiculous and shows you have no idea what the concept of a fad is.

[Oasis]

It's the same thing with the Walkman and the Boombox. I mean, we still use portable music devices, but nobody calls them by the term "Walkman" anymore. People say cassette player or cd player. The Walkman was just a popular brand. Back in the day though people said "Walkman" when talking about their device.

Walkmans went out of style whenever CD's came in to style, and were hence replaced by Discmans, because no one bought cassette tapes anymore. Discmans went out of style whenever MP3's came in to style. Why buy a Discman to listen to a CD when I can buy an MP3 player and copy my CD on to it, along with all my other downloaded MP3's? Walkmans and Discmans went out of style because the music storage devices that they played became obsolete

The only way I can see Ipods or MP3 players going out of style is if some medium replaced MP3's. The only medium I can see replacing MP3's is some sort of HD radio on demand service, where you can listen to any song at any time. The "any where" part might be a problem though, since I doubt any HD radio provider could provide full reception to everywhere in the country. I don't think the signals would be strong enough to pull that off in the immediate future.

[impala454]

I get the point. Someone wants a portable MP3 player, so they invariably buy an Ipod most of the time because *gasp* Ipods are the most popular and best selling MP3 players on the market. That doesn't particularly mean they are the best in comparison to other MP3 players, it means it means they're the best selling.

When I drink soda I usually drink Coke or Dr Pepper because those brands are the most popular, easiest to find, etc. I'll usually drink them over Jones Co. Soda, even though I personally like Jones better than the other two. Does that mean Coke and DP are "fads"? Hell no. It means they're the most popular, best marketed, and a lot of people would argue best tasting

Ipods are marketed better (and heavier) than other competitors, they're more common, and they became commercially popular earlier than Zunes, Creatives, etc. The Ipod, if nothing else, has staying power and a huge customer base, making them the complete antithesis of a "fad." If some upstart company came out with an MP3 player with a hot new design, around the same time people were looking for hip alternatives to the Ipod because Ipods are too cliche, common, or whatever, that would be a "fad." Invariably, people will flock to the new one, buy a bunch of em, then get turned off once they're no longer considered hip and unique and eventually go back to what they were using before...which odds are, was the Ipod

To call the Ipod a fad is ridiculous and shows you have no idea what the concept of a fad is.

You said you got the point, but you didn't. People buy coke or dr pepper because of the taste. They don't see other people with coke and that creates their desire for coke. Their initialy desire for coke was insinuated by thirst, or cravings, etc, not by popularity.

And blue: no I wouldn't call "big trucks" a fad. trucks are a necessary item, whether it be justified or not. If you're referring to people jacking up their trucks and putting huge bogger tires on them and stuff, that's just customization. Similiar to the coke comment above, it's something that person desired to do to their vehicle. In fact, I'd call vehicle customization the exact opposite of a fad, as that person is going against the grain of popularity.