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CNET Accuses Apple of Over-Hyping Launch 382

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the bring-back-fireside-chats dept.
An anonymous reader writes "A columnist at CNET is questioning whether Apple over-hyped last week's launch. From the article: 'Jobs' announcement of a new leather case for the iPod was especially ridiculous. Like the queen announcing a new toaster in Buckingham Palace. It seemed odd that Jobs was troubling himself to introduce fashion accessories to Apple's products.' Is Apple a victim of its own success? Can it hold a low-profile product launch anymore -- or do we inevitably expect too much?"
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CNET Accuses Apple of Over-Hyping Launch More

CNET Accuses Apple of Over-Hyping Launch

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  • Downward spiral. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 05, 2006 @05:13PM (#14854547)
    So now let's over-hype the over-hype!

    Jesus... let it go.
    • Amen, brother!

    • Re:Downward spiral. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Firehed ( 942385 ) on Sunday March 05, 2006 @06:22PM (#14854813) Homepage
      Just goes to show, the media is to blame. Apple did no hyping whatsoever - they sent out invitations to the event to a few relavent people and nothing more. The media took those invitations and plastered them over the internet and made wild declarations of what's the latest gadget that'll be coming out of Cupertino.

      In other news - world affected by common sense accuses CNET of overhyping Apple's unannounced products and then blaming Apple for them doing it.

      I think Core {Solo|Duo}'ing the Mac Mini's was a great move, but we're all too busy complaining how bad the iPod Hi-Fi sounds to realize that we haven't even heard one and missed the more important release.

      • Re:Downward spiral. (Score:5, Interesting)

        by richdun ( 672214 ) on Sunday March 05, 2006 @06:51PM (#14854901)
        The Mini was definitely the most important part of the announcement. I guess Mac-heads aren't used to thinking like this, but remember - Intel releases new chips all the time, and sells them directly to consumers. The Mini and iMac are both socketed, so whether you think a Core Solo or 1.67Ghz Core Duo is a big deal or not in a Mini, XtremeSystems [xtremesystems.org] has already upgraded theirs to 2.16Ghz. An upgradeable CPU that doesn't require some third-party solution a year or two later? Not a big deal to PC users, but for the Mac, its the first in a hopefully long line of greater flexibility in Mac hardware.

        • Re:Downward spiral. (Score:3, Informative)

          by Triv ( 181010 )
          As far as I know, every Macintosh tower from the Blue and White G3's on has shipped with ZIF socketed processors - pop one out, pop another in. The iBook/Powerbooks don't work that way and the iMacs are one-piece units, but in the professional desktop series, they've been expandable since the late 90's.

          Not saying you're wrong from a consumer perspective (most neophyte mac users just chuck the old and buy the new) but it's not the only option available.

      • Re:Downward spiral. (Score:4, Insightful)

        by lucas teh geek ( 714343 ) on Sunday March 05, 2006 @07:25PM (#14855014)
        well, actually i went into an apple store on the weekend and heard an iPod Hi-Fi, trust me, all that complaining is well deserved. its not worth AU$550, heck i think AU$100 computer speakers would give nicer sound. yes, computer speakers arent portable, nor do they offer ipod integration, but I'll be damned if those two features are worth AU$450. I know, I know... I'm not the target market

      • Re:Downward spiral. (Score:5, Interesting)

        by happyemoticon ( 543015 ) on Sunday March 05, 2006 @07:35PM (#14855043) Homepage

        Everybody expected them to be releasing an Intel iBook. They did not expect a Mac Mini, and then a contingent of people are fervently bitching that it doesn't have a Radeon X1600 on top of that.

        The iBook sells a lot of units to college students. Inbound freshmen get the acceptence letters in like April-May for public universities. We'll see the launch of the MacBook Regular at a time that capitalizes on that. Just like we'll see a MacBook Pro that allows the video professionals to do editing while sipping a latte at Starbucks when the software to do this is actually available: the end of the year.

        See, this is the problem: people are thinking, "Wow, this is what I've got a big boner for," and thinking that's what Apple's going to do, rather than Apple doing what will maximize Apple's profits and hit the target the best. "The new MBP doesn't have a firewire 800 or a super-fast smartcard interface!" they say. Yeah, of course. Because it's a programmer's notebook. Programmers have no use for firewire 800, and it would only drive up costs and cause delays.

        • Re:Downward spiral. (Score:3, Interesting)

          by Firehed ( 942385 )
          Indeed. I'm planning to get an iBook for college. I've received two acceptence letters thus far (and one was to an early action school, so I got it a couple months ago), but I don't expect to hear from the others for at least another month. And it's right around then when I'll make my decision as to a laptop.

          Not including an x1600 in the Mini was a very good idea, imo. Why? Well, the remote and S/PDIF optical ports would indicate that it's very much intended for use as a media center type machine (th

      • Re:Downward spiral. (Score:5, Insightful)

        by cmacb ( 547347 ) on Sunday March 05, 2006 @09:02PM (#14855315) Homepage Journal
        "Just goes to show, the media is to blame. Apple did no hyping whatsoever - they sent out invitations to the event to a few relavent people and nothing more. The media took those invitations and plastered them over the internet and made wild declarations of what's the latest gadget that'll be coming out of Cupertino."

        Just goes to show that nothing has changed with respect to Slashdot posters not reading the articles and still getting modded up. Article said:

        "In the cold light of day, it's hard to decipher exactly who was at fault here. Did Apple over-hype the event by veiling these launches in secrecy, or did we, the press, speculate with such furious ambition that Apple never had a chance of meeting expectations?"

        Which, of course, wasn't quite refleced in the article summary.

    • Re:Downward spiral. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by pimpimpim ( 811140 ) on Sunday March 05, 2006 @06:33PM (#14854846)
      Indeed, someone at slashdot seems desperate to get this "overhype" thingy going. It was tried 3 days before, just to found out later that the actual article was not about the overhyping at all, but actually a praise of the simple remote ( http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/03/03/ 1911227 [slashdot.org] )

      Well, the editors can be glad that someone was prepared to write an article that would fit this slashdot topic at last ;)

      (Not that I've read TFA this time)

      • Re:Downward spiral. (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Overly Critical Guy ( 663429 ) on Sunday March 05, 2006 @11:12PM (#14855675)
        No kidding! Fucking Christ, people!

        1.) Apple sent out a very plain invite that breezily mentioned "fun, new products."
        2.) The invite list is very small, only around 100 people.
        3.) The event is held in Apple's cafeteria, for crying out loud.

        Everything about this obviously screamed "routine product announcements." Every rational person should have realized it was going to be another Intel-transitioned Mac product (one of the low-end ones like the Mac mini or iBook) and maybe some iPod stuff.

        But, no. All the Mac rumor sites and the press hyped up this tiny little event with touchscreen iPods, Mac mini PVR media centers, tablet Macs, and more.

        I cannot believe this CNET author is actually claiming Apple overhyped the event. They didn't--you media bastards did!

      • Re:Downward spiral. (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Ohreally_factor ( 593551 ) on Monday March 06, 2006 @02:13AM (#14856115) Journal
        It's all about page hits. The editors are trolling for page hits and "ad impressions". The internet has become a contest to see who can be a bigger troll/whore than John Dvorak.

  • Toast (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 05, 2006 @05:14PM (#14854551)

    Like the queen announcing a new toaster in Buckingham Palace.

    I think you underestimate the importance of toast to we English. And iPod accessories to Apple users.

    • I think you underestimate the importance of toast to we English.

      You're quite right. Actually, a much better analogy would have been: "Like the queen announcing a new toast rack in Buckingham Palace."

    • Re:Toast (Score:3, Interesting)

      by chris_eineke ( 634570 )
      I loved how the Queen told a Sony representative that their remotes had too many buttons. I guess she is a devout Apple fanbo...gir...queen; fanqueen.

  • Too much (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 05, 2006 @05:14PM (#14854553)
    We, inevitably, expect too much.

  • Who did the over-hyping? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by BigZaphod ( 12942 ) on Sunday March 05, 2006 @05:15PM (#14854556) Homepage
    It was my understanding that the press event was rather small by most standards. Perhaps it was the press and the rumor sites that over-hyped things - not Apple. I know that I had no idea the event was even going on until others pointed it out to me and were tracking the rumor sites looking for the next big announcement. If anything, perhaps the fact that nothing overly major was announced was intentional and designed to throw people off so as to better keep public expectations in check. I wouldn't put it past them.
    • Or maybe they had something else planned, and were not able to get it ready in time?
    • Apple is all about fashion, image and looking cool. Hype is part of what makes the whole image.

    • Re:Who did the over-hyping? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 05, 2006 @05:52PM (#14854700)
      Precisely. The invite said, "Check out some fun new products." Nothing was mentioned there within concerning video iPod/iTunes Movie Store/Core Duo powered Toaster Ovens etc. The over-hype was entirely due to the over-imaginative minds at CNet.

    • If anything, perhaps the fact that nothing overly major was announced was intentional and designed to throw people off so as to better keep public expectations in check. I wouldn't put it past them.

      oh okay. they purposely over-hype products so people will expect less and therefore be thankful to get anything useful at all. i'm sure that's exactly how it went down.

    • Apple overhyped this "launch" because they launched them with a CEO-hosted press event.
      What company needs a CEO-hosted press event to announce a boom box?
      Or leather case? Or computer upgrade?
      Seriously, when's the last time a company held a press event to announce a boom box?
      Apple has themselves to blame. They could've introduced these products without the fanfare, just like any other company.

      • Re:These products didn't deserve a CEO press event (Score:4, Insightful)

        by Overly Critical Guy ( 663429 ) on Sunday March 05, 2006 @11:19PM (#14855694)
        The invite list was really small. The event was held in Apple's cafeteria! There was no over-hype here. Just having the CEO announce it doesn't hype anything--Steve Jobs isn't just an ordinary CEO, he's Apple's main orator, and of course he'll announce these things. This small press event was held to get the new products into the news, but that's not hype.

        Apple DID announce these without their usual fanfare. These goofy press people were buying into Thinksecret and Appleinsider's rumors.

        When will people realize these rumors sites are hurting Apple? This isn't the first time in the last six months that all the rumor sites said one thing, and Apple fell short (dual-core G5s, which ended up coming out much later).
    • I think it went like this. Apple did a press event, but rather than sending out the usual press releases and all the rest, just sent out some invitations to some select journalists. Rather than assuming that this meant that the products released might be minor, people took this as a sign of Jobs' trademark "one more thing" understatement, and instead thought that they'd be getting Media Macs, 3GHz Minis, (insert favorite white whale product here). When said products didn't materialize, and the whole thing turned out to be fairly minor -- in line with what the original invitations promised -- people got all disappointed.

      This wasn't the MacWorld keynote, people! Nothing big was EVER promised or suggested. The people who did, in general, didn't know anything more than you and I. So quit acting disappointed. You got two new products and an overpriced carrying case.

  • No way! (Score:4, Funny)

    by Musteval ( 817324 ) on Sunday March 05, 2006 @05:15PM (#14854558)
    Publicly traded companies NEVER overhype anything.

    By the way, did you hear about the new twelve-blade razor for Gillete? It's the best razor ever!

  • I didn't see much Apple hype... (Score:5, Informative)

    by macshome ( 818789 ) on Sunday March 05, 2006 @05:17PM (#14854563) Homepage
    I didn't see much Apple hype actually. They held the event in a tiny little auditorium at One Infinite Loop, they didn't invite many people, and they didn't hold it at a major conference.

    The hype I saw was coming from media outlets like CNN, CNET, and all the Mac news sites; not from Apple.

  • Well, duh (Score:5, Insightful)

    by slavemowgli ( 585321 ) on Sunday March 05, 2006 @05:18PM (#14854565) Homepage
    Overhyped? Of course it was overhyped. Goodness, that's what companies do - it's called advertising, marketing, PR, or whatever you want to call it. If you don't take everything that companies trying to sell you something tell you about the products they're trying to sell with a large grain of salt, then it's your own fault really.

  • Wow. Kettle and soot and all. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Frosty Piss ( 770223 ) on Sunday March 05, 2006 @05:19PM (#14854570)
    Wow. Kettle and soot and all. CNet complaining about HYPE? CNet IS the definition of hype. They are one of the preferred corporate hype tools... Apple must not have greased the story's author with enough free shit.

  • Mac mini not a PVR (Score:5, Insightful)

    by tgibbs ( 83782 ) on Sunday March 05, 2006 @05:19PM (#14854573)
    His biggest objections seems to be that the Mac Mini is not a PVR. Of course, if it had included everything necessary for a PVR--ATSC HD tuner, analog tuner, cable card capacity, huge hard drive--it would have been considerably more expensive, and analysts would be criticizing Apple for releasing an $1000 computer to duplicate the functionality of a device that your cable company will rent you for $10/month.

    • Ghetto-Blaster? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by TubeSteak ( 669689 ) on Sunday March 05, 2006 @05:26PM (#14854605) Journal
      My biggest complain is that these nimrods keep calling that stereo thing a "ghetto-blster"

      I'm assuming that most of these bloggers and columnists lived through the 80's and should know WTF a Ghetto-Blaster looks like

      For those of you who lived sheltered lives during the 80's and early 90's, a Google Image Search for Ghetto Blaster [google.com] is highly informative.

      Oddly enough, the GIS turned up no pictures of automatic weapons in the first few pages. Cause that's the other thing that comes to mind when I think about ghetto-blasters.
      • If you do a GIS for "digital audio player", many of the products pictured would fit the analogy iPod:digital audio player::iPod Hi-Fi:ghetto blaster. Particularly the ones with more than eight buttons.

      • Re:Ghetto-Blaster? (Score:3, Interesting)

        by toddestan ( 632714 )
        Ghetto-blaster: Basically a box with speakers, can be powered by batteries, and is meant to be portable. Percieved as cool by a certain segment of the population.
        iPod Hifi: Basically a box with speakers, can be powered by batteries, and is meant to be portable. Percieved as cool by a certain segment of the population.

        Gee, I wonder why people are making the comparison? True, it's not exactly the same, one works with tapes, and the other works with iPods. And one sure costs a lot more. But the simulari
    • it would have been considerably more expensive, and analysts would be criticizing Apple for releasing an $1000 computer to duplicate the functionality of a device that your cable company will rent you for $10/month.

      Also, Apple always makes small but solid steps when approaching new technology. The capabilities of the iPod have increased with each new generation. The iPod was first launched without the iTMS but I think Apple planned to launch the music store all along. Mac OSX is on the 5th generation (i

      • . So if Apple were to do a PVR, it is following a predictable pattern. Release it in small manageable bites and work out the kinks.

        Yes, I wouldn't be surprised if Apple eventually comes up with a PVR capable Mac, but recording video over the air or from cable is never likely to be a huge money maker for Apple (just look at how TiVo is doing). For the same reason that Apple has held off on a radio tuner for the iPod, I don't expect to see a TV tuner right away. It makes considerably more sense for Apple to

  • Video of the event? (Score:5, Funny)

    by TubeSteak ( 669689 ) on Sunday March 05, 2006 @05:21PM (#14854576) Journal
    for when Jobs pulled the silk sheet off yesterday's new Apple products a hush fell over the Internet. A ghetto-blaster for your iPod, a faster and Intel-based Mac Mini and some leather iPod pouches were all the company could muster. A minute passed in absolute silence. Then a small boy stepped forward, pointed at Jobs and announced, "The Emperor is naked".
    Do we have video of this happening?

    Cause that sounds like everyone's nightmare: forgetting to wear pants at a public event.

  • No Webcast, No Mention on Apple's Page... (Score:5, Informative)

    by The Lost Supertone ( 754279 ) on Sunday March 05, 2006 @05:21PM (#14854578) Journal
    There was no web cast, no mention on Apple's page until the products were introduced, how is that hyping? They weren't hyping the press event, they were hyping the products they put out which makes sense. As for the items they sold. First we have the iPod hi fi, pretty big announcement as far as Apple's concerned. It'll either be huge or a massive flop... for once I kind of hope Apple has a flop because from what I've heard the specs on the thing are not exceptional and the design is weak in my opinion. The new Mac mini is a pretty big announcement for a whole lot of people. And the leather case, well why not intro it with other products. Don't imagine Jobs spent forever on that bit, it's kind of like the successor to the iPod sock, which for the record I actually own, seems like a strange idea but they work very well. They don't keep the iPod from getting scratched a lil but they keep the big ones off, and they protect it from falls pretty well. Have you ever tried to find a good case for your iPod? I bought a DLO one that actually scratched my screen! I welcome an Apple branded one.

  • Um... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by daveschroeder ( 516195 ) * on Sunday March 05, 2006 @05:21PM (#14854579)
    What were they expecting?

    Apple said they were going to announce some "fun new products". Forget the pouch, jeez. They introduced an Intel-based Mac mini with amazing features inside of the same form factor as the old mini, and a nifty set of iPod speakers that has unseated the previous leader in this category in the opinion of most reviewers (Bose).

    Apple stopped always putting all of its eggs in the Macworld/WWDC basket, and introducing products when they became available. The Intel-based Mac mini is a pretty damned good product, and a huge hint at Apple's admittedly tentative and cautious steps toward the living room.

    So what's wrong with that?

    What were we supposed to get?

    An Apple cell phone?

    An Apple tablet?

    A touchsheen video iPod?

    Anyone expecting those things at every single introduction is expecting too much.
    • What Amazing Features are in the new Mac Mini?

      It has Exactly The Same features, just some extra ports on the back and an Apple remote (which you can buy anyway..)

      • Re:Amazing features - Yes (Score:5, Informative)

        by daveschroeder ( 516195 ) * on Sunday March 05, 2006 @06:16PM (#14854789)
        1. Gigabit ethernet (*usually* unheard of on a product of this size and price - yes, yes, yes, I'm sure you'll come up with examples of other computers that have GigE, but none will be that size *and* price category)

        2. The Apple Remote can't be used without IR, which the old mini didn't have (nor did it have Front Row, and yes, that's just software, but still, Front Row can't be "officially" added to a computer without it without hacking it, and even then, technically "pirating" it - and you still have no way to control it via IR without adding third party products like an IR receiver)

        3. The ability to play 1080-line HD (which the previous mini didn't have the horsepower to do), which is a huge step toward, oh, I don't know, using it as an HD media center

        4. Optical S/PDIF audio input and output (huge addition - previous mini did not have)

        5. The ability to actually do sharing with Front Row of music, photos, and video from other computers on the local network (a big functional improvement and almost a necessity for a "media center")

        6. Less important: the fact that it has a dual core processor in a 6.5"x6.5"x2" form factor, the addition or 802.11a, and Intel HD Audio

        So yes, it's a mini with amazing features, by most estimations. If *you* don't like it (and I'm not saying you do or don't), fine - don't get one. But that doesn't change the fact that it has an array of new features that make it dramatically more useful as a media center than it was before).
        • Those features are ten a penny on every PC these days.

          You could say that the Mac Mini was underpowered in it's original incarnation. It's not like they COULDN'T have had these features (HD movie playback is a chipset support issue; Core Duo can't do it on it's own, either) on a PowerPC Mac Mini that size, they certainly had the Northbridge for it in the G4 Macs and PowerBooks.

          Saying that the "Mac Mini has amazing features for it's size" is really just totally underestimating what you can do with technology
        • Yes, but - 'amazing'?

          I just looked up the word, and it said: "inspiring awe or admiration or wonder"

          Basically the new features are "we added some new but scarcely amazing features but most importantly, still managed to get it in the same size box".

          Then again, another definition was 'overused as a hyperbole for "good."'

  • "You've come a long way, baby!" (Score:5, Insightful)

    by DwarfGoanna ( 447841 ) on Sunday March 05, 2006 @05:22PM (#14854583)
    I think whats happening here is that Apple is doing so well, anything they do becomes big news, Which then gets speculated on by the webizens, and completely over-hyped by the press. Apple released an invitation, to a small event. "Some fun new products" isn't exactly earth shattering, is it?


    What's funny though, is that this is a dramatically different situation than it was in 1998, when I got my first Mac. I dare say Apple has done so well in the last few years that the long standing /. mac(back)lash is bleeding over into the mainstream. I know lots of kids who don't want an iPod, because they're "too trendy".

  • The leather sleeve is a precursor/clue (Score:4, Interesting)

    by snowwrestler ( 896305 ) on Sunday March 05, 2006 @05:22PM (#14854586)
    A pocket-sized, full-screen device needs some sort of screen protection--especially a touchscreen, which are notoriously fragile. The leather sleeve is an accessory to the touchscreen full-screen iPod, whatever it ends up being called. It's Apple's answer to the obvious question of "how do you protect the screen?"

  • I accuse... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Jeff Benjamin ( 528348 ) on Sunday March 05, 2006 @05:28PM (#14854608)
    I accuse CNET and slashdot for over-hyping Apple's over-hyping.
    • Well, I accuse you of over hyping CNET's accusations :P

    • Re:I accuse... (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      I accuse CNET and slashdot for over-hyping Apple's over-hyping.

      Exactly. Apple did not over-hype this ... the media did. When their own predictions disappoint them, they start pointing fingers. But the issue is much bigger than just a little Apple PR get-together. The media have become a bunch of boobs who no longer garner respect. This is one reason why corps and polls are getting away with all sorts of crap. Every time they screw up, they can just point to the media and yell "boobs ahoy!" and who can den

  • Because they have to (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Opportunist ( 166417 ) on Sunday March 05, 2006 @05:28PM (#14854609)
    It's a fashion thing. The iPod is cool, it's stylish, but with all the fluff stripped, it's an MP3 player. Now, when people have an MP3 player, they got one. It's not like you need one again after 6 months (unless it's badly made and it falls apart, but then I would kinda doubt people would get the same model again).

    Sooner or later, the market is saturated. What now? Sure, you can release a new model (and Apple did). Only works once or twice as well, there's only so much room for improvement. You can make it smaller, you can make it hold larger armounts of music, but when it's small enough to be no longer visible (don't forget, fashion is also about showing what you got) and when it can hold the equivalent to 100 CDs, people don't want it any smaller or bigger.

    So accessories come into play. And besides selling those MP3s for 99 cent, that's where the money comes from. Because the players are sold. You will probably sell a few more, but that's no longer the big market.

    Now, it's incredibly hard to patent sizes. Sure, you can patent a design, you can patent the brand, but there's no way to keep third party vendors from selling gadgets that "just happen to" fit the iPod perfectly. How should you patent the earplugs? It uses a standard socket, any earplug would do. How do you make your customer buy your add-ons instead of others, which are probably cheaper?

    You start hyping. You have to make sure that your customers know that YOUR, and only YOUR accessories offer the value they're looking for. You NEED those earplugs, because they're original and without, the iPod is no longer cool. You NEED our case because only with it, you show the world that you have the original and only then you are part of the family.

    • Herding consumers (Score:5, Interesting)

      by typical ( 886006 ) on Sunday March 05, 2006 @06:32PM (#14854842) Journal
      You start hyping. You have to make sure that your customers know that YOUR, and only YOUR accessories offer the value they're looking for. You NEED those earplugs, because they're original and without, the iPod is no longer cool. You NEED our case because only with it, you show the world that you have the original and only then you are part of the family.

      Apple may be pretty good at herding consumers, but they're absolutely nothing [theatlantic.com] compared to, say, De Beers. De Beers created the diamond ring as a cultural item less than a hundred years ago. Now, you have to give your lady love a diamond ring -- no alternatives.

      The story I linked to is pretty interesting -- if you have a couple minutes, it's a worthwhile read.

  • Not really Apple's fault (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Y-Crate ( 540566 ) on Sunday March 05, 2006 @05:29PM (#14854612)
    The question you need to ask is: Where is the hype coming from?

    Did Apple claim that their press conference would herald fantastically interesting products that would reshape the industry? As I recall, they merely announced a press conference and said they would have some "fun stuff". That's it.

    This wasn't Steve walking on stage at MacWorld - which is a hypefest by design, where only the biggest products are released - this was Apple introducing another Intel-based Mac to show its partners and investors that it was committed to, and proceeding with the transition from PPC. The fact they had some other, far less interesting products ready at the same time, and decided to show them off as well seems to be more of a logical exploitation of the press conference. Would it have made sense for Apple to simply make no mention of their other new products while the media's attention was focused squarely on them? I don't think so.

    People are so used to Apple throwing them curveballs that they build up entirely unrealistic expectations of the company, and get angry at Apple when they fail to live up to these fantasies. You can criticize Apple for borking the video chipset in the new Minis, but you can't really get mad at them for not releasing a product that may only exist in your mind.

    • Even more basic than that (Score:5, Interesting)

      by typical ( 886006 ) on Sunday March 05, 2006 @06:27PM (#14854825) Journal
      It should be even more basic than that.

      'Jobs' announcement of a new leather case for the iPod was especially ridiculous. Like the queen announcing a new toaster in Buckingham Palace. It seemed odd that Jobs was troubling himself to introduce fashion accessories to Apple's products.

      Think about it.

      A marketer tried to get the best currently-new offering from a company to sell better.

      It's the exact same thing that any marketer, anywhere around the world would do.

      If you watch QVC, you can see salesmen doing the same deal for thing after thing, time after time. ("This ball of twine is the most amazing, lifechanging thing ever!")

      It's just good business. Apple isn't going to churn out something like the introduction of the Apple, the Macintosh, or the iPod every year. Matter of fact, if you count those lines, they've been managing better than one lucrative industry-changing product line a decade, which is pretty damn good.

      The only unusual thing is that some Mac users seem to take a polling approach instead of a event-triggered approach to being notified about new Apple products (which means that sometimes, there isn't much there).

  • El Duplicado, stupido (Score:5, Insightful)

    by hellfire ( 86129 ) <deviladv.gmail@com> on Sunday March 05, 2006 @05:35PM (#14854631) Homepage
    This has got to be the biggest conspiracy over nothing that I have every seen. First, Slashdot posts a sensational post about how the new products at Apple are overhyped and links an article that doesn't over hype anything! Then Cnet comes out with an article saying it's over hyped which slashdot posts as well! Ten out of Ten points for getting lots of hits and comments but -1000000 points for lack of intelligence. I say what everyone else is saying... what hype?

    For a product to be overhyped I have to see it somewhere other than slashdot which does get a high bandwidth of users but does not have mainstream penetration.

  • It was good while it lasted (Score:3, Interesting)

    by FishandChips ( 695645 ) on Sunday March 05, 2006 @05:36PM (#14854634) Journal
    Yes, it's a fair charge. Fashion is fickle and every comment that the iPod phenomenon is turning tacky is a warning that no company can sit on its laurels for long. The iPod's leather posing pouch and the ghetto-blaster model are tacky, too.

    During 2006, it's quite likely we'll see an increasing number of articles saying the iPod thing is over. When every kid on the block is toting one, it's time to get rid of it and buy something reassuringly "exclusive" instead. Never underestimate snob appeal.
    • When every kid on the block is toting one, it's time to get rid of it and buy something reassuringly "exclusive" instead.

      Acutally, I think it's the other way around. I recall when Walkmans came out you HAD to own a SONY Walkman but after the novelty/newness of the walkman wore off people were more than happy to buy off brand versions for 1/3 the price at Radio Shack.

      Maybe Archos will find a large marketplace yet.

  • Apple stock only rises before the announcement... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by kato ( 5369 ) on Sunday March 05, 2006 @05:38PM (#14854637) Homepage
    Wall St. Geek.com [wallstgeek.com] has some analysis up that shows that Apple stock rises before annoucements, but rarely keeps the momentum afterwards. In fact, after major announcements (including the original iPod), the stock sank. Here's the link. [wallstgeek.com]
    • This happens a lot. Not just with Apple. People say the strategy is to "buy on the rumor, sell on the news." Of course, the article to posted also has a few incidents where the stock was up long after the news and down before it. I don't have earnnigs tables and charts handy but its possible that MacCon or whatever isn't the only influence on the stock.

  • obligatory link (Score:3, Funny)

    by hclyff ( 925743 ) on Sunday March 05, 2006 @05:39PM (#14854644)
    Today's UF [userfriendly.org]
  • here... enjoy the subtle dig [userfriendly.org]...

  • Hey, CNET, we have some cool new products! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Expert Determination ( 950523 ) on Sunday March 05, 2006 @05:51PM (#14854690)
    CNET: Cool, eh? Just how cool?
    Apple: Really cool!
    CNET: Are you sure?
    Apple: Well, maybe not really, really cool, but still quite cool.
    CNET: Just 'quite' cool you say?
    Apple: Not just quite cool - pretty cool.
    CNET: 'Pretty' cool? Nah! We're not interested. Who wants to report stories about stuff that's just pretty cool? We're CNET. We only report the coolest of the cool dude!
    Apple: OK, OK. They're actually really cool.
    CNET: Great, we'll be there for the announcement.

    3 hours later...

    CNET: Hey! You lied! You said that stuff was really cool but it was just pretty cool. We wasted expensive web site space on 'pretty cool'! What kind of lame ass web site do you take us for?
    Apple: Um...well...we tried to tell you...

  • investors not happy (Score:3, Interesting)

    by psycln ( 937854 ) on Sunday March 05, 2006 @06:01PM (#14854729) Homepage Journal
    Investors [yahoo.com] aren't happy about this.
  • Overhyped? Hmmm. The press invitations specifically mentioned that Apple would be introducing some "fun new products". Fun new products. Roll that phrase around in your mind for a little bit. Fun new products.

    Does that sound like an earthshaking announcement to you? Like Apple was going to introduce OS XI or make a "fuck Intel; we're using Cell processors now" kind of announcement?

    If so, you're nuts. I was expecting some iPod-related announcements, perhaps the fabled "Video iPod" (yawn) at most and some capacity bumps at the least. I'd say their product announcements fell right in the middle of that modest spectrum.

    It's true that Apple created some hype by not issuing any hints about the products they'd be introducing. Most of those journalists would have stayed at home if you told them in advance that they'd be introducing a new Mini, a leather slipcover, and a boombox. But hey, I can't really blame a company for wanting to create excitement about their products. That's called capitalism, folks. What Apple really did was capitalize on the press and public's fascination with Apple. They simply allowed the press and public to create the hype for them.

    So was Apple cannily trying to promote and sell some product? Sure. Did Apple themselves overhype the event? I would say absolutely not.

  • Regarding the Hi-Fi... (Score:3, Informative)

    by ponos ( 122721 ) on Sunday March 05, 2006 @06:56PM (#14854915)
    I was disappointed with the Hi-Fi specs but, to be honest, this is for MP3s, not SACD or DVD-audio. Typical 128Kbps compression has a high cutoff point close to the 16KHz that the Hi-Fi can do. Furthermore, this is a +/- 3dB response curve reported for the Hi-Fi (most people would have great difficulty hearing a 3dB drop in the high range). I would assume that the speakers can actually reach 20KHz with a ~5-7dB drop that is OK for everyday listening. Most disturbing is the very high price. I'm pretty sure that less stylish speakers from Creative can outperform the Hi-Fi for less than 300$. (then again, nobody would be impressed by a Creative loudspeaker set in your living room...)

    P.

  • Steve's sneaky (Score:3, Interesting)

    by TRRosen ( 720617 ) on Sunday March 05, 2006 @07:04PM (#14854941)
    Anyone wondering if the disappointment in this announcement is just what Steve wanted. The hype has gotten so big around Steve's announcements latley the only way he could suprise anyone is to announce a new product by showing up unannounced at a random apple store and giving them away. Reducing the expectations would make easier to Steve to wow everyone with the unexpected.

  • I said it before, but (Score:3, Insightful)

    by plopez ( 54068 ) on Sunday March 05, 2006 @07:19PM (#14854986) Journal
    I'll say it again. IT is very much like the fashion industry ("XML! It's so modern! It's so now! It's so you!"). Or the US auto industry of the 50's which sold crap but had cool tail fins. Though I must add that most Apple products, while not perfect, are not crap. But they do understand how design and fashion drive consumer retail and technology much better than any other player out there right now.

  • Welcome to the media cycle (Score:3, Insightful)

    by ChePibe ( 882378 ) on Sunday March 05, 2006 @07:37PM (#14855057)
    The media's job in two steps:

    1) Create false expectations

    2) Pounce on those who fail to live up to its created expectations

    I guess Apple's just getting what governments have enjoyed for all these years...

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