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By Anupam Saxena\n
NEW DELHI: iPod, Apple<\/a>’s iconic music and multimedia player, seems to be on deathbed, going by the Cupertino giant’s recently-declared quarterly financial results that show a massive decline in iPod sales and the company’s reluctance to come out with newer models.
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\nApple managed to sell just 6 million iPods in the last quarter, a major decline of 52% compared to the same quarter last year, when it sold 12.7 million units. Apple did not even mention iPod sales in its press release and later, CEO Tim Cook admitted iPod is a declining business during the conference call.
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iPod was given last major update in 2012 when Apple released a new version of the iPod Nano<\/a> and iPod Touch<\/a>, if we exclude the 16GB version of the fifth-generation iPod touch which was released in May 2013. Apple even stripped this version of a rear camera to reduce costs.
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One of the major reason for the decline in sales of the iPod is the increasing preference for smartphones among consumers. With smartphones packing in features of a point-and-shoot camera and a multimedia player, the iPod has become less relevant. Apple’s own smartphone, the iPhone<\/a>, has been cannibalizing the sales of the iPod touch which runs the same operating system, but lacks cellular connectivity and voice calling features.
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Consumers don’t want to carry multiple devices<\/a>. It’s worth noting that Apple is not the only maker struggling with the declining sales of multimedia players. While players like Samsung<\/a> and Sony have launched new iterations of their devices, they’ve been facing the heat in a market witnessing the rise of the smartphone and death of MP3 players.
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\nThe other major reason could be the rise of the Apple’s iTunes content store which is a major source of revenue for the company. iPods, other than the iPod touch, don’t have direct access to the stores, while the iPod touch users can only buy content when the device is hooked on to a WiFi network.
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\nLogically, it would be in Apple’s interest to promote and support devices that are more likely to push consumers to buy content from iTunes and get latched on to Apple’s ecosystem.
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\nBesides music, the other major feature offered by the iPod is fitness tracking. It is capable of working in tandem with trackers to let users keep a check on their fitness regimen. While the new iPhone 5S with its A7 co-processor also offers advanced activity tracking features, a lot of people don’t feel comfortable using their smartphones while working out, and prefer a smaller device.
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\nWith all the buzz around Apple working on a wearable device, which could either be a smartwatch or a fitness band, it’s likely that fitness tracking would be high on Apple's priorities. The wearable device could perhaps offer motion tracking and health tracking features, or act as a second screen with the entire processing taking place inside a smartphone it is synchronized with.
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\nTaking into account Apple’s recent patent portfolio, the declining cost of flexible components, and fascination towards flexible devices, it won’t be surprising that Apple’s wearable device carries all functionalities of an iPod.
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\nThis may also help Apple in consolidating its tech leadership image in an unexplored segment. While smart watches and fitness bands have already seen the light of the day, no one has been able to get it right so far.
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Who knew the iPad<\/a> would turn out to be the most popular tablet when it was first launched, and lead to creation of a new category. \n<\/body>","next_sibling":[{"msid":29699096,"title":"45% consumers access internet on mobile: Survey","entity_type":"ARTICLE","link":"\/news\/devices\/45-consumers-access-internet-on-mobile-survey\/29699096","category_name":null,"category_name_seo":"devices"}],"related_content":[],"msid":29699220,"entity_type":"ARTICLE","title":"Is Apple about to kill iPod?","synopsis":"Apple iPod seems to be on deathbed, going by the Cupertino giant\u2019s recently-declared quarterly financial results.","titleseo":"devices\/is-apple-about-to-kill-ipod","status":"ACTIVE","authors":[{"author_name":"Anupam Saxena","author_link":"\/author\/479234093\/anupam-saxena","author_image":"https:\/\/etimg.etb2bimg.com\/authorthumb\/479234093.cms?width=100&height=100","author_additional":{"thumbsize":false,"msid":479234093,"author_name":"Anupam Saxena","author_seo_name":"Anupam-Saxena","designation":"Correspondent","agency":false}}],"Alttitle":{"minfo":""},"artag":"TOI Tech","artdate":"2014-02-01 11:25:22","lastupd":"2014-02-01 11:25:22","breadcrumbTags":["Apple","Samsung","iPhone","iPad","ipod nano","iPod Touch","Devices"],"secinfo":{"seolocation":"devices\/is-apple-about-to-kill-ipod"}}" data-authors="[" anupam saxena"]" data-category-name="Devices" data-category_id="12" data-date="2014-02-01" data-index="article_1">
由Anupam Saxena新德里:iPod,苹果标志性的音乐和多媒体播放器,似乎在临终前,库比蒂诺的巨人的最近宣布季度财务结果显示iPod销售大幅下降,公司不愿推出新的模型。
苹果卖出600万年最后一个季度,ipod的主要下降52%,与去年同期相比,售出1270万台。苹果甚至没有提到在其新闻稿和iPod销售后,首席执行官蒂姆•库克承认iPod是一个业务电话会议期间下降。
iPod是2012年最后一次重大更新当苹果发布了新版本的iPod Nano和iPod Touch,如果我们排除的第五代iPod touch的16 gb版本2013年5月被释放。苹果甚至剥夺了这个版本的一个后置摄像头来降低成本。
的一个iPod的销量下降的主要原因是增加对智能手机消费者的偏好。与智能手机包装功能的傻瓜相机和多媒体播放器,iPod变得不那么重要。苹果的智能手机iPhone,已经调拨销售的iPod touch运行相同的操作系统,但缺乏细胞连接和语音电话功能。
消费者不想携带多个设备。值得注意的是,苹果公司并不是唯一制造商在多媒体播放器的销售下降。虽然球员像三星和索尼发起了新的迭代的设备,他们一直面临着热在市场看到的智能手机和MP3播放器的死亡。
另一个主要原因可能是苹果的iTunes的崛起内容存储为公司收入的主要来源。以外的iPod, iPod touch,没有直接访问存储,而iPod touch用户只能购买内容当设备连接到一个无线网络。
从逻辑上讲,这将是苹果的利益促进和支持设备,更有可能推动消费者购买内容从苹果的iTunes和得到关注的生态系统。
除了音乐之外,提供的其他主要功能的iPod是健身跟踪。它能够工作在串联与追踪器让用户检查他们的健身方案。而新iPhone 5 s的A7协同处理器还提供了高级的活动跟踪特性,很多人觉得不舒服的使用智能手机工作时,和更小的设备。
所有的议论在苹果工作在可穿戴设备,这可能是一个smartwatch或健身带,很可能健康跟踪会在苹果的优先级高。可穿戴设备可以提供运动跟踪和健康跟踪特性,或作为第二个屏幕整个处理发生在一个智能手机同步。
考虑苹果最近的专利组合,灵活的组件的成本下降,和魅力对灵活的设备,就不会奇怪,苹果的可穿戴设备进行所有功能的iPod。
这也可以帮助苹果在巩固其技术领导图像在一个未知的领域。而智能手表和健身乐队已经看到光明的一天,没有人能够把它到目前为止。
谁知道的iPad会成为最受欢迎的平板电脑首次推出时,并导致创建一个新的类别。
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