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> A lucky set of circumstances led to the iPod dominating the digital audio player market: bold marketing, a smaller HDD form factor, high-speed FireWire connec
by jccc 9y ago
> A lucky set of circumstances led to the iPod dominating the digital audio player market: bold marketing, a smaller HDD form factor, high-speed FireWire connection, and a great integration story on Macs.
Which of these four things are lucky circumstances and not the product of smart, consumer-thoughtful, hard work on the part of various teams at Apple?
Why is it that Apple has been "lucky" in this way so many times when so many other companies could have won instead?
> Apple had already stolen the higher end of the market
Stolen? I realize this is just a turn of phrase, but I think it does reveal a strong bias that sees a market win by Apple as illegitimate.
- pilsetnieks 9y agoI'm not disagreeing with you but the small 1.8" HDD was kind of a stroke of luck. Rubinstein stumbled upon it visiting Toshiba, who didn't even know what they could use it for, but without it, there wouldn't be an iPod as we know it.
- ant512 9y agoBefore I bought my first iPod I got a Sony Network Walkman NW-E3. It was about the size of a packet of gum, had 64MB of flash memory, and was so unrelentingly awful that I swore I would never buy another piece of Sony hardware. I don't remember ever feeling so furious about any other purchase I've made. That the iPod dominated the industry really shouldn't be a surprise when Sony was producing junk like the NW-E3.