iPod hi-fi speaker system – The insane number of ipod accessories to be released (and fail) is astounding. None, however, was so embarrassing as the “hi-fi” speaker system made by apple.
Touted as “an all-new high-fidelity speaker system that works seamlessly with the iPod to redefine the home stereo system,”. Even Steve Jobs himself reportedly replaced his home stereo equipment with this $350 monstrosity.
Why it failed: Most likely, the price tag. Sitting next to a Bose system around $50 cheaper, It probably didn’t look too enticing to consumers…even if the sound quality was better. The product lasted about 18 months in apple stores and was discontinued.
iPod bar – picture a genius bar just for iPod owners… I put this in the “They had that?” category. I honestly can’t remember there being a dedicated genius bar for iPod related questions and issues (perhaps that was the problem). It actually seems like a decent idea in principle.
Why it failed: Considering most people still don’t quite get how the genius bar works, it’s likely they didn’t even find the dedicated bars…I know I never did 
. Further, Apple users are used to ease of use, so I’m sure that was the main issue. But also having 3 customer support areas in one retail store (there was a dedicated “studio bar” too) just took up space…anther no-no for Apple.
Apple tries to silence owner of exploding ipod touch with gag order. This goes down as one of Apple’s all time PR blunders. A kid has his iPod touch explode in his pocket, and instead of simply giving a refund (as asked for by the kid’s father), they send a threatening lawyer drafted gag order.
The issue isn’t all that uncommon: the iPod’s batteries have a history of overheating. They’ve even been recalled in some instances. But when the family was treated this way, instead of calling a lawyer, they called the local media. The story was later picked up by the social news site Digg.com and it “blew up” from there.
Why it failed: It doesn’t take a PR manager to know that lawyer drafted “apologies” aren’t very remorseful. A simple refund could have prevented this mess. But instead, the lawyers took it upon themselves to do what they thought would protect the companies reputation…next time ask another department.
iPod Video – This isn’t neccessarily a “blunder” per se, but something of a miss by iPod standards. When video playback was first added as a feature on the iPod, it was done so on the “classic” style iPod with the 2.5 inch screen.
While the screen actually had fairly decent resolution and color capabilities, watching a movie (even a 30 minute sitcom) on such a tiny screen just wasn’t a great experience. In fact, the iPod video was so poorly recieved, that even Steve Jobs’ assessment sounded underwhelming: “It does everything that the previous model does and adds video as a bonus.”
Why it failed: Other than the fact that 5 minutes or more of watching (or trying to) video requires a 6 pack of Excedrin, the availability of video content was also lacking at its release. With the iPod touch, video is a much more pleasant experience, but I still have to wonder why the iPod nano even bothered with video at all.
iPod Shuffle 3rd Generation - Apple: repeat after me: “Smaller is not always better.” Ok, now go back to the 2nd gen design with your shuffle PLEASE! I’ve owned an iPod shuffle (2nd gen) for a couple years now, and I love it. (or i should say “loved” since I lost it somewhere…) Therein lies the problem: It’s too damned small.
The 3rd generation shuffle did something unforgivable: the buttons were removed. Changing songs, volume, or modes now happens on a switch on the cord of the included headphones. In fact, if you have other headphones you like better (like myself): tough. Not only does that limit you to their earpieces, but working the buttons this way while running is almost impossible.
Why it failed: removing the buttons, forcing users to use the included headphones, only to make an easy to lose device even SMALLER, is just plain dumb. I’m confident I’ll find my old shuffle the next time I vacuum behind my couch, but until then, I’ll need to run with my 30GB classic…because I refuse to buy this model.
Non-removable Batteries – Batteries that overheat and even explode are bad enough, but when your battery dies, what do you do? Replace it? It’s not just that easy…unfortunately.
Considering Apple has settled two (yes 2) class action lawsuits in two countries for the failing battery life of their iPod batteries, a consolation would have been for the battery to be as easy to change as a light bulb. Instead, it’s a complicated 9 step process not intended for consumers to do at home….deliberately.
Why it failed: as consumers, we’ve grown accustomed to a few things being easy: cooking toast, using Velcro, and changing batteries in our electronics. The mere fact that you need to break your warranty to change the batteries in an iPod is a HUGE failure in my opinion. I’m sure it works out for Apple in the long run, but it’s a huge annoyance for consumers. On the plus side, however, it’s opened up a whole new market for capitalists.
iPhone’s inability to copy/paste – In my opinion, this is one of the largest mistakes in the history of Apple. Sure, it didn’t kill the company, or the product itself (in fact, it flourished in spite of this oversight). Instead, it gave ammo to Microsoft Fanboys and…well…the anti-apple consortium to bash what is arguable the most talked about product in the new millennium.
Why it failed: What makes this such a problem (for me, anyways) isn’t just that the phone didn’t have the ability, but that the company refused to admit it was important. It tells me that despite the crys of your most dedicated consumers and brand evangelists…you refused to listen or admit fault.
Copy-paste is now an “incredible” feature of the iPhone, in fact, they went out of their way to tout it as such in a TV spot. It’s not “too little to late” but for many it was close. Apple continues to put out great products, but they need to be quicker to admit when something doesn’t work or is missing. Otherwise, they risk losing their dominance in a competitive mobile marketplace just as fast.
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