Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler So I stopped into a Bose store today....

The wave radio is what it is; a clock radio that you can hook up a c.d player to. Not a bad product but grossly overpriced. Would never buy one.

Yes, while typing that I did think that an Apple Store sounds a bit like that too. There definitely is hype and image when it comes to Apple products.

However...

Apple products have some merit. Apple design and R&D has had an enormous impact on consumer electronics. The iPod defined what an MP3 player is, and is far-and-away the most successful portable music player. The iPhone redefined what is possible with a cell phone. Has Bose contributed anything to the audio world that has had an impact like that?

And as far as the age-old PC vs Mac debate... Yes, Macs cost a little more than their spec-equivalent PC. But, there are quantifiable benefits to owning a Mac. We can debate which is "better" ad nauseum. Some of us like Macs. Some like PC's. Some like Linux. It's all good. You've got to use the best tool for the job at hand. The point is, there are some reasons why owning a Mac is a superior choice over a PC. And vice-versa.

I can think of no reason to choose Bose over anything else.

Great line!

fnM$

When I bought Vista I expected them to fix it rather than dumping it and charging me for the PR/launch mess they created.

FWIW I think Apple makes good product. They are the only company that I know that consistantly gets the UI right and to me that is the critical part of any application.

I just don't like the way they always lock things down to lock you in.

Virtually all of us get branded and sucked into the " cool" factor (I am not one of these people) and Apple is the best at sucking people in. IMO the "cool" factor has far more impact than any good that Apple has done to the industry; it's become the most successful portable music player because of this, not because it's supposedly good, or more advanced at the time.

It bothers me to no end when people buy products based on the aforementioned premises. Yes there are educated buyers, but it is the tots and image driven folks that are driving the sales which easily supersede the educated ones; it has nothing to do with technological advancement in these circumstances .

I purchased a Zune because I'm anti apple for the reasons mentioned.

Oh yes, these cohorts create their own little subculture, especially noticeable on university and college campuses. Years ago you would see a group of five or six people leaving school donning their yellow Tommy Hilfiger jackets, now just replace those jackets with an iPod.

Good post wheelz. We really have not even touched on brand image yet which also ties in with the marketing. That can be a discussion all on its own. Its funny that you brought up images of students walking university campuses with their iPods because that was one the first thoughts that came to my mind as well.

The MP3 player I use does not resemble an iPod in any way so it is interesting some of the remarks you get from people when they ask what it is. The reactions from people make for a great social experiment.

The Bose marketing machine is in full swing lately, I've seen a lot more than the usual advertising from them lately(Christmas season approaching?).

Wheelz. I agree with you that cool factor is a marketing guys ultimate wet dream, but Apple ususally gets both sides of the equation right: cool factor and useability. Windows (the UI) owes its existance to Apple.

Bose, on the other hand, is a pure wet dream machine.

Quite right, Fred. People who choose not to buy Apple products simply because Apple products are popular and perceived as cool by certain sectors of the population are making choices based on a false dichotomy. For every idiot flashing his Apple hardware out in public to be seen, there are scores of more modest people who chose Apple's hardware over the alternatives because they prefer the user experience.

I could have had practically any laptop I wanted at work. I got a Mac. I could have gotten practically any mobile phone. I got an iPhone. I made these choices in spite of the silly cool factor.

I wasn't making a sweeping generalization about the "cool" factor and owners of Ipods (Apple), which is why I said that there are educated people like yourself that make choices the way they should be made.

And yes Fred, I agree with you, but I believe the "cool" factor easily outweighs usability.

Also, if it's perceived as being a false dichotomy when choosing anything but that which is perceived by anyone as being "cool", well, I'm okay with that. The majority of people (Ipods appealing to the younger generation for the most part) are buying them because of the image.

I will be sticking with my false dichotomy to be individualistic.