“Apple has to always remember that simply making money CANNOT be its point of existence. The point of any company should be to make customers want to give it money, NOT to get money from customers. It’s a subtle distinction that is the difference between good and evil.”[...] Thanks to dfbills for providing this nice story on Digg.
What other users say about this:
DONT1: i believe that the RIAA ruined the ringtone feature Apple would have made open. while Apple is known to ‘think different’, they are new to cell phones, and had to find a partner to work with so that the things would work as well as they do. if Apple tried to launch a cell carrier in secret, with one piece of hardware, it would be a freakin’ mess. some of us are old enough to remember Apple’s short-lived ISP.
i don’t see any other big phones being unlocked in the USA. the RAZR2 just happens to have a few different versions for each major carrier, same deal with Blackberries and Treos. i’m sure Apple *had* to have the customer 2 year agreement so AT&T knew they would get at least two years out of the modifications they had to make to their network. http://www.paramegsoft.com/forum
personally i don’t want a GSM phone and i don’t want to be with AT&T…. so i don’t have an iPhone. maybe in 5 years i’ll see what happens. if i did have one i would probably not pay for stupid ringtones. i’ve bought 2 or 3 in my life, and they cost something like $3 and were seriously just bad midi versions of songs. 99¢ for an MP3 is a relative deal (as much as it sucks). personally i would rather find a work-around and roll my own, but that’s just me. i’m used to companies not making things how i like it, and i’m generally not scared to modify them as i see fit.
backon: I don’t use any of them 
http://blog.myspace.com/crocsplanet
qpn6ph9q: A very well thought through and well written article. Congratulations to Wil Shipley. To me the motivations behind these travesties goes well beyond sensible maximization of profit. Once again Steve Job’s narcissism is pushing customers beyond the limits of what is tolerable business practice. I think it is high time for Jobs to be told to take another “break” to focus on what he does best, R&D.
wankelrotary: Interesting article. However, I keep getting hung up on this: “I own six iPods and have bought 18 iPhones to give away.”
What?
pyrates: This article has what I’ve been saying for years. Apple’s arrogance will get the better of them sooner or later.
ZMann: Apple is acting to protect it’s interest just like every other consumer product company.
Lets take one of our other favorite companies, Nintendo for instance-
Nintendo doesn’t allow any developer to make games or accessories for their systems without first charging a licensing fee. This not only protects their patent, but also protects the consumer from faulty hardware and software that could crash their system or worse, make the consumer blame Nintendo for another company’s faulty product.
I don’t blame the submitter for writing a bad article and keeping a close eye on Apple. In fact, I think Apple cherishes this kind of criticism and carefully listens to its consumers. As a result, they are the best consumer electronics maker on the market. On that note, I say bravo to both sides of this point.
DemiRonin: I disagree and here’s why:
He says apple’s being to greedy and non competitive but in reality they are extremely competitive.
- The reason why they’ve lowered the price of the iphone IS SO they can stay competitive. They know that other companies like nokia are going to copy them, improve and make their “iphones” cheaper. These companies realize that if dam!! they’re selling iphones left and right for 500$ then we’re gonna wanna piece of that. So to stay ahead of the competition they price drop even before a competitor is out on the market.
- Consistently Apple has improved their ipods and computer line ups about twice a year, and how they usually do it is they give you more capacity, more capabilities and more hard drive space for about the same price as the last generation and sometimes if you’re lucky enough, a price drop.
Another thing, has this guy ever used verizon or some of the other cellular companies. For one thing they are ruthless in how many restrictions they put on their phones. Why are American phones so shitty and inept compared to Asian phones, it’s because of the carriers. Apple picked AT&T most likely so that they could have the most creative control over their phone. Verizon phones all use the same kind of software/layout, you think apple’s gonna want to submit to their crappy software? Hell no, they want to do it their way. They don’t want some one else’s software ruining what they already know kicks ass (OS X Baby!)
Last thing. He talks about third party this, 3rd party that. But it’s all over the news and Internet. People are hacking the iphone left and right. Apple publicists have already spoken on the issue, that: hey, do whatever you want, just don’t come crying to us when you mess it up and void your warranty. You think apple is going around suing these people? Heck no, their submitting to the desires of these crazy fans who want to bend apple products to their will.
Business is business, making money is not a bad thing as long as you provide a service. And as we know, apple delivers… (cept games! -says PCer) And frankly I’m not going to take anyone’s advice to seriously who can say “I own six ipods and bought 18 iphones” You obviously have way more money than you need sir…talk about greed and how apple’s has too much money…geeze…
JamaicaJames: I have an unlocked SLVR Motorola phone that I bought on Ebay. I can use ANY song as a ringtone, once it is uploaded from bluetooth or USB. No file size limits-it plays the song until voicemail picks up. This is with “mototunes” software that came with my phone.
Incidentally, I bought the phone in a pre-iPhone moment of excitement, thinking that it had iTunes software on it, like the american version of the SLVR. It didn’t, but I wonder now if I would be able to use songs as my ringtone if it DID. Anyone care to comment?
PS Apple charging the extra buck for ringtones is bullshit…a slap in the face to iPhone buyers! Makes me glad I bought this 60 dollar european SLVR! Well, except that its not nearly as cool as the iPhone, of course..
tgoose: “The point of any company should be to make customers want to give it money, NOT to get money from customers. It’s a subtle distinction that is the difference between good and evil.”
What difference does it make, if they keep making money? This is capitalism, not charity. If you want to use software made by people who don’t care about profits, use OSS. Simple.
jdizzle88: -20 for the looong “essay paper”, and the boo-hooing. Get a life and stop crying about stupid shit. If you were in Steve’s position you’d be greedy too. Like Jackdubious so elequently put, “Stop crying like a little bitch.”
peestandingup: Steve is becoming the arrogant, stubborn as a mule, diluted Steve from back around 1985. We all remember what happened next.
Ellipsys: To me, the iPhone is great in a lot of ways, but it has some serious flaws as well. I love what most people love about it - UI, functionality etc… but there are limitations on it that exist not because of technical issues, but because of The Apple Way ™. iTunes requirement, for one. I see no reason why a music player- ANY music player - cannot have a simple USB Mass Storage mode. Copy and paste your files into the device from an OS. How is this a sound business decision? iTunes, in and of itself, is free. It doesn’t encourage me to purchase music. All it does is bloat up my windows OS and not function at all on Linux. Wouldn’t it be a better decision to still have iTunes available, but let people use the hardware to its fullest ability for those who want to do things a little different? How about support for other FREE codecs? Ogg, OGM movies, FLAC, Mastroka container formats, Xvids? This can only make it easier for the customers and give a better user experience. Likewise with a full SDK for 3rd party programs.
The “Apple Way” is a hindrance to me, and why I’m seriously reconsidering buying a MacBook Pro. I want to do things MY way, on their hardware. And I think lots of other people want to do so too.
shoook: To sound like a total dick… Wasn’t it obvious Apple was in bed with the Record and Movie Industry the moment they started selling their goods in iTunes? I’m going to keep buying AAPL stock because the company has succeeded in creating an almost pure monopoly on digital music and movie sales.
StateTheObvious: Why is anyone surprised by this? Apple has had a lock on its hardware, lock on its software for years. He has been so successful snookering cash out of the Apple fanboys Bill Gates is moving MS in that direction. I keep hearing how Apple is becoming more and more like MS, while as I see it, MS is becoming more and more like Apple. Gates may not be able to get a lock on the hardware, but he sure wants it on the software now. Get a grip fanboys…this is what you have been encouraging for years. Made your bed, lie in it…or quit buying Apple. Something tells me that won’t happen tho. Anyway, enjoy that which you have wrought. I’ll stick with white box PCs, open source OSs, a more feature rich cell phone at a considerably smaller price, and a regular MP3 player that I can put what I want on it and not have to buy it from the company that made the player. And you know what? There’s not much an Apple fanboy can do with his hardware than I cant do with mine. The only difference is mine costs about a quarter of what the fanboys pay.
DooDooFace: Yes, it’s giving up on users by making stuff that lots of people want to buy. Would consumers like an even better deal? Yes. The end.
Use Priority Code: 08-E-VF01 to get the Exhibit Hall passes for free until October 5th. Discount pricing on all other passes ends December 14th. Hey, Kevin and Alex, will there be another show like there was this year?[...] Thanks to AriaStar for providing this nice story on Digg.
Posted by Mike
Apple commercials that should have been left on the cutting room floor.[...] Thanks to 
Posted by Mike
Karma. Doing the “right thing.” Thinking different. Apple’s enlightened approach to building customer loyalty is now famous. But in breaking iPod video accessories, charging restocking fees for defective iPod touch units, and forcing double purchases of iPod games and ringtones, customers think Apple’s becoming the next Microsoft. Are they?[...] Thanks to 
Posted by Mike
It looks like those complaining of problems with the iPod touch’s screen weren’t seeing things, as Apple has now reportedly confirmed that at least some early units did indeed ship with defective screens.[...] Thanks to 
Look out, iPod touch! There comes a scratch test with a safety pin, a car key and then even a razor blade. But this tester doesn’t seem too hell-bent on damaging his precious touch. Would a jackhammer scratch it? How about a blowtorch? We could run over it for you, guy that might help.[...] Thanks to 
As the title mentions, Jobs is subpoenaed over back-dating of stock issues. I highly doubt this will affect his image amongst the iPod and Mac loyals[...] Thanks to 
“Apple could almost double its iPhone production for the fourth quarter, taking it from 1.54 million to 2.7 million. At least according to TheStreet.com, who claims that this year’s production target will be 4.8 million.”[...] Thanks to 
Apple CEO Steve Jobs indirectly shifted blame for the inconsistencies in pricing across iTunes Stores in Europe away from Apple today during a press conference by stating that the company thinks prices should be the same across the Continent.[...] Thanks to 
For all its beauty and functionality, the Touch has some quirks and downsides. It’s the first iPod model I’ve ever tested that fell significantly short, in my tests, of Apple’s battery-life claims. It’s also the first iPod that lacks any physical buttons for controlling music playback.[...] Thanks to 
