Robert Scoble uses his blog to remind us that Microsoft is actually a collection of human beings. In this post reminds us why geeks don't make great consumer products.
He makes the mistake of comparing the an Apple product (in this case, the iPod) to a Dell product (the Dell Digital Jukebox) and declaring that the Dell (or any number of other Windows Media-driven devices) are empirically a better value.
But, it's your money, not mine. Yeah, the iPod is aesthetically nicer. Yeah, the Dell is slightly bigger and heavier. Yeah, the iPod has a slightly nicer user interface/usability. But it's not worth $120 more. At least not in my opinion. Of course, saying that, I'm sure I'll have a bunch more blogs to point to tomorrow that'll say "Scoble's wrong about that too." :-)Okeedoke. You're wrong. The Dell DJ comes in a 20GB model, so it can hold as many songs as a 20GB iPod. The DDJ is the same height as an iPod. It's also 13% wider, 40% thicker, and 36% heavier. "Slightly bigger and heavier?" Then 100 is only slightly more than 60 (remind me to have Queen's revise my transcript to read "slightly less than 'A'"). Ease of use is always a tough fight. I think my Mac is far more useable than the ThinkPad I use for work. I think Windows is far more usable than most Linux/desktop manager pairings. I think Nokia makes far more usable phones than Motorola. Not everyone agrees with me. But when you're talking about a small form-factor, a limited display, and a single-purpose device, "slightly" nicer (even a Scoble slightly) means a great deal to the user. People care a great deal about design, too. What we have on us says something to those around us. An iPod is a well-designed and desireable totem so it's worth the extra money. Even the thin white cable leading to your crappy OEM earbuds says "there's an iPod in my pocket." Someone may make a cooler, smaller iPod. So far, Apple's been the only one to try with the iPod mini (which I think was a stroke of genius; smaller, lighter, more colorful, meant to be worn and seen, and still an iPod). Dell, Archos, and everyone else haven't come close to unlocking the secret to beating Apple at this game. Apple's playing the game the way that REI, Starbucks, and Whole Foods do. So, you're right Rob: you're wrong.
