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New Products Can Be Obsolete in a Heartbeat

washingtonpost.com — Last Sunday, I was lurking at the local Apple store, poking at laptops and feeling a mild bit of concern for my fellow shoppers.

Who dugg this? Made popular Jun 15, 2009

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  • LMN8R, on 06/15/2009, -3/+90"Lazy people who don't spend 5 minutes researching products before they buy them can get models that are obsolete in a heartbeat"
  • rhuxley, on 06/15/2009, -7/+60The lesson is to not purchase apple products when you no they have a big keynote coming up.
  • alpha88, on 06/15/2009, -1/+49If you can still use it, and it still serves its intended purpose, it isn't obsolete.

    I have a 1st gen. iPod shuffle that still plays music just fine. My laptop is almost 2 years old and works fine, my two desktops are between 3 and 5 years old and work fine. Obsolete isn't the word they're looking for.
  • ST0N3, on 06/15/2009, -2/+25Dumb article. Just like if you're in the market for buying a car, you should do your research to figure out when the new model year typically comes out so you can get the latest and greatest. I don't see how it is any different with technology. Do your research and you'll find many company's (especially Apple's) product update schedule to be quite regular.

    Move along, nothing to see here.
  • Lightstab, on 06/15/2009, -5/+24I don't get the outrage. If the current iPhone doesn't have something you want, don't buy it. Wait until they release a version that does have everything you want. I'm a Mac user and I haven't bought an iPhone because it didn't have a 32 GB flash drive. Now it does and I'll probably get one, so I have no sympathy for the people that don't have any self control.

    Also, EVERYBODY knew that a new iPhone was going to be released at WWDC. Who are these idiots that don't know this?
  • suprememilo, on 06/15/2009, -5/+20Guess what this laptop is 3 years old, and it isn't obsolete....

    (13" original macbook)
  • generalalcazar, on 06/15/2009, -0/+15Indeed. I believe the word is, "not the awesomest". That's actually three words, and one isn't really a word, but you get the idea.
  • s73v3r, on 06/15/2009, -0/+14http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/

    Check it out before planning on buying any Apple product.
  • inactive, on 06/15/2009, -1/+13Something doesn't become obsolete just because there is a better version available.

    If something fulfills all your needs the day you buy it, then it does not matter WHAT is introduced a month, week, day or even the next HOUR after you bring it hoime.
  • StolenLamp, on 06/15/2009, -0/+10I'm flattered.
  • inactive, on 06/15/2009, -0/+10*know
  • raptorlightning, on 06/14/2009, -8/+17Caring about making a quality product and keeping it around and supported for many years is bad for profitability. Thus people get put in the ***** for higher profits.

    It's easy to understand, but completely immoral.
  • bfogarty27, on 06/15/2009, -1/+9if you dont know that apple along with most companies bring out new lines of products yearly (at the same time) you're just stupid
    and hell if you bought within the past 30 days you can probably return it
  • athrasher, on 06/15/2009, -1/+8http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/obsolete
  • bluekangaroo, on 06/15/2009, -0/+7I guess you'd be happy with never advancing technology at all...

    Hope you're enjoying your Apple Newton.
  • 2Deluxe, on 06/15/2009, -5/+12Are you telling me if I buy a top of the line ANYTHING then in SOME TIME it will be SUPERSEEDED?!....

    LIES. LIES AND SLANDER.
  • factsahoy, on 06/15/2009, -0/+7WTF are you talking about? This guy's computer was a PowerPC, and that line ended years ago. This wasn't a capricious decision on Apple's part.

    As for the rest of the people bitching, WTF were they thinking buying a new computer a week before WWDC? If they're part of the population that gives a ***** about the changes announced, they're part of the population that should know better.

    Typical "journalist", pandering to idiots and phony outrage.
  • paradigmx, on 06/15/2009, -0/+6not upgrading every 6 months does not mean you don't believe in advancing technology, it means you watch your budget. I could have the latest and greatest gadgets and gizmos, but then i'd be broke. Why run myself broke when my current hardware still runs all the newest games and applications? If need be, I can change out my RAM or swap my video card, but it doesn't require a new PC. My Dell laptop is almost 2 years old, Sims 3 runs perfect, WoW still run smooth during 25 mans, and 75% of my more hefty games run fine, the few exceptions are Fallout 3, and Crysis. Literally my only bottleneck there is my integrated intel gma945, but had I spend $200 more on my laptop I could have upgraded to a video card when I bought it.

    Technically I haven't bought a new desktop in years, but that depends on your definition on what determines segregating builds. Personally I see Motherboard changes as a different PC, so based on that, my current gaming PC is 3 years old, and its rare I don't meet the recommended system requirements of most games.

    So again, why should I buy a new computer every 6 months, when software is still having a hard time keeping pace with hardware.

    Obsolete also depends on your usage, if all you do is surf the web and check your email, then a 1ghz CPU with 512mb of RAM is more than you need in most cases.
  • s73v3r, on 06/15/2009, -0/+6I guess the kind of people who want "teh shinies" without having to constantly research stuff. Of course, if you're gonna spend a couple hundred dollars on a phone, maybe a little research is warranted.
  • StubbyClapp, on 06/15/2009, -3/+9If you're just waltzing in off the street on Sunday June 7th to buy an iPhone, you deserve to lose the money you lost.
  • dafragsta, on 06/15/2009, -1/+7I think you and the author of this article are equally myopic. Just because Gateway unceremoniously dumps their PCs on Best Buy and Apple has a big press event, it doesn't mean anything about "obsolete." I think that word used in both the title and in the article are stretched quite thin for a bit of sensationalist journalism. Obsolete implies that all of a sudden the device is so outclassed by the present market offering as to be virtually useless and unserviceable. I would say that there isn't even true of laptops made even two years ago.
  • mejf2loy, on 06/15/2009, -0/+6My comp is from 2004. Sure I upgraded the video card, added 2 gigs of ram, put in a sound card, upgraded the power supply, but thats not the point. Its from 2004 and it still runs great!
  • Jnes, on 06/15/2009, -1/+6I spend weeks, even months, researching large purchases, and then I try to buy last season technology for a killer price, unless a newer feature is super relevant, then I still wait for a deal rather than buying at release.
  • eramos, on 06/15/2009, -3/+8I don't understand people who bitch about better/cheaper models of what they buy coming out after they buy something. My Macbook is pretty old now and it's only about 1.5 years old. I'm not complaining: it was fine for me when I bought it, and when it isn't good enough I'll buy a new one and then go through the process again. Why do people think they have the right to upgrade to the latest and greatest model for free?
  • tupperbacharach, on 06/15/2009, -2/+7***... some of the shiny masterpieces I was looking at... ***

    Stopped reading right there -- he referred to some computers as "masterpieces."

    He's obviously an insufferable, Apple-worshipping "journalist."
  • jzou87, on 06/15/2009, -0/+4It's planned obsolescence. We live in a culture where we buy new items when old ones break. Instead of hiring people to fix products that break, it is more convenient to buy a new one. This is jump started by the industrial revolution when we started mass producing products. And now, companies take advantage of it and actually design products with stress raisers to break sooner. It sucks because all of the old broken stuff is usually tossed in trash and contributes to more landfill waste.
  • xster, on 06/15/2009, -1/+5stupid article
  • rhuxley, on 06/15/2009, -0/+4yeah thanks, I noticed that latter
  • Contren, on 06/15/2009, -0/+3There is a difference between obsolete and a product that isn't considered current.
  • SummerofGeorge, on 06/15/2009, -2/+5because corporations don't have shareholders and market expectations to achieve, amirite?
  • inactive, on 06/15/2009, -2/+5Did you actually read the article?
  • Acqua206, on 06/15/2009, -1/+4If you gave it more than 3 seconds of thought, you would see why companies are secretive about their upcoming releases, especially the dates. If you knew that the next latest and greatest iPhone was coming out in 3 weeks, would you purchase the current gen iPhone? Probably not, I know I wouldn't. You have a bunch of people holding out for the new product which would create a backlog of the old inventory. You don't want that, you want to sell and keep on selling.
    Thats why Sony killed the rumors of the PS3 slim and I'm sure Microsoft wasn't too happy about people holding out on Xboxs' while waiting for the newer chipsets to arrive.
  • paradigmx, on 06/15/2009, -0/+3Impulse buyers, they are the core market that ads are directed to. An impulse buyer doesn't research, he walk into a store, likes what he sees, and buys it. The impulse buyer also tends to be the idiot complaining about how his new phone is already obsolete.
  • number5, on 06/15/2009, -1/+4Seems he was just looking for something to bitch about, are you telling me the Post's Tech guy had no idea Apple was holding a big press confernce where they always undated the ipod and one of the laptops. If so, he need a new job
  • mrBitch, on 06/15/2009, -0/+3The Mac Pro is actually quite easy to upgrade.

    The closest Apple has to a desktop PC equivalent is the Mac Pro, since the iMac is an "all-in-one", you would have to compare it to other manufacturers "all-in-one" products.

    I notice that all of the other "all-in-one" products are also not so easy to upgrade...
  • inactive, on 06/15/2009, -1/+4He meant their PCs, dingus.
  • Bullislander05, on 06/15/2009, -0/+3I personally don't understand why people are so outraged about this iPhone deal.

    I purchased an 8 GB iPod Touch around December '07. I still use it every day and the only fault I find in it is the screen is slightly scratched. It's completely silly for me to consider buying an iPhone. The data plans are not worth being able to get the internet/email 24/7. I simply set up a wireless connection in my home, got a cheap cellphone from Verizon for texting and calling friends, and use the iPod for free whenever I want. This is not a case of models breaking or becoming obsolete. It's just people making a decision between high-end products that cost more and older but still usable products that cost less.

    Just practice the ancient technique of "quicherbichen" and move on.
  • juniorb, on 06/15/2009, -1/+4The word you're looking for is "superceded." Superseeding is what you do with a new torrent.
  • scootinger, on 06/15/2009, -0/+3There's no question that many companies (including Apple) intentionally design products to essentially be disposable...but this article really isn't such a case of that. Prices on technology drop all the time...it's a fact of life. Still, as you said, companies should design a quality product that will last a very long time....even though they won't always be the latest and greatest.
  • KibibyteBrain, on 06/15/2009, -0/+3Factsahoy is right. First of all, while his old notebook may really be obsolete, the last generation, nay, last few generations of Macbooks and Macbook Pros are not. Obsolete implies the product is becoming useless due to the changing ecosystem around it, not that better products exist. A Macbook bought a year ago still works just as well as the day it was bought. Sure someday when it lacks USB 3.0 and 802.11z it will be obsolete, but we aren't even in the ballpark of talking about that.
    Secondly, are people here seriously suggesting that we artificially restrain the release of new products? I agree that the obsolescence of old platforms should be taken seriously, but not coming out with new products just so the people who bought last years model can still feel like they own the best computer is absurd. Technology improves at exponential rates, and to not expect companies to release products exploiting new technology is just plain ludditeism.
  • sodoh, on 06/15/2009, -1/+4This is a problem with the store or with AT&T, not Apple.

    Apple have a transition period if you buy through their store online. For example I bought a Mac Mini on the Apple store. While waiting for the delivery Apple then announce a new Mac Mini and dropping the price of mine. Somewhat annoyed I checked online and my order had been pushed out another 2 weeks.

    At this time I was seriously annoyed so I rang Apple. I was told because I bought the device and it had not shipped during the transition period that I automatically get upgraded to the new machine for the price I paid for the old one. Effectively getting the latest Mac Mini for $200 less.
  • AVDweeb, on 06/15/2009, -2/+5A $200 subsidy every two years is nothing new in the cell phone market. Where has this dude been the past 10 years??
  • TheCheeks, on 06/15/2009, -1/+3No *****, welcome to Technology.
  • Deejster, on 06/15/2009, -0/+2Phones are not like other technologies; phones have an artificial price because of the *contract*.

    There was a substantial drop in price when the 3G came out because AT&T started subsiding the 3G handset - and so they lost nothing on the 2G you were replacing. However, if you want to upgrade to a 3GS before your contract is up, you haven't finished paying for it yet - you were paying for it spread over 24 months. If AT&T let you upgrade now, you would be paying for the new handset without having paid for the old one in full.

    There is absolutely no reason why AT&T should give a discount to people already locked in a contract. If you don't like 24 month contracts, don't sign.
  • TWiThead, on 06/15/2009, -0/+2From the article: "Just about everybody will have the option to pay $299 for the device, but iPhone owners who bought the then-new 3G phone last year will have to pay $499 for the now-new premium version of the device."

    This is extremely misleading, as it falsely implies that iPhone owners are being singled out. In fact, *anyone* whose AT&T service contract is not close to its expiration is ineligible to receive the full subsidy for *any* AT&T phone. This describes millions of people, so it's absurd to claim that "just about everybody will have the option to pay $299 for the device."

    It's entirely reasonable to enforce the industry-standard contractual terms to which these individuals agreed. They received substantial hardware discounts in exchange for agreeing to remain subscribers for two years (with the stipulation that they would not become eligible for further hardware discounts until their contracts neared expiration).
  • charlietuna, on 06/15/2009, -0/+2I have a hunch that the younger readers think this is dumb, whereas the older ones are nodding their head in agreement with an obvious fact. The posts above claim that doing research up front eliminates this problem. Sure, if two years is considered a long time to own something. All tech is disposable now, that's the essential gripe.

    Heck, even several multiplex theaters by me were closed after about ten years only to be replaced by another cineplax a few miles away... all because 8 theaters are too few.
  • lougoose, on 06/15/2009, -0/+2I completely agree with your positive attitude. Refreshing to hear someone NOT complain about this stuff.
  • jarjarwang, on 06/15/2009, -0/+2Those herbs you sold me were superseeded.
  • Vermifax, on 06/15/2009, -0/+2Mmmm, I have to own an Apple.

    Or change careers.
  • mrBitch, on 06/15/2009, -0/+2Refreshing to read a post that just made sense.
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