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by cma
408 days ago
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I have a feeling iPod's popularity had more tondo with buying up exclusive access to mini harddrives than the industrial design. Same harddrive maker deals extended to the smaller drives on the iPod mini. iPhone typically gets exclusive access to TSMC's latest nodes a year ahead of competitors. Same with airpods, getting the power draw to that level about a year before most others using their exclusive access to a TSMC node. Having a big enough brand that buying out exclusive access to new tech isn't a huge risk is key, though they probably got the iPod HD exclusivity very cheap and weren't so big then. Then having the exclusive access builds on the quality and mystique of the brand and makes it less risky to buy in again on the next wave of exclusivity. |
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Toshiba were struggling to find a market for the 1.8" disk they'd invented. It was mentioned in passing after a routine meeting with Apple engineers and, to the latters' credit, they immediately saw the potential and called Steve Jobs to get the cash to sign an exclusivity deal. It cost them $10 million, absolute peanuts.
The Creative Nomad had a vast capacity but used standard 2.5" disks to minimise costs, making it bulky. If Creative had had the opportunity and foresight to grab the 1.8" supply chain, history might have been very different. If...