iPod Touch firmware leak
If Apple wants to get $9.95 for every App Store-upgraded iPod Touch, it needs to do a better job guarding the firmware.
(Credit: Donald Bell/CNET Networks)Thursday's leak of the free iPhone firmware update may have given Apple a little heartburn, but the iPod Touch firmware upgrade making the rounds might induce a coronary in the company's accounting division. Apple hasn't released specific sales figures on how many iPod Touch models are in circulation, but assuming the device makes up a modest slice of the 22.1 million iPods sold last year, Apple stands to lose a fair chunk of money if users find their way around paying the $10 upgrade fee.
What do you guys think? Is Apple's $10 upgrade charge for the new Touch firmware too much to ask? Any of you ethically conflicted about cheating Apple out of the fee?
Donald Bell is CNET Reviews' senior editor for MP3 players and portable audio, and one half of the MP3 Insider blog and weekly podcast. He also likes getting his hands dirty with digital audio tools for musicians and DJs.
Donald Bell is an electronic musician, a veteran record store employee, and a fearless hardware hacker. He's also CNET's Senior Editor for MP3 and digital audio.
Jasmine France is CNET's resident digital audio doyenne, writing and editing product reviews, crave blogs, and feature stories on all things MP3. And if you need advice on headphones, she's your girl.
the itunes servers for downloading this has been down all day, so as of 9:30 EST on the big launch day, i don't think there is anyone out there who has an official version from itunes. i've never had so much trouble giving someone $10.
the itunes servers for downloading this has been down all day, so as of 9:30 pm EST on the big launch day, i don't think there is anyone out there who has an official version from itunes. i've never had so much trouble giving someone $10.
Apple introduced no new functionality into the 2.0 update (especially not if you already had the Jan App Pack) except the ability to use the app store. They clearly are just extorting their users here. MS released their substantial Zune update for free for older devices which included lots of new functionality. I hate to say it, but MS is looking like the nice company looking out for their users, and Apple is looking like the locked in monopoly only trying to make a buck.
Hope Steve is not mad at me? Next time he should tell their net people to at least place simple password protection :) with password: Free :)
see here
http://www.livecrunch.com/2008/07/11/official-iphone-3g-20-upgrade-download-link/
Look at Microsoft, every new firmware update, every zune owner gets it free.
Apple should be ashamed to nickle and dime it's chickens...
stupid people....
How much is the Apple Touch at retail? hundreds? Don't you think Apple could extend a free upgrade? They already have in some places like the AppleTV. Maybe with the ATV they were affraid of alienating their small base of owners.
I still think Apple is killing the golden egg chicken by squeezing too much stuff out of it. You get locked to a system [the Ipod will not work via drag&drop, remember], forced to buy everything from them, and still you have to pay for having a default device serviced via remote applications.
No, thank you, not for me. Too greedy.
I made this investment to get something that "just works". Why screw around with that for the sake of a few pennies. Besides...Apple is bringing the upgrade to add functionality and keep my Apple product on the leading edge...why play around and take risks of upsetting what I paid for?
I know that Apple's argument will be that these users have enjoyed these features for longer but 3 dollars a months seems too high to me. If Apple wants customers to pay for fixes to the software they already paid I think this is just the wrong business model. Apple could lose customers in the long run with this.
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September 17, 2008 1:38 PM PDT
- I, simply, refuse to pay £10 for an update to a product I initially paid over £200 for. Apple's treatment of its customers is, in short, pathetic.
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