![[129/365] White Lies](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4052/4440140242_2247cae8bb.jpg)
I think some people forget that marketing doesn’t end at promotions. Apparently, someone at Apple did too.
In the early days of the iPod, you had commercials of silhouettes spinning, flipping off walls, and moving in every possible way to their favourite tunes, all through their Apple earbuds. It was a great creative that made the most visible aspect of the iPod and iPhone experience – the earbuds – the most prominent, making them an icon for Apple and a huge awareness opportunity.
Why spend money on advertising when you can have your customers handle awareness for you? It was the perfect setup – or could have been, had the earbuds not sucked (and continue to suck). Poorly-fitted, tinny sounding, and tethered by a short wire, I’d choose any number of other headphones before I chose one from Apple. Premium headphones exist, but they’re little-known and for the price, you might as well splurge on something more established.
So what’s Apple’s excuse? Yes, you have manufacturing costs, but as a premium-priced product, any iPod markup could have easily swallowed the cost for better headphones.
Such a waste.
Tags: apple, marketing lessons
[...] that the little white buds that come with the iPod are far from ideal. Jeremy is tired of these little white lies and is more than happy to invest in some premium earphones or headphones [...]
I like the photo! Love the shallow DoF
I didn’t know there were premium in-ear headphones from Apple. I would expect them to have it, but that they don’t advertise them is a bit odd.
I HATE the ear-buds that come with iPhone/iPod/iWhatever. They stay in the packaging and never get used.
I too wish apple would replace those “default” earbuds.. I actually forked out the $90cad for the “premium” ones–although for the quality they come in, it was well worth it. I wished they at least gave us a choice to choose what earbuds we want to go with at the beginning, or some sort of upgrade option. But then again, corporations are evil.
While the standard headphones aren’t premium by any means, they can actually sound a lot better just by adding a set of foamies.
I like how the cables blend into the background.
Kenny has a really good point. If you push the headphones further in, you get a really nice, full frequency range. Unfortunately, as soon as you stop pushing, they go back to their tinny old selves.
Time to find me some foamies.
I actually like the shorter cord. And they stay in my ear fine. ;D Longer cords always get tangled. And my iPhone usually lives in my hoodie/coat pocket, so I don’t need a 5′ cord… But yeah, sound could be better.