Why doesn’t Apple’s movie quest seem to make sense?

So iGod and Apple will now release movies for download.
Just a sec there son:

1) Quality. 640 x 480, according to Apple specs, near DVD quality. Not good enough for me. Hi-def is literally twice that res? If you’re used to that, why would you go back? That’s like me digging out my old Syquest drive.

2) Size. That 640 x 480 means you ain’t viewing it any bigger without res problems.

3) Price. In effect, you’re offering me the same title I can get at Hollywood Video or Blockbuster for a slightly less purchase price depending on the title, (or more). $9.99 - $14.99. Without any of the DVD extras.

4) Selection. You won’t have access to all the titles you want. That’s an understatement. If I can’t download Pluto Nash, what’s the point, ya know?

Way I see it, you’ve basically taken the cost of a Hollywood DVD rental, or Netflix, tripled the fees, (or added a third to the cost of a box office ticket), and reduced screen size to a 13” monitor, or down to 2.5” (320 x 240 screen res for a video iPod).

The only plus is that I get to keep the downloaded movie. Is that a big plus though? I’d be better off searching Amazon.com for a used title at maybe $4 plus $3 shipping. Wouldn’t be current titles necessarily but it absolutely would eclipse the number of titles Apple has now.

If they’re eventually planning to gain control of our TV’s in 2007 like they say, why not just wait? (And good luck going up against the cable tv industry Steve.) This move though for now doesn’t seem like a very solid gateway move to help accomplish that goal.

Maybe they’re just trying to be first into the space, regardless of how well they can carry it off. While being first does count for a lot, remember Beta got to the tape space a year before VHS did.

And now they’re both dead.


Tags: advertising, Steve Jobs, brands, iTunes, Macintosh, Apple Computer