Is Apple Keeping Up With The Holidays?

We are fortunate to be living in a time where technology changes faster than our consumption of it. This statement speaks not only to our insatiable appetite for the latest gadget but also our materialistic society. On a personal level technology drains my bank account. I am a dangerous cocktail of materialistic and gadget-obsessed. Is it new? Is it the only of it’s kind? Then I want it. And I normally find a way to get my hands on it. And yes, I realize that I am very fortunate to be able to fuel my addiction. (That line was both a nod of gratitude to my understanding wife but also to those less-fortunate than I am)

Pieces of technology are always a good thing to give and receive during the holidays. Companies normally wait until the holiday season to release their latest items. And retailers help along the process of consumption by running special sales and offering handsome financing options. Christmas and my birthday are my biggest days of the year when it comes to getting new things. I tend to consider my birthday a holiday. Fortunately for me, my birthday is in June, so I get a boon in gifts every six months. Unfortunately for my friends and family, who chipped in to buy me what I just had to have, by the time the next holiday rolls around, I want the next best thing.

Let’s take my iPod for instance. I have written many times about the situation with my iPod. I have a 20GB 2G iPod. I got it 2 years ago. Every 6 months since then, I have asked for the latest model. Is it because the 3 and 4G iPods are that much better, thus rendering my existing iPod obsolete? Well yeah-no. My answer is “yes”, if it means you will consider buying me one. My answer is “no” if it means you will regret buying me the last one. Let’s be honest, besides some changes in the interface, increased disk space, and a color screen, it’s not that different. Right? Wrong. Yes, the technology hasn’t changed, just the utilization of that technology. But it has been repackaged in a way that evokes lust. And because it is that time of year again, I have convinced myself I need it.

Last Christmas I bought myself a 15” Powerbook. This was a result of contributions from friends and family as my Christmas gift. “Well great! This is the top of the line and it will last me for at least 2 full years” I thought to myself. Well, it has been a full year now and I am so ready for a new one. I have convinced myself that I need a new one. The problem this time is there really isn’t a better Powerbook out there. There are new models but the additional miniscule bump in processor speed does not cause me to lust after it. Incidentally, a G5 Powerbook would get my tongue wagging. So where is it? I can guarantee if Apple announced the release of a G5 Powerbook before Thanksgiving, they would have already sold out with pre-orders by Christmas.

I have heard that the U2 iPod is tough to find these days and that they are selling out everywhere. Well, that’s great. Apple has managed to continue to push the envelope with the iPod.  So where is the Apple Phone? The Apple PDA? The Apple Stereo? Some say that will come in January at MacWorld. That’s foolish. It’s time for Apple to constantly evolve their other products. And more importantly, it is time for them to time it strategically around the buying habits of the consumers. Those buying habits evolve around Christmas time and right before school starts. It’s time for Apple to use holiday buying for evolving product lines and gaining marketshare.