Dell Offers $100 For Old iPods 453
Mz6 writes "Dell unveiled an offer that grants music player customers a $100 rebate on a
15GB Digital Jukebox when they
send in an Apple iPod music player to be recycled. 'We want to help drive further awareness of the products we have available and...the plusses we have to offer,' said Dell spokesman Jess Blackburn. Thus the iPod offer 'is a way to call out what separates us from the understood leader in this particular market.' Dell is also offering free shipping, free software, and 25 free songs through MusicMatch and brings the overall cost for the DJ down to $99." Helpful tip: If you have a dead iPod, do the rebate offer, and sell the Jukebox on eBay.
hmm (Score:5, Funny)
You forgot a zero in there (Score:5, Informative)
cheers- raga
Re:hmm (Score:3, Informative)
So, Dell might have an audience after all.
Helpful Tip? (Score:5, Funny)
Why, thats dishonest!
PS: Anyone have a dead iPod they want to send to me?
Re:Helpful Tip? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Helpful Tip? (Score:3)
Re:Helpful Tip? (Score:5, Interesting)
If you have a dead iPod, maybe you should question the quality of the device, Skipper.
Unless the iPod's death was homicide and not suicide. :)
Like, it got dropped or stepped on or accidentally abused in some other way.
Personally, I have one of the original 5GB iPods laying about that I never use (long since replaced with a newer model) and probably couldn't sell for even $100 at this point, so it's almost tempting. Almost.
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
Why? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Why? (Score:4, Interesting)
This sounds like a win-win situation for me.
Re:Why? (Score:3, Insightful)
AAC support (including but not limited to FairPlay), contacts and calendars, text notes, on-the-go playlists, auto-sync your whole library or one or more playlists, an alarm clock, FireWire, a 25-minute skip buffer, that cool solitaire game, and a partridge in a pear tree.
(The Dell site didn't say anything obvious about a skip buffer. If it's got one, scratch that one off the l
Re:Why? (Score:3, Insightful)
Hard drives do not `skip'. So there's no need for a skip buffer.
However, it's possible that a jolt or something could stop the hard drive from delivering data for a second or two -- in that case, a few seconds of buffer space would be a good thing. (However, any jolt that's this strong risks damaging the hard drive itself, stopping it from delivering data forever.) But 25 minutes would be silly -- one minute would be far more than enough.
The reason that you'd want 25 min
Re:Why? (Score:3, Insightful)
AAC doesn't have anything to do with DRM. Music downloaded from the iTunes Music Store does have DRM, but you can also rip your own AACs, just as you can your own MP3s or whatever, and they won't have DRM on them.
Re:Why? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Why? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Why? (Score:3)
Re:Why? (Score:5, Informative)
Anyone who's been bitten by the battery bug.
Seriously, I own a Dell DJ. The iPod is smaller and has more features. Some of the extra features don't matter to me (AAC support, breakout game) and some do (works as a standard USB mass storage device). The UI of the two players is pretty similar, and touchpad vs. scroll wheel is a matter of taste (I prefer the scroll wheel myself).
But then there's the battery life. The DJ really does have twice the battery life, and the battery should last longer as well. That might just be enough to convert some people. My boss' iPod is down to about a 3-hour battery life after a year, and I know he's thinking of trading in for something else.
On a semi-related note, if you want to find out about non-iPod players, go to the manufacturer's web board. You'll learn a lot. In the case of the DJ, which as an owner of one I know something about, there are some plusses and minuses which are not in the early reviews. For example, you can now transfer both music and data off the DJ to your computer, and yes there is now an inline remote with an LCD. On the other hand, there have been some hard-drive problems (a "click-of-death"?) with the DJ which were bad enough that Dell went and got a new supplier for those drives. Good stuff to know if you're planning to buy, right? Remember, almost every review out there is out of date. Most players have more bugfixes or enhancements than those old reviews will mention.
Re: I can give it a shot... (Score:5, Informative)
1) The DDJ (arguably) isn't as well-designed as the iPod - it's uglier, and not as nice to use (this is highly subjective, obviously, but it's a widely-held view).
2) The DDJ doesn't play music from the iTMS (both because it doesn't support the file type, AAC - see below, and because it doesn't support Apple's DRM). It presumably does support DRM'ed WMA files from a number of other music download services, but the iTMS is arguably the best of the DRM'd download outfits, and the one people are most likely to already have music from anyway, given its 70% market share.
3) The DDJ doesn't support as many file types (MP3, WMA, and WAV for the DDJ, vs MP3, WAV, AAC, AIFF, Audible, and Apple Lossless for the iPod).
4) The DDJ is larger and heavier than any iPod (even the 15 GB DDJ is larger and heavier than the 40 GB iPod).
5) The most capacious DDJ holds 20 GB; the most capacious iPod holds twice that.
That said, the DDJ does have some indisputable advantages over the iPod (the aforementioned price and battery life), and for a Windows user who hasn't already started getting music from the iTMS, it's worth considering. I'd still rather have an iPod, though, because it's nicer to use and I'd rather have iTMS compatibility than compatibility with the various vendors of songs in WMA format. As things are right now, I not only already have a bunch of music from the iTMS, I'm also on the Mac, so the DDJ is right out for me. YMMV, as always.
Re: I can give it a shot... (Score:5, Funny)
Tim
Hmm... (Score:4, Insightful)
OMGWTFBBQ!!1!1!! (Score:5, Funny)
You mean the goal of their marketing is to SELL their PRODUCTS?! What kind of SATANIC FREAKS would do a thing like THAT?! I always thought marketing was supposed to be a purely selfless PUBLIC SERVICE!
But can the Dell unit seamlessly plug into a BMW? (Score:5, Funny)
First post on
Dell offering $100 rebate if you turn in your BMW (Score:3, Funny)
Re:You forgot the rest of your sentence (Score:5, Funny)
Not so great..... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Not so great..... (Score:5, Insightful)
Note that I'm far from a Dell fan.
Re:Not so great..... (Score:2)
A remote for your portable music player? What's next? A remote control for a flashlight?
Re:Rebates ... Dell (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Rebates ... Dell (Score:4, Informative)
What BS (Score:5, Insightful)
Typical marketspeak. It just has to contain a lot of "good words" like plusses, drive, offer...it doesn't have to mean anything.
It just makes them look desperate more than anything else. Come out with a superior product, and people will automatically aware of the "plusses" they have to offer.
Re:What BS (Score:5, Interesting)
Historically, this has not been true... VHS/Betamax is a classic example, but any product can fall victim to superior marketing by the competition. Dell is just taking a shot at the marketing angle. MS has done pretty well with similar tactics and the iPod is well entrenched from a marketing viewpoint. Heck, Linux has faced some tough roads due to the marketing of an inferior product.
If a product is well advertised, performs *well enough*, and is priced well, it tends to attract the bulk of the market. Perhaps you saw through the marketing or perhaps you are just playing the anti-Dell sentiments
Regardless of the quality of their device, Dell *must* market it to even have a chance against the iPod. And if they are able to market it well, it's entirely possible that they might displace the iPod. Remember, most people aren't automatically aware of anything...
Helpful hint #2 (Score:5, Informative)
Or... (Score:2, Insightful)
Keep the iPod (Score:3, Interesting)
Helpful tip: If you have a dead iPod, do the rebate offer, and sell the Jukebox on eBay.
While some may criticize this "editorial" on the Slashdot front page, I completely agree with it. For me, the iPod is a completely natural, easy to use, very functional portable music player. I carry it with me everywhere I go - on the bus to work, on trips, even when hanging out at the lake (just not in the water.)
Keep your iPod - dump the DJ.
Here's a better deal... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Here's a better deal... (Score:2)
So you'll take my 2 broken iPods and hand me $200 cash? What a deal!
Re:Here's a better deal... (Score:2)
Re:Here's a better deal... (Score:2)
Same place where the "Unintentional Irony" mod is... +1 or -1?
And if it isn't broken... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:And if it isn't broken... (Score:5, Funny)
Business Plan (Score:3, Funny)
Step 2: Buy crappy Dell player from Dell w/ rebate
Step 3: Sell crappy Dell player on eBay for more than purchase price of dead iPod + crappy Dell player
Step 4: Profit!!!
Lather, rinse, repeat
Re:Business Plan (Score:2)
But DJ is selling for less on eBay (Score:2)
Re:Business Plan (Score:2)
What should Apple's next move be? (Score:2, Interesting)
who is paying for this? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:who is paying for this? (Score:5, Funny)
All hail the King!
who is this really for? (Score:5, Insightful)
As an iPod owner (and a former owner of several other mp3 players), I think this plan is not going to accomplish much for Dell.
Think about it, nobody has ever said you should by an iPod for it's low cost. On the contrary, it's just about the most expensive player on the market. So who buys one? People who want to be trendy (Apple is way trendier than Dell), and people who want the best mp3 player out there (not trying to start a flame war here, but the iPod interface is head and shoulders above the rest). So by offering free shipping, free songs, etc., I don't see how Dell will be able to woo very many people away from an iPod (even if it's a dead iPod).
For the people who want the least expensive player out there, or who don't really mind the lesser interfaces of the other players, I don't see that crowd having bought an iPod in the first place, so they won't be affected by this offer either.
This leaves me wondering, who this offer is really targeted at? It sounds more like a PR stunt designed to steal some of Apple's thunder for owning the digital music player market.
Flames? Here's some (Score:2, Interesting)
not trying to start a flame war here, but the iPod interface is head and shoulders above the rest
No, you FEEL that the iPod interface is head and shoulders above the rest. I've read in places that the Rio Karma UI is better, or equivalent, to the iPod.
Re:Flames? Here's some (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:who is this really for? (Score:3, Insightful)
Dell just wants cheap iPods (Score:2, Funny)
Dell admitting they aren't as good (Score:5, Insightful)
That's kinda funny. First they are nice and vague saying "the plusses we have to offer", but then they go on saying "what separates us from the understood leader". So...to paraphrase..."trade in your superior product for our inferior one. thank you"
Re:Dell admitting they aren't as good (Score:2)
They don't even have a picture of the DJ that's large enough to enable me to understand how its controls work,
Betting time! (Score:5, Funny)
How about a hundred?
Three?
Bueller?
Re:Betting time! (Score:2)
No takers, I guess.
Unlikely to get many takers (Score:3, Interesting)
What happens to iPods when they die? (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm kinda curious - I'm guessing that Dell is destroying these to take them off the market.
side note: I used to work at a big music store (headquartered in MN) that would destroy thousands of perfectly good pianos and organs to take them off the market, so they could sell more electronic and upright pianos. Can't find a 25 dollar 'you move it' piano in Minneapolis? Thats why..
Re:What happens to iPods when they die? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:What happens to iPods when they die? (Score:3, Informative)
I thought I had killed mine by dropping several times. I was able to reset it each time though. If you still have it, did you try to reset it?
Re:What happens to iPods when they die? (Score:3, Informative)
The pianos and organs go in a warehouse and wait their turn for destruction. They are destroyed so there are less pianos and organs available in the local market that are between 1-1000 dollars.
When someone decides to have their kid take piano lessons, or a church/senior center/hockey rink needs an organ there aren't
there's an easier way (Score:3, Funny)
Only dead iPods will apply..... (Score:5, Informative)
Cheers!
Erick
Re:Only dead iPods will apply..... (Score:3, Insightful)
This dell/ipod makes no sense. I mean really, is there one person here that would trade a working ipod for a $100 coupon towards anything dell makes? Even if Apple didn't have such a loyal following, on engineering alone the ipod wins. Add in the fact that music from the iTunes music store IFAIK won't download to anything but an iPod and this is a pretty stupid offer. It's like asking a Mac user to switch from OS X to Windows XP. Wha
8-10 weeks (Score:2, Informative)
"The offer ends on 11 August. Buy then and you might get your cash in the first week of October."
Size - ebay - trade-in (Score:5, Informative)
iPod mini: 59
iPod: 100
Dell DJ: 156
The DJ is 164% larger than the Mini and 56% larger than the 3rd generation iPod.
If your iPod still works, keep it or sell it on eBay. Then dump the DJ on ebay
If it is broken, Dell is the way to go.
Sleazy Dell strikes again (Score:3, Insightful)
This is just like the "trade in any film camera, get $x off a digital camera" where x is a function of the price of the new camera and has nothing to do with the dead film one (disposables don't count).
Dell can have my iPod (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Dell can have my iPod (Score:5, Informative)
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
hmm.. new iPod? (Score:3, Funny)
..... in order to afford a new iPod?
I like the way you work, Dell.
Brilliant plan (Score:5, Funny)
Trade in your Porsche for a Focus (Score:3, Funny)
Wow - not only a Dell DJ (Score:2)
I have a dead iPod, but still not a good deal (Score:5, Interesting)
I could buy a Dell DJ for $200, get the $100 rebate, and sell the DJ on eBay for about $170, so I'd net $70.
Once I subtract that from the cost of my new 20GB iPod, the iPod would be $300 (I get an education discount).
I could also just send the iPod to Apple and get everything fixed for $250 flat fee.
Now, which one do you think I'm going to pick?
Rebate (Score:5, Funny)
Man I just threw away mine too.
Joke all you want, it's all fun and games till someone looses an iPod.
I'd do it except for one thing.... (Score:2, Interesting)
If they could design it so it looks at least halfway decent, then it'd be a possiblity. It looks so darn cheap with the buttons and all. Am I the only one who thinks this way?!?!?
DELL Support will quickly remove any discount (Score:2)
Add your own horror story, but I recommend avoiding Dell if your time is worth much. I know I'll never choose them again.
Note that the Dell won't play your music... (Score:5, Informative)
Bah! "Free" (Score:3, Insightful)
It's not free, it's included in the price. Just like buy one get one free is really just a half off sale with a catch (you can't just buy one half off). Advertisers push that "free" crap to make you thin you're getting something for nothing even though they still make a profit. Hey, Free Beer! (you just have to drink it out of a $10 cup).
maybe the original 5GB iPod... (Score:5, Funny)
And on fire...
Where's Ellen Feiss when you need her? (Score:5, Funny)
So with the $100, I bought a pink iPod mini. Life is good again. My name is Ellen Feiss. I'm a switcher.
can Apple send in dead iPods? (Score:3, Funny)
I wonder how much money Dell loses when it sells a DJ Jukebox for $100?
I know if *I* was running Apple, I'd certainly try to take advantage of this fabulous offer!
Re:can Apple send in dead iPods? (Score:5, Funny)
Fence your stolen iPods (Score:3, Insightful)
Offer has problems with it. (Score:3, Insightful)
I'd rather die before using the visual abortion that is windows media player. (pre iTunes, i muchly perferred winamp, as it wasn't a under optimised clutterific splendor of crap that WMP has built itself to be.)
Also i'd like a product that actually has a continuing development cycle, that has shown that customer feedback, technological advances and hardware flaw identification make design changes in new revisions. Not just a competitors fickle attempt at duplicating a market.
Dell's philosophy to market research is seeing what other people are doing that makes money and photocopying it. So as proven by history, they'll have whatever new toys other companies have.. just 2 years later, and in some cheap metallic or blue plastic
The final problem is that I'd have to actually use a Dell DJ, ever used one? It's a nuclear winter of discontentment.
Finally since I've had my iPod for several years now fault free I don't see any reason to give it up. (10GB model..) I was even using it on my old PC with XPod software for windows. I've personally had no battery issues with mine. Out of 3 Million iPods sold, a very small % happen to have the dreaded battery issue, hardly a reason to jump ship to a product still in it's first (and probably last) cycle.
This is good and all, but... (Score:3, Interesting)
I could care less for an MP3 player that I need to recompile my kernel, fetch some obscure CLI app, and basically treat it as a USB drive.
Re:thats a bit low (Score:5, Insightful)
I for one don't see a problem with it. It's not as if Dell is holding guns to people's heads demanding they hand over their iPods.
Re:thats a bit low (Score:3, Informative)
A Little DELL History (Re:thats a bit low) (Score:5, Informative)
If anybody would understand about trade-in, reselling and buying a new iPod, wouldn't it be Michael Dell?
Re:thats a bit low (Score:2)
On a more serious note, this is just regular business practice, everyone does it... Where is the big deal?
Re:thats a bit low (Score:2)
Re:thats a bit low (Score:5, Interesting)
Pretty much every company in this field offers a mail-in rebate (often times as much as the original purchase price) for our devices if you send in any competitors device.
We regularly box up the devices that are sent to us and ship them back to their original manufacturer so that they know to take those devices out of their support database and to kind of "rub it in their faces" that we've had X number of their customers switch to our product (they do the same to us).
Since most companies in this field release a new device every 8 - 16 months, and there are numerous companies in the field, many consumers have got in the habit of buying a kit from company A, using it until all the test strips are gone, then buying a kit from company B and sending in the device from company A for the rebate, which is later used to buy the latest device from company C, and so on.
At one time, the department I was in was doing competetive analysis and had to buy about 30 meters from one of our biggest competitors. At the time they were offering a $50 mail in rebate. We dug up 30 of our meters that were defective (knowing full well we'd get them back in a few months) and used them to submit the rebates, all of which was used for one kick-ass dinner party a few months later.
Since then, many companies (including us) have changed the rules about mail-in rebates, limiting them to one per household per year, etc. to try and establish a bit more brand loyalty.
Re:thats a bit low (Score:5, Insightful)
Pretty much every company in this field offers a mail-in rebate (often times as much as the original purchase price) for our devices if you send in any competitors device.
We regularly box up the devices that are sent to us and ship them back to their original manufacturer so that they know to take those devices out of their support database and to kind of "rub it in their faces" that we've had X number of their customers switch to our product (they do the same to us).
I can say for a fact that this does not happen in the computer industry. Companies like IBM, HP, and Sun realize that if they leave trade-in equipment in circulation, it will just end up on eBay somewhere, where it will be competing against their own salespeople for new revenue. For this reason, any competitive trade ins are always destroyed. There's no point in sending it back to the original manufacturer who will only remanufacture it and resell it. Why would we give money to our competitors.
I suggest your company should strongly consider doing the same. Don't you know that your competitors probably have the ability to refurbish or remanufacture their own equipment and sell it to people again?
Re:thats a bit low (Score:5, Informative)
Aside from the obvious "rub it in their faces", it is actually useful to know which devices are out of circulation so that in the event of (heaven forbid) a medical device recall, you won't waste millions of dollars trying to track down devices that people have already traded in.
Re:thats a bit low (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Brilliant (Score:2)
I've seen other mp3 players out there, but none really stand up to the ipod..
Re:Brilliant (Score:3, Insightful)
The result is win-win for the consumer because, assuming the Dell players are nice in their own merit...
Big assumption there. If the Dell DJ was any good, they wouldn't need a stunt like this to gain market share.
I'm sure Steve Jobs is laughing his head off over this.
Re:Brilliant (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Brilliant (Score:5, Interesting)
I fail to see how Apple has a monopoly in the mp3 player market - there are hundreds of other players out there, and any one of those manufacturers is free to go make their own deal with the RIAA.
This is shown by Napster, Rhapsody, buymusic.com, etc. The reason it might *look* like a monopoly is that these other mp3 players and services suck *and* blow.
I don't see Apple leveraging their marketshare to keep others from joining the fun - I believe Steve has said the equivalent of 'Bring it on'. This is not a case of MS keeping other OSes off of the desktop (BeOS and Toshiba), by threatening the OEMS with removal of price breaks....