Is Apple in danger of losing its following?

When the iPhone first hit store shelves, Apple was on top of the world. But just a few months later, it’s amazing how quickly things have changed. Mac sales are still strong, but the iPhone has become the topic of heated debate, Apple has come under fire for dropping the iPhone price too early and too substantially, and its iTunes Store is under attack from content producers and new, formidable competitors.

This is a great article by Don Reisinger that I completely agree with. Apple is going to have to be very careful to ensure its next moves don’t push its currently loyal users over the edge!

(Via CNET.com)

Could it be that Apple has lost its touch and is doomed to follow the path of Microsoft–loved, highly regarded, then utterly hated? Will the Mac faithful finally lose confidence in the company it feels so strongly about? Even worse, will Apple’s two big moneymakers–the iPhone and iTunes–meet an early demise? It could happen.

The iPhone nightmare?

Since the iPhone’s release, I and over a million others rushed to stores to get our hands on the year’s hottest device. And while it may have done everything some people wanted, others found that while it was a great device, it needed additional functionality. For that reason, users began to hack the iPhone and make it do the things they wanted.

As I’ve mentioned before, there is certainly no crime in hacking an iPhone and as an avid AppTapp user, I’ve done it myself. And while Apple did not specifically threaten those people who hacked their iPhones, it did fire a warning shot at those who unlocked their iPhones in saying that a future software update will render an unlocked iPhone useless.

If Apple decides to follow through with this threat and release a software update that will “brick” the iPhone, the company should be ready for an extremely hostile user base and ramifications that will affect every device it produces. Some are naive enough to think that Apple can do no wrong and its cult following will stick with it through thick and thin, but I disagree. If Apple decides to brick iPhones, no one will be its friend.

So, Apple, if you want to play hardball, be my guest. But realize that if you follow through with this ridiculous threat and you become the company that bricks unlocked phones, you will surely face the wrath of a hostile public that doesn’t care about line 347 in your 100-page contract with AT&T and couldn’t care less if you owe AT&T money if unlocked iPhones are allowed. This public, including those people you rely on as the “buy anything and everything Apple,” will not stand by and take punches without throwing a few back. A bricked iPhone would be an opening salvo in a battle that you don’t want to fight.

iTunes under fire

To make matters worse for Apple, Amazon has officially unleashed its music download service, which is currently in public beta right now. And after using it for the last hour and downloading a handful of the 2 million songs available, I can say that it’s just as simple to use as iTunes. Even better, it allows you to download software that will take the MP3 and import it directly into your iTunes library. And if that wasn’t enough, some (but not all) songs are just 89 cents, instead of the 99 cents or $1.29 we pay on iTunes.

But perhaps one of the most compelling reasons to use this service is that it’s online and the songs are DRM-free. By simply surfing your way over to the site, you can peruse the selection of songs and download it in a matter of seconds. Much like iTunes, it’s simple and easy. But unlike iTunes, you can do what you want with the songs you buy, when you want.

iTunes is in deep trouble. As a person who owns three Macs and a Windows box that runs iTunes, I’m keenly aware of what the service offers and doesn’t offer. And while the Amazon service won’t let me download 24, it will let me own my music, and for a person who listens to all kinds of music on a number of different devices, that’s extremely important.

In just a few short months, a fairy tale could quickly become a nightmare. The iPhone–Apple’s ticket to the future–is in danger of being hated, and iTunes–the key to the iPod fortune–is facing a stiff competitor with enough traffic and capital in the bank to give it a run for its money. Could it be that the golden years of Apple are behind us and the dark days are coming on strong? I don’t know, but time will certainly tell.

See original article by Don Reisinger here.

See his previous related artcile here and Steve Job’s original comments here.