I just had an idea:
An artist, say a musician, a "drawer", a writer, etc, could load all of his digitalizable works onto an iPad, plus a selection of exclusive new works for this purpose. Then sign it on the back, and sell it for, say, $800 or $3,000, depending on how bankable his name and signature is.
The 'pad also works as a picture frame and can stand on a shelf and show a slideshow or whatever, as an object d'art.
Of course the device itself will become obsolete within a few years, but I think many can live with that. If it dies after the warrenty period, the artist can offer to replace it for only the price of a new one plus S/H.
Maybe he can even sell regular upgrades every couple of years as he makes new work. Or he could make different "volumes" instead of putting everything onto a single pad.
I'm considering making a Domai pad. It could come with an exclusive collection plus a several-years membership, which can be accessed on the pad itself or on another device. Maybe priced at $800 or 900.
And of course such a thing would still have the full functionality and thus value of a normal iPad.
One issue is how to take payment. My usual biller can't take it for physical items, and Paypal won't work with "adult" material.
hello,
ReplyDeleteI have seen overstock.com use paypal for adult items. Something you might look into.
Remember the U2 edition iPod. I seem to remember that the music wasn't preloaded, but you could add it at a discount.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a reasonable idea though.
Do you really want to get into the game of 'engineered obsolescence' that almost all hardware seems to involve? There's also the problem of what's available where, and why not.
ReplyDeleteIt could be a can of worms.
Why limit your self to the iPad? Just load load up some removable memory and let the user decide on the appliance. I don't know about iPad, but most picture frames, computers, etc. handle jpeg OK.
ReplyDeleteWell, it's just a beautiful package.
ReplyDeletePswaba: thanks.
It does not seem Overstock sells anything with nude pictures though?
It's not 'engineered obsolescence', it's unavoidable obsolescence. You just can't build it better for the price, today.
ReplyDeleteI was just trying to suggest that it might not be a great idea to tie your product to someone else's technology, which you can't control.
ReplyDelete...and, as I read in the papers of today: Apple is looking for contents for its iPad.
ReplyDeleteI think perhaps that you may be missing part of the reason that people pay a premium price for something that they wish to keep, and that is simple pleasure in ownership, which usually goes hand-in-fist with an object (an iPad) having enduring aesthetic appeal.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing that an iPad will not fall into this category unless you are of a mind that enjoys retro technology?
Also, I'd question whether someone will pay those sort of figures for sets of images that can be downloaded free? (yep, the entire collection, even Domai!)
Granted, you make mention of including 'exclusives' and updates, but perhaps lack of access to the 'exclusive' sets may hack off your site membership ... and invariably they, and the update will become freely available at some stage.
(Incidentally, I'm not necessarily condoning this 'free' downloading, just chippin' in with some thoughts :-) )
Beep,
ReplyDeleteCan you show us that article?
Could this be the story he refers to?
ReplyDeletehttp://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703523204575129862264704190.html
Thank you very much.
ReplyDeleteHmmm ... link was truncated, (WHY does it do that?) so run this lot together, as is, no spaces?
ReplyDeletehttp://online.wsj.com/
article/SB100014240527487035232045
75129862264704190.html
Or go to the Wall Street Journal online and search?:-)
Here in the US you can get a Google Checkout account and sell things via credit card. I don't know what the terms of service are.
ReplyDeleteI think selling photo or music art that is attached to a "think" is a great idea. The Beatles sell an Apple shaped USB memory stick full of songs. And there was a black and read U2 edition of the iPod for a while.
I wii, if I can find it back, I saw it somewhere on the Net (I believe) and it reminded me of your idea of a package with domai. I'll get back to you as soon as I can track down the article...
ReplyDelete@ Philocalist, I'm not sure if it was exactly the same article ("people familiar with the matter" mentioned in almost every paragraph sounds weird), but at least it could have stemmed from the same source.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link.
It was the German translation of the article...
ReplyDelete( iPad-Verkaufsstart: Apple sucht Inhalte fürs iPad
Die Präsentation war perfekt, Hunderttausende Vorbestellungen sind eingegangen und erstes Zubehör ist auch schon zu kaufen. Trotzdem könnte der Verkaufsstart in zwei Wochen zu früh kommen für Apple und das iPad: Die Kalifornier suchen noch Medienpartner, die das iPad mit Inhalt versorgen.)
Source: Financial Times
...which I was referring to. Needless to translate.
The key sentence (Die Kalifornier suchen...) translates as: "The Californians [ie Apple] are looking for media partners to fill the iPad with content."
Given the recent banning of all "adult" iPhone apps, i don't think Apple would be too keen on this. I agree with Kentg, if there were a way to let the customer choose, it'd be better, even if it's not in a beautiful package ;)
ReplyDelete