ONLINE shoppers armed with new iPods and iTunes gift cards overwhelmed Apple's music store over Christmas, prompting long delays for downloads of a single song.
Frazzled users began posting urgent help messages on Christmas Day and Boxing Day on Apple's technical forum for iTunes.
They complained they were not allowed into the "store" or were being told the system could not download songs and videos.
It was not immediately clear how many people were affected and Apple Computer would not comment on what caused the slowdown and whether it had been fixed.
Analysts said the problems were probably caused by too many people trying to use the site at once - at some points over Christmas, four times as many as usual.
Some financial analysts said the delays could be a sign that sales of iPods and the like had dramatically exceeded Apple's own forecasts.
Apple commands about 75 per cent of the market for downloaded music, but could lose as much as five per cent of that market share in 2007 because of increased competition from rivals.
Error messages
Dan Frakes, a senior editor at Macworld magazine and
www.playlistmag.com
, a website focused on digital music, said he and some colleagues were unable to access the iTunes store or received error messages when they tried to download songs early this week.
However, others breezed through the process hassle-free and Frakes successfully downloaded songs later.
He said the problem was probably not as widespread as the grumbles of some frustrated new customers suggested.
"The store itself was working, there was just too much traffic," he said. "It's a good bet that most people were able to get through."
Analysts said they did not anticipate a rash of iPod returns because of the delays.
"What you're seeing is the tremendous success of the iPod," said Michael Gartenberg, vice-president and research director with JupiterResearch.
"No doubt it was a very, very popular gift.
"No matter how well you plan on the server side of the equation, there are always times when you get caught short."
ARE you a new iPod owner experiencing problems accessing services? Have your say.
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Showing comments 1 to 25 and replies | View All
Frederic Landreville, Switzerland (28/12/2006 at 14:40)
Lauren, Baltimore (28/12/2006 at 15:15)
edd, holland (28/12/2006 at 16:07)
john, san francisco (28/12/2006 at 16:25)
Nicolle, Virginia (28/12/2006 at 16:41)
People expect things to beup at 100% all the time, but the same thing happens all the time to all sorts of companies. Dont return your iPod because you had a problem on one day. Have a little bit of PATIENCE and it will be rewarded.
:-)
Roman, Vancouver, BC , Canada (28/12/2006 at 19:00)
JB, Kauai Hawaii (28/12/2006 at 21:20)
No big deal-- we got in the next day.
Jacqueline Kolakowski, Los Alamos, NM (28/12/2006 at 21:31)
George, London (28/12/2006 at 22:10)
sandie, australia (28/12/2006 at 22:18)
It took hours to work out what was wrong when I first connected it. We had an error message that had a quick solution in the forums.
We then tried to connect to the store, it times out continually.
I noticed the boards and comments about the ipod store and realised that their service was currently being given a real test and have decided to simply wait paitently to use my daughter's gift cards to purchase songs.
Luckily she has a million cd's and I have satisfied her initial needs by choosing which songs to load from them.
mark, York, PA (28/12/2006 at 22:28)
Joey Bock, Raleigh, NC (28/12/2006 at 22:45)
mvpcarl, Buffalo, NY (29/12/2006 at 00:15)
Robert Selson, Manchester (29/12/2006 at 01:32)
Janice, Washington (29/12/2006 at 06:32)
TimT, LA (29/12/2006 at 16:06)
But since this is the first time I've ever see things like this, I wouldn't fault Apple for the problem. Downloads are bandwidth heavy, Apple sold more iPods over the holidays than ever before and everyone wanted their music on one day... Traffic jam. It's no big deal to wait till an off time to do the downloading.
Jay, NY, USA (29/12/2006 at 17:56)
Lynn, Austin, Texas (29/12/2006 at 17:57)
ginger clit, Virginhole, Mo (29/12/2006 at 23:10)
jz, De (30/12/2006 at 10:25)
The other thing I don't like about Apple is that they are deceptive liars. They got caught 4 years ago lying about their Apple computers were the fastest and were forced to pull their TV ads. I used to love Apple when they were in their heyday, but not now.
Just this week they were caught faking documents. Just google it. They always would say, "Think different" in order to fool the non technical people (who wish they were) into buying Apples. Giving credit where it is due, the iPod was quite a nice gadget when it came out, BUT there are better players on the market now!
For example I just bought a Creative Zen Vision M player. It plays just about everything including MP3's directly. It has movies and the onboard sound quality is better than Apples.. I admit no one will probably hear this improvement, but Creative Labs uses really good quality hardware. Apple refuses to post the specs on their signal to noise ratio and it's no wonder.. They have something to hide. The only thing you can't play in the Zen are tunes from Ipod unless you convert them.. But remember that the stupid Ipod format was invented so that Apple could have a monopoly on the music.
Creative isn't doing this.. It's simply supported what already existed. I figure some Apple freak will probably attack me or my ideas, but hey, I'm used to it. I'm only suggesting that people at least go to the shops and try out a Zen or other new player before buying an Ipod. Don't buy an Ipod just because everyone bought one.. THINK, people think. Good luck and Happy New Year!
chapq, USA (30/12/2006 at 13:19)
Two i-books we purchased last summer had serious problems with spontaneous shutdowns. We racked our brains, brought them 30 miles back to the store to talk with "geniuses" a couple of times with no findings at all. They too wre not informed by the company. A few months later they advised us of a new update which solved the problem.
Very self-centered and unfair of Apple. Never again?
J, Santa Cruz, CA (30/12/2006 at 19:46)
Oh Bee Wan, Havana (30/12/2006 at 23:22)
toby, london (04/01/2007 at 22:22)
Had problem after problem and it is just not worth it since downloading itunes have had 2 spywares detected 1 virus and sportjoy casino keeps trying to open ahhhhhhhhhhhh whats that all about ? i dont gamble online !!!usb device not recognised but in my computer it shows ok ,problem after problem after problem etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc
I GIVE UP
ITS GOING BACK,
please take my advice and surf the web for ipod problems before you part with your cash.
my advice is DONT BUY AN IPOD but thats upto you.
good luck.
WHY WHY WHY Cant apple make an MP3/4 player that works normally and normal players do normally work in my experience unlike tha CRAPPLE IPOD
Laugh Out Loud, Budapest (05/01/2007 at 12:21)