Flappo was actually making a very valid point! He's a passionate, well informed, well read guy!

Apple are quality, certainly will never become mainstream, we've got Samsung for that. B&O and Apple compliment each other very well. Both are bought by non-conformists who love design, quality, attention to detail and something a little different! It's just that after Chris's experience with the BeoLit12, there'll be a lot less of us buying the B&O...

Guys, no being mean please OR you'll have me to answer to and I certainly don't stand for any nonsense!

Pestria wrote:

I wonder if a better approach would have been to adopt the old strategy of using a hidden airport express type 'black' box for the electronics with an optional front end (wheel, remote) available in a variety of colours/finishes with appropriate costs.

That would have been an approach that is consistent with the past (MCL82, BeoLine, BeoPort, BeoActive and to some extent BeoLink Wireless are all examples here in my home right now - oh well I fibbed, the MCL is retired),

So your suggestion is a good approach and does allow us to unleash the interior decorator lurking within us all (just take a look at what Leslie has done to his 6000s with a pair of pink tights!)

However I have been wondering why B&O did not do that ....

1. simplified packaging ?
2. simplified assembly ?
3. better margins ?
4. or ... with the modern demographic is there an issue that the customer set they were targeting live in rented apartments (no drilling allowed), they more more often (don't want the fuss of drilling)
5. or ... even if they live in houses they would prefer not to have construction work simply to get a spare pair of speakers working in the guest room

Probably 1, 2 and 3.

I dont think drilling and construction would have been an issue, after al lthere will need to be power and speaker leads connected to the unit anyway

AP

Paul W wrote:

Both are bought by non-conformists who love design, quality, attention to detail and something a little different! 

I think Apple lost that stigma circa 2003. They are now very much mainstream. Just about every kid owns an iPhone. Nearly everyone plumps for an iPad over an Android device.

If you want to join the masses, the masses are now buying Apple. Hence all the retail stores.

Indeed, you could now argue that non-conformists would be those who buy a Windows Phone-based device.

moxxey wrote:

I think Apple lost that stigma circa 2003. They are now very much mainstream. Just about every kid owns an iPhone. Nearly everyone plumps for an iPad over an Android device.

If you want to join the masses, the masses are now buying Apple. Hence all the retail stores.

Indeed, you could now argue that non-conformists would be those who buy a Windows Phone-based device.

Very true, but it isn’t very funny. After using a NeXTdimension as a workstation for years, a PowerBook, two MacBook Pro models and since sometime now a Mac Pro the very dominant influence of iDevices and the iOS even on the Mac as well Mac OS X drives me increasingly crazy. I would very much like a real alternative to Apple products but I just cannot find one being universally able to replace the (still better) Cupertino mafia. I do not appreciate at all their values (friends of mine were working for them and the climate there is far away from the image they sell) or their incredibly closed ecosystem. So every – even little – success of B&O over Apple is very appreciated and if they fail with products like the Playmaker it honestly makes me very sad. Maybe there should be people like Clive Sinclair reinventing the IT business as Apple clearly doesn’t anymore. Steve Jobs disappeared last year and this for sure will show one day, most probably after the last prototypes he influenced are finally marketed.

Michael wrote:

elephant wrote:

I have read all the posts (up to Paul's) and was surprised that no one saw some similarities (except for the shape) with these recent Google leaks:

• link
• link
link

what with Microsoft announcing yet another attempt at getting into music distribution it seems like the pace is really hotting up.

I spent yesterday re-organising my AV/LAN world and afterwards had a box of audio cables, LAN cables, and mini-routers left over.

Can't wait for a product like this from B&O and I can start removing more wires and gaining greater flexibility.

Hi Elephant :). Honestly I really am sad to see that all Google does today is copy. They where innovating, now they just duplicate. The streaming box, what is that? A crippled Apple TV combined with the features of Spotify. And the speakers look nothing more than any speaker in any hifi-store. 
Nothing interesting for me at least :) 

Does it run android ? If so best of luck with usability . 

I got a free Samsung tab in the post the other day , ironic as I sent the tv back . Lol.

Its probably the most over complicated piece of junk I've used in ages. Thank god for the iPad.

From the horrors of the AirPlay problem on the BeoLit12 i'm wondering if the PlayMaker thing is going to have the same problem.  So its a thousand times nastier looking than the nice new Apple Airport and 4 times dearer and probably won't work half as well.   Ah well some Bang&olufsen customers will buy it!

Paul W wrote:

From the horrors of the AirPlay problem on the BeoLit12 i'm wondering if the PlayMaker thing is going to have the same problem.  So its a thousand times nastier looking than the nice new Apple Airport and 4 times dearer and probably won't work half as well.   Ah well some Bang&olufsen customers will buy it!

The Playmaker is featured in the latest Stuff magazine. As always, they tried to make light out of the device by saying they confused it for a smoke alarm.