With regard to Apple and B&O... Except (some) design they have nothing in common.

Both appeal to completely different markets. No matter how you turn it.. Apple's intention is to sell to a broad market; a market much larger then B&O can handle. If Apple would take over B&O then the core values of B&O are completely lost! B&O is a niche player... where Apple is at this point becomming the 5th largest computer manufacturer.  B&O is exclusive.. Apple is not. Before you all start flaming... Look on the street. How many iPhones? How many iPods?... Look at press conferences.. How many Apple MacBooks? Nothing exclusive about it.

dilznik wrote:

What I would do.  It's not pretty.

1. Build it in China to spec.  Keep them under the thumb to produce the stuff B&O designs up to B&O standard.  The Chinese have terrible designs (Huawei routers, Great Wall cars) but given instruction they produce great product (Apple, the shoes I'm wearing).  In other words, they're modern slave labor and are happy to do it for pennies.  Win-win.

2. Drop prices to reflect savings by having production in China.

3. Expand product line to include something for everyone.  And by everyone I mean the common man.  People like me.  One subwoofer that's overkill for people in apartments and looks like my dragon killing 6-sided die from when I was 12?  Impractical.  Computer speakers for $1000?  I don't care if they spit out gold coins randomly, no computer speakers will ever be worth $1000.  Not even the B&W MM-1 will cost $1000.  If you have a high end well made product like B&O that lasts umpteen years before you need to replace it, then you have no repeat business.  You all already have the stuff.  You probably don't need much more of it.  B&O thus needs some else to go into the shop and buy something.  And the world is running out of rich people who still need a stereo.

Before you cry about the masses and exclusivity, look what happened when BMW made the 1 series, when Apple made the Mini, when Paul Reed Smith started making the SE guitar line (in Korea).  The average shlub could buy their product and feel good about themselves for half the price of the "good" versions.  All of these companies are better off for it.

4. Bring back sales in shops that aren't B&O stores.  Have the nice clean, sterile B&O shops, sure.  But sell the stuff in Macy's and online from J&R.  Have a website that'll let people who live 1000 miles from a shop buy something online.

5. Make the TVs upgradable.  What's my motivation to buy a BV7-32 that's already obsolete? The TVs were fine in the CRT days when CRT hit the ceiling as far as you could go with it.  These days there's some big new thing every 6 months.  Bigger!  Faster! 100hz!  200hz!  LED!  In three years when I replace my brand new Samsung, the technology advancements in LCD TVs will make me laugh that I ever thought the thing was cool.

6. Advertise better.  You know who knows about B&O outside of us?  No one.  Look at Bose.  They make speakers out of plastic and paper.  And they're laughing all the way to the bank.  That is marketing genius in action.

7. Sell the company to Apple.

As said before, you can´t really appreciate B&O and it´s products, coming with suggestions as above. 

Two quick points.

5. This is like comparing Porsche to a Kia. No in 2 years a 2010 Kia won´t be cool, in 50 years the Porsche still will. 

I still think BeoVision 5 and the Avant is supercool sets, a B&O television is NEVER obsolete. The focus point should be just that, you don´t have to upgrade your TV every 2 years, a 10 year old B&O is still great. That is a point worth nurturing in a world that should focus on sustainability. 

If upgrading your TV every year and having access to twitter in your remote is your thing, B&O probably isn´t for you. 

7. Of course Apple will never buy B&O! What would be the point of that? It would gain neither of the companies, as mentioned above, since they have absolutely nothing in common. 

Bayerische, you say:

"Well if Apple was 5-10 times the cost of a PC, as Beovisions are to their competition, I wouldn't buy Macs. They're good, but not that good. Nothing is worth 5-10 times the competition. Apple is about 1,5 to 2 times more expensive than the PC equivalent. If Beovisions where the same, or even 3 times more expensive I wouldn't hesitate.

But you use a Rolex avatar. Is that the exception that proves the rule?

B&O pricing is high but not too high for the market it aims as long as it gets the product desirability right.

bno buy apple ?

lol

bno are minnows compared to apple

apple could prob buy most of denmark if they wanted

TripEnglish wrote:

cooldude wrote:

Samsung will release  remote like that with its UNC9000 range of LED screens ... you can even stream a video feed to it (like an iphone)

How cool is that ?

 

Not cool at all. Utterly pointless and an example of how new technology has to be "digested" before it becomes genuinely useful and not just a gimmick.

TripEnglish, I am sorry but you're totally wrong on that one, IMO.

Most logitech and philips universal remotes now have touch screens and easy programming for years... what's your problem with that ?
All I want is a beo remote that basically is a beo 5 in a beo4 format that is user friendly and easy programmable.

Even you will have to admit that the Beo5 is an utter disaster and needs continuous channel programming ? Ridiculous if you buy an 800$ remote that needs 200$ of programming every 6 months to bring it up to date ....

And why not give it some extra capabilities like wifi communication ? The technology is cheap and available.
I think in this tech world alot of possibilities can be created with it...even ones not thought of yet....would also attract a new (younger?) clients.

pentalex wrote:

Why is point 1 & 2 fake?

Beolab 4 made in Japan.....

Beotime made in Czech. Rep....

Now you pay for Danisch quality and they make it in low-cost countries, that's fake!

Absolutely agree !!!!

For a Danish made premium product all assembly should be in Denmark!!! No exceptions.
However I have no problem with most of the parts being made elsewhere as long as the design, final assembly and quality control is done in Denmark.

Wow, this blew up.  Let's get started here.

Giang Nguyen wrote:

This proves that you are not B&O fan and do not know anything about B&O.. All idea is stupid... I am sorry for saying that, but all your idea will kill B&O faster and faster. 

Because:

1&2: this is "fake" product , althought price is cheaper. Evenmore, the quality is standard, but customer will think in his mind that "quality is  more and more reduced"

Yes, because building it in Czech Republic is just like building it in Denmark whereas building it in China is not.  They could build it in Vietnam and not only make a great product cheaply, but it would save on shipping costs to you.

3: Just like Japanese company. B&O will become Sony, Panasonic...Hihi

Sony uses Samsung TV panels... like B&O.  And yet they don't fret about the direction of their company. I doubt Panasonic does either.

4: Why B&O have to do this, while all firm wish to have a distribution system like B&O?

Because people who live in cities that don't have B&O shops might want equipment too.  Because people might think that the guys who work the B&O shops in their towns are tools and they'd rather deal with someone else.  Because being in more places means being in front of more potential customers.

5: Do you dare to buy biggest TV of BO?

I'm not sure what you're implying here but I assume you mean the 103" plasma is the latest and greatest.  The 103" Panasonic that was released and mass marketed 3 years ago?  You do know that Panasonic's new 103" Plasma is 3-D right?  You lose.

6: Why to advertise when BO is already famous and No.1 brandname?

Right.

7: How you can compare Apple with B&O? I suggest that BO should by Apple . Because they can, but Apple can not.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

*inhale*

HAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

alenvprekrsku wrote:

Please B&O stay as a European company. I don`t like to see the label: made in PRC or Apple

Well, you know... if they are Danish owned and built the boards and plastic in China or Korea or where ever... they'd still be a European company right?  You know... Apple is still an American company, right?  Every 3 series BMW in North America is made in America and every X5 and Z4 in the world is made in America, too, yet BMW is still a German company, right? 

Hardwriter wrote:

B&O pricing is high but not too high for the market it aims as long as it gets the product desirability right.

Quite true. For me, the desirability of the product is not anymore right. And therefore, the price is too much.

B&O for me is about design, sound quality, picture quality, usability and interoperability. Design is there even though some are getting old. Sound quality is ok, even though not high-end (BL5 being exception). Video picture quality is great, but this is specially area where progress is being made at very fast pace. B&O doesn't seem to be able to keep up with the sharpest offering out there.

But the the usability and interoperability are really in danger: as outlined in this thread (and elsewhere within these forums), B&O has different logics on different systems and isn't working with any other makes as it doesn't use industry standards. Seems that many users here are comfortable with stereo and analog sounds... I would say that the protocols that are used in the networks are the cables and plugs/connectors/jacks of today. It is like not using RCA or DIN connectors but something else that isn't available anywhere else.

And, good grief, if what you wrote about Beo5 is true! That is being advertised as one of the most significant designs coming out from B&O. The design itself is fine, but if you really have to go to the store to get it programmed!?! I don't have Logitech, but AFAIK, you just connect it to the PC and use some browser based software to download codes for any device. Even the touch makes me suspicious.. it's being marketed as using designs from Nasa and to be honest, it sounds like it would not be that good in practice so it needs some backing up: "Yes, it really is very good because Nasa blah blah blah". It's unfortunate that B&O isn't using touch more. My dad still has the 9300 (CD is broken as it seems to be the case with many of those) and that had touch sensitive glass with context sensitive menus years before Apple had anything. I also like the touch on BeoCenter 2. But UI wise, it is still the same as on 9300. And now the Beo5 seems not to be that exiting at all. I don't want to stream videos to my remote, and I don't think B&O should create a remote that looks like iPod Touch, but it really is lacking something (in addition to the programmability). What? I'm not sure. It has surprising design, but maybe it's lacking magic.

B&O is also about magic: the red glowing context sensitive touch buttons on the 9300, sliding doors when the hand comes close, the opening of BC2, dimming lights, etc. Where is the magic on current designs? Beo5 - maybe Apple has commoditized magic on touch devices. So I guess that in that sense B&O should continue to pursue the magic from hardware. BS5 doesn't have magic in that sense, but it has magical design!

BTW, I have to comment about the desired market ... when I was young, the B&O catalogs featured architects and design. Now they seem to feature doctors with chalets and Astons. I feel that the direction is away from being a maker of quality products with great design to being a maker for the hugely rich. The direction in pricing reflects this. This isn't necessarily contradicting good design... but I think the values are changing.

Karel Uyttendaele wrote:

With regard to Apple and B&O... Except (some) design they have nothing in common.

That wasn't my point.  My point was if Apple bought it, they'd cut the fluff, keep the good, use the core technology to make good products, market it so well you'd think they could sell ice to eskimos, and probably make the company oodles of cash.

I'm going to take time out from my reply-fest here to point something out.  If the company is in business, they will make products you like.  If they make cheaper stuff to sell to the common man and those things sell well, the company will have money and stay in business.  If the company is in business, they will make products you like.  Do you not understand this?  Are you so wrapped up in having something awesome that no one else has that you would rather the company goes under than to have some jerk with $100 for a pair of headphones or $300 for computer speakers to have a product with the same badge as yours?

If so buy a MacIntosh tube amp.  Then I will be impressed by your exclusivity.  Well, no I won't but you'll be more exclusive anyway.