iPod Pricing and Future?

i see this happening, but not "as soon as humanly possible"


it is inevitable that the current 4gb model will drop in price, but my guess is that it will happen after there is a 6 or 8gb version released.

also- if this miniPod is good in high vibration environments, i can easily see Nike getting a branded version going... They did it with Rio, why not Apple?

This is just a gimme because everything goes down in price over time.
Unless it happens next month I wouldn't expect a price drop until a new iPod mini is released or it's 5 months old.

I think $249 is just a price for early adopters... after everyone who would buy one for $249 buys one, the pricew ill come down to where most peopelw ill buy it. It DOES need to come down.

The iPod mini seems like a good price compared with other players but not when you compare to the iPod! Bumping the low end normal iPod to 15 gigs didn't help this either!

Still, I would expect it to be $249 for the people who absolutely MUST be the first to get one, then for it to go down just a matter of weeks later.

I wonder what the damage will be when it goes on sale in the UK?

I'm going to the States for a geology fieldtrip at Easter - with the current exchange rate, everything in the US is very cheap so maybe I might bag one of these mini iPods. They will have only just come out in Britain by then anyway.

IMHO the iPod Mini is the future, in the sense that it is the form factor Apple will adopt as the *only* one for its new generation of iPod as soon as the smaller HD it uses will carry enough data to permit a fasing out of the "old" ff iPods.

In this logic it makes totally sense the licence given to HP to "produce" the "hPod": it will even more help Apple to show to customers how they still have "the edge"...

But Apple should at least have used the same docking station for the two models. Sometime they are REALLY cheapo in sucking the money off their loyal fan base...

Originally posted by ervinocus
But Apple should at least have used the same docking station for the two models. Sometime they are REALLY cheapo in sucking the money off their loyal fan base...

Click to expand...

same docking station? do you mean iPod vs. mini? or iPod vs HPiPod?

Originally posted by coumerelli
same docking station? do you mean iPod vs. mini? or iPod vs HPiPod?

Click to expand...

I mean the Mini vs the iPod "classical" (and so the hPod, I presume...). I'm really curious to hear a valid techical justification for the bases double standard...

Adam Smith says, "Hold your horses!"

The law of supply and demand is not indicating that prices will be dropping anytime soon.

The iPod is phenomenally popular and the iPod Mini and the HP-branded iPod are just getting out of the gate. I'd be hard-pressed to see any reason for Apple to lower the price (they could probably even get away with RAISING prices).

I'm listening to the Apple Financial Conference and I believe that I heard that iPods make a 20% margin while overall they operate at a 26-27% margin. I'm sure we'd all like to see cheaper iPods, but I don't see any real reason for that to happen.

Re: Adam Smith says, "Hold your horses!"

Originally posted by macFanDave
The law of supply and demand is not indicating that prices will be dropping anytime soon.

The iPod is phenomenally popular and the iPod Mini and the HP-branded iPod are just getting out of the gate. I'd be hard-pressed to see any reason for Apple to lower the price (they could probably even get away with RAISING prices).

I'm listening to the Apple Financial Conference and I believe that I heard that iPods make a 20% margin while overall they operate at a 26-27% margin. I'm sure we'd all like to see cheaper iPods, but I don't see any real reason for that to happen.

Click to expand...

It appears that the HP deal and the Mini will actually shrink the margins even more.

Might be time for a Page 4, Arn. Rumors of a 20% price drop before the product even ships. Give me a break.

Some speculation

To me, I think a price drop will come, but probably some time before it reacher 200. To get the remote&dock Mini costs $330. My guess is 229 without the stuff and 269 with remote&dock if they don't release Minis with different capacity.
In June, definitely after Minis ship internationally.

I am hoping that with the 15gb iPod that we see in the next month or so a 30gb replacing the 20gb, and a 60gb replacing the 40gb at the same price points.

I really want an iPod, but would be happier getting either a 30gb or 60gb at the same price points as the 20gb and 40gb.

I think this is much the same as the quote of wanting a $100 iPod in the last financial presentation.

Of course Apple want to hit these price sweet spots, but luckily for us they realise they must first ship the right product or lose their well earned reputation. I think the reason Apple is so aggressive in the music is due to the competing standards, they cant afford to be marginalised by all the wma proponents. Hence while the iPod is the thing of the moment they have to keep developing it and make the most of it. For once Apple is backing up their "innovation" ( I use to term to describe being earlier into the market than most, I realise they didnt design the portable hard drive music player but they did make it desirable) with big money and business sence.

GO Apple

Originally posted by ervinocus
I mean the Mini vs the iPod "classical" (and so the hPod, I presume...). I'm really curious to hear a valid techical justification for the bases double standard...

Click to expand...

i'm pretty sure that the docking port is the same ... just that the dock for the Mini is smaller to suite the mini ... but i'm pretty sure you use the classic dock with the mini

can't see the mini dock working for the classic iPod simply because the unit is too pick to fit in, not the ports wouldn't work, But the cabling is the same just you can just use it without the dock, but the same cable

I feel that 249 is just too expesive when compared to 299 for a 15 gig - Just doesnt add up. I feel that a $50.00 mail in rebate will be appropriate.

Firstly, the 'Mini' is positioned - as the name would imply - by form-factor. In the same way that many people buy mini-laptops vs desktop replacements there will be many who want the small size. Often, people will pay a hefty premium for smaller laptops with supstantially less power. I, for one, would like to have both a mini and a 40. People

Secondly, given THEY WILL HAVE SUPPLY PROBLEMS, why leave money on the table? Seriously, if their margins are already slim and they won't be able to produce enough to meet demand (This IS Apple we're talking about here), why the Hell would they lower the price? Heck, if I was the VP of PM over there, I would've seriously considered pricing the things at $299 out the gate and lowering to $249 and below, once I was comfortable that we ould meet demand. Market share is important, but if your can only produce X units, I'd rather make $50 a piece on them than $5. So, I wouldn't be surprised if "Humany Possible" means they can actually meet demand... then it's time to worry abouyt Market Share and Volume.... Today it's about bottom line, not loss leaders.

I think that the mini--in addition to being the smallest iPod--will soon be the only mono Apple branded iPod. It makes sense to release a smaller format (the mini) of the "traditional" iPod feature set before upgrading the full-sized iPod to a color unit with a larger display and new features.

I also think that when the full-sized iPod is revamped, the price will go up, setting it further away from the mini in that respect too. HP will still sell the mono full-sized units, and probably at a price similar to the mini.

This strategy will keep Apple looking savy and technically superior on its Apple branded equipment, while HP expands the iPod user base.

I think Apple has priced the mini where they have to because of component costs - especially the hard drive. When they can push these costs down through volume and vendor competition they will also be pushing the retail price down.

As for now, when you actually hold a mini in your hand I think you are going to want one - *really* want one. The design and "feel" in your hand will sell a lot of minis - especially for those comfortable with "only" 1,000 songs. It's a winner and $50 isn't gong to stand in the way of success.

Originally posted by Fuchal
I think $249 is just a price for early adopters... after everyone who would buy one for $249 buys one, the pricew ill come down to where most peopelw ill buy it. It DOES need to come down.

Click to expand...

Having just seen the price and capacity and name of the new Sony MD I dont think Apple has to much to worry about regarding the price of the mini iPod at this stage

Originally posted by ervinocus
IMHO the iPod Mini is the future, in the sense that it is the form factor Apple will adopt as the *only* one for its new generation of iPod as soon as the smaller HD it uses will carry enough data to permit a fasing out of the "old" ff iPods.

Click to expand...

Where did you get that idea? The larger form factor will ALWAYS be able to handle higher data densities on their hard drives and consequently will be able to store more data then the iPod minis. To be quite honest I'm expecting to see a rash of failed drives on these iPod minis within the first 6 months of release. IMHO, the size of the drive and data density makes these things very iffy in that it takes much less movement to crash a head on these drives.
These microdrives aren't all that reliable keep in mind that this tech is only 3 years of age starting off with a 340MB drive.

Originally posted by SiliconAddict
Where did you get that idea? The larger form factor will ALWAYS be able to handle higher data densities on their hard drives and consequently will be able to store more data then the iPod minis. To be quite honest I'm expecting to see a rash of failed drives on these iPod minis within the first 6 months of release. IMHO, the size of the drive and data density makes these things very iffy in that it takes much less movement to crash a head on these drives.
These microdrives aren't all that reliable keep in mind that this tech is only 3 years of age starting off with a 340MB drive.

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Well, AAMOF I got it from my own sick brain...

Anyway, only the time will confirm or refute my genial intuition.

In the mean time... do you want to bid?

Originally posted by TranceClubMusic
I feel that 249 is just too expesive when compared to 299 for a 15 gig - Just doesnt add up. I feel that a $50.00 mail in rebate will be appropriate.

Click to expand...

The only problem with this analogy is that it is not competing with the 15GB iPod. It is being marketed to compete with slightly less expensive flash players and as a smaller, even more portable device.

Originally posted by ervinocus
Well, AAMOF I got it from my own sick brain...

Anyway, only the time will confirm or refute my genial intuition.

In the mean time... do you want to bid?

Click to expand...

Hmmm...the technology is about 3 years old and has gone from ~300 MB to ~4 gigs (or doubled about four times). So if the rate continues, we're looking at approximately early Summer 2005 for Mini iPods to be technologically feasible at the ~15-20 GB low end of the iPod.... Wonder if Moore's law will hold for this?

(My iTunes collection is at 11.4 GB now, so.... )

Originally posted by ervinocus
Well, AAMOF I got it from my own sick brain...

Anyway, only the time will confirm or refute my genial intuition.

In the mean time... do you want to bid?

Click to expand...

Nope because that would be betting against Apple. LAST thing I want to see is Apple getting a black eye from failed HD's on these things. Here's hoping that the tech has matured enough to handle the bumps and nudges of everyday life.