More on Flash Based iPods?

[Yvan256]

Apple gets around 30% margin on what it sells. That means it makes about $100 per iPod and $75 per mini. Any flash player would have to be priced to get a margin of at least 30%. I think that if Apple can make a 1GB flash player for around $100 dollars they would price it around $170-$190.[/url])

Maybe I'm not good at either maths or economics (or both), but shouldn't 30% profit on a $100 product means a selling price of $130?

 

[coldspot]

Well, if your primary consideration is the price, your MP3 CD player + one CD-RW combo is extremely hard to beat (especially if you carry many CD-RWs around to have more music).

But that CD-RW takes longer to write than Flash and the size of the MP3 CD player is not even nowhere near a regular iPod, which is much smaller. And the iPod mini is way smaller than the regular iPod. Now, add another CD (because even at only 1GB, the iPod mini/flash would require you to compare with two CDs for your setup) and the resulting size is even worst.

I've gone through MP3 Flash 32MB, CD-MP3, iPod 3rd gen. 10GB, and I'm telling you I'd rather go back to Flash/32MB (even encoding songs at 48kbps especially for it) than CD-MP3 (at 128kbps), because the flash player is just so much easier to carry around, and updating songs is extremely fast.

A CD player is just too bulky once you're used to small flash players and iPods.

Do you think 300 MB of more space and some inches less worth 100 dollars? With that money I could buy the JBL Creature II Speakers...

 

[FallPod]

The ipods serve the person who wants to not only carry thier whole collection with them,but also archive and back-up thier music.

The mini serves the person who does not have those needs but would like enough variety so to not have to update every 3 days.

What serves the guy who only needs 50-200 songs for the bus/train ride downtown..or the gym? The guy who is on his PC every night anyway and is ok having to update often? The guy who can't spend much more than $150 on a player? The guy who wants the style and function of an ipod but w/o the massive storage he'll never use and hefty price? The guy who travels light and finds even a ipod too bulky?

Enter ipod flash.

I'm thinking 1GB...maybe a horizontal layout (turn the mini clockwise).
$149.00. 3 colors white,black or purple.

 

[es2mac]

$150... I don't like the spacing of the prices!
difference between 40g and 20g is 100
between 20g and mini is 50
another 50 difference... $199 for a 1GB flash iPod makes much more sense to a math student me.

 

[MacinDoc]

$149 for 512 MB, $199 for 1 GB.

 

[JonGraves]

Kind of a wacko idea, but I have been lusting after an iPod without a HD that functions as a remote for accessing your library over ethernet or airport. If Apple can get an iPod micro out for $150 that could pull double duty.......

Jon

 

[thatwendigo]

First of all, you choose the most expensive ones on purpose:

Yes, I did, and with good reason.

Kingston is reliable, dependable, and something that Apple has been known to either use or certify in the past. The cheap prices that people keep mentioning are the no-names and knock-offs that I wouldn't trust if a mere $10 depended on it (let alone my life). Also, I pointed at flash drives because that's merely one aspect of what an iPod does - it's compact storage without an external power source. Just a flash device with an interface that's not some proprietary nonsense, like CF cards, is more expensive than what people are quoting.

Go look at reputable audio dealers and see what their prices look like on 1GB flash players. Hint: They're all in the $180-250 range and they're not as good as the iPod.

Please note that I was able to cut your prices nearly in half on the same website you quoted.

Please note that Dell and others can sell loss-leaders, too. It doesn't mean they're turning a profit or it's admirable.

And third, those are *consumer* prices. Commercial prices are much, much lower (since they buy in 100,000+ quantities). I'd be really surprised if Apple paid more than $40 for a 1GB CompactFlash card. Let's say the "shell+internals" of the iPod mini cost around $50, Apple could pull it off at $129 for a 1GB flash iPod mini. They would literally destroy the competition.

Please explain to me why there are no reputable companies doing this already, then. After all, the iPod is the player to beat, but you don't see much that can hang with the mini, let alone "destroy" it.

 

[Poff]

Here we go again... Just go read the prices I quoted earlier in this thread.

If we could really "look at other harddrive-players and find an approximate price of the same capacity iPod", the iPod would either have a lower price or a bigger hard disk *and* a higher capacity battery.

Just because someone sells his 1GB flash player for $200 doesn't mean Apple can't come up with a 1GB flash player for $149 or even less.

..but Apple has a tradition of pricing their products above the competitors. Because they can.

 

[ASP272]

I still think it's going to be 1GB for $149, and that would just be awesome. Apple will then take everyone out of the mp3 player business. Schweeeet!

 

[a_iver]

...because they can and because often it seems their product is worth more than their competitors. Apple is not a fast food joint, they provide high end products.

 

[Blue Velvet]

What serves the guy who only needs 50-200 songs for the bus/train ride downtown..or the gym? The guy who is on his PC every night anyway and is ok having to update often? The guy who can't spend much more than $150 on a player? The guy who wants the style and function of an ipod but w/o the massive storage he'll never use and hefty price? The guy who travels light and finds even a ipod too bulky?

Enter ipod flash.

I'm thinking 1GB...maybe a horizontal layout (turn the mini clockwise).
$149.00. 3 colors white,black or purple.

Well, this girl would buy one like a shot, in a flash (ho-ho).

As I'm on my Mac every day, it wouldn't be a prob to change the tunes and I'd appreciate having something small that doesn't take up too much space in my bag. Also, something that uses a conventional battery rather than a rechargeable custom one...

But not purple... 3 colours: white, black & silver... no wait... make that red!

 

[coldspot]

Fuggedaboudit!

People, forget about the Flash iPod. Why buying a Flash 512 MB player for 149 dollars when you can get an iPod HD 4 GB for 249 dollars? It looks insane to me.

I think Apple will decrease the iPod mini prices, because they are very close to the iPod 20 GB prices (only 50 dollars of difference)

 

[Doctor Q]

Why buying a Flash 512 MB player for 149 dollars when you can get an iPod HD 4 GB for 249 dollars?

When you only have $150 to spend. I'm not kidding. Many people can't afford to get the better deal, just as with the iPod Mini. That's why there's a low-end market. Not the best deals, just the cheapest prices.

 

[zelmo]

People, forget about the Flash iPod. Why buying a Flash 512 MB player for 149 dollars when you can get an iPod HD 4 GB for 249 dollars? It looks insane to me.

I think Apple will decrease the iPod mini prices, because they are very close to the iPod 20 GB prices (only 50 dollars of difference)

By that logic, why would anyone buy a mini at $249 when they can get an iPod with 5 times the capacity for only $50 more?

The iPod mini has a niche - namely for people who want something small and stylish that doesn't need to hold every piece of music they own. I never thought it'd sell as well as it does, but I was wrong.

Likewise, a flash iPod also has a niche that none of the current iPod's can fill - a low-cost iPod. I know a lot of people who want an iPod, but cannot justify the expense of even a mini. Having talked to several of them, they are unanimously in favor of a 1GB or 2GB micro, selling anywhere from $149 to $199. These people don't need more than a couple of hours worth of tunes on hand, just enough for workouts, jogging, shorter commutes.

I think we'll see the mini go to either 5GB or 6GB at $249 when Apple announces the micro at $149 for 1GB, along with a 2GB model for $189. And they will sell. I wish they'd be out in time for Christmas, but spring is a good time, too. Lots of kids graduating in the springtime.

 

[Poff]

People, forget about the Flash iPod. Why buying a Flash 512 MB player for 149 dollars when you can get an iPod HD 4 GB for 249 dollars? It looks insane to me.

Why? $100 isn't a good enough reason?

 

[sjpetry]

Why?

I could never imagine needing/wanting anything smaller than an iPod Mini, and I could never see myself paying $50 less for 25% of the memory.

 

[FallPod]

"I could never imagine needing/wanting anything smaller than an iPod Mini, and why would anyone pay $50 less for 25% of the memory."

No,but there are people who do go for the smallest possible. As for why anybody would pay $50 less...if you are 17 years old..heck...14 years old....every penny might count and I know at that age 'only $50' was huge.

Not everybody wants 1000000000 songs with them. Bigger isn't always better.

Many folks are plenty satisfied only have 100-200 songs with them.

My Dad wants an mp3 player. He only listens to country. He has maybe 300 songs in his collection. An ipod mini would even be overkill.

Now,alot of my Dad's music is the music in my own collection...but it's in AAC.

I can't load any other mp3 player for my dad....and I can only burn 15-20 songs to a cd-r.

If Apple made a $150 player my Dad could fill it up with my country aac files and be all set to go.

Plus, $100-150 is about his budget.

I think the point "well,I'd never need or use one' is misguided. In that case,this product isn't for you and thats cool. I find it funny how people who have little use for a certain product think it shouldn't be made.

Music is different things to different people. I can see many having use for the Apple flashpod.

 

[~Shard~]

Why buying a Flash 512 MB player for 149 dollars when you can get an iPod HD 4 GB for 249 dollars?

Funny, I remember hearing the exact same argument when the iPod mini's price point was announced, in comparison to the 15 GB iPod - and look how those minis sold...

 

[~Shard~]

I could never imagine needing/wanting anything smaller than an iPod Mini, and I could never see myself paying $50 less for 25% of the memory.

You couldn't, but some people could - just as some people didn't see logic and the need for the iPod mini when it was introduced. Likewise, I'm sure there are some people out there asking why on Earth you would need a 60 GB iPod photo, and yet others out there who would love to have more space. Different strokes for different folks...

 

[coldspot]

I think Apple should stop to create new iPod models and wire a new designer to repair that horrendous iMac G5. That computer is the most ugly thing I ever saw in my entire life.

 

[JGowan]

If it's less than a gig, SJ is going to look like a fool (after his comments about flash drive players sitting in drawers). The whole point of the ipod, from the start, was the ability to take your entire music collection with you. A 512 MB player would make a mockery of that idea.

BS... The idea that the existing flash players are lying unused isn't necessarily because of their capacity,... could it be for, oh I don't know, because they're lame -- hard to use -- ugly -- use WMA or SONY ONLY flash memory -- pick one...

I think the guy that STEVE FORBES (you've heard of him, right?) thinks would be PERFECT as the new CEO of Disney isn't going to "look like a fool" for a long time to come. It could be as simple a introduction as "you asked for them and we listened."

Listening to the customers... sounds like good business sense to me.

 

[gastroboy]

If Apple is to sew up the market for players, they need one using flash to cost closer to $99 than $149. 512 still holds about 8-9 albums of music.

If Apple could grab 75% of the flash market, they would hold about 85% of the whole market.

I agree, Apple is missing out big time by not giving these people what they want.

I am one of them. I'd love to have one of these with Apple's interface and the ability to store AAC Audiobooks (they're bookmarkable unlike MP3 files).

However if I get an alternate product in the Xmas sales, Apple will have lost me as a customer forever.

 

[XForge]

If they come out with one, it might be as high as 512 Meg.

Bah; if it doesn't hold as much as an MP3 CD that I can play on my $29 Panasonic discman, it ain't worth the hassle.

 

[Surreal]

they really should just make a new line.

think about it.

then 512...or less would SEEM acceptable...

ipods are big...*new line* are not....powerpod...errrr ipod... theydhave to figure that out LoL


but it would make sense to simply have a line for low end if they dip in at all./..i don't see them needing to....but i suppose the fact that i have not bought an ipod yet is proof otherwise (price mostly...but i want line in recording for the love of eggs and ham)

they should NOT make another ipod....4....just makes me say...."why not have a different line? milking the ipod name? (they arent...but still)

 

[goodwill]

I think it would be wise to make the new ipod/photo with a camera built in just like that of cell phones. The ipod is already the same size, can hold photo's now and has the memory. I think it would help make the photo purpose of the ipod more functional since you would be able to take pictures with it and have it on the ipod immediately, rather than going home uploading pictures then putting them on your ipod. I think you should be able to both, take pictures with it and upload your digital camera pictures onto it. I am copyrighting that right this second. Let me go get my patent.