Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Or HD replacement?

More likely I think is the eventual replacement in the iPod mini of the HD with a flash drive, perhaps using the space released by a chipset to increase battery capacity, allowing very long battery life.

Anything above 1GB becomes very difficult to manage without a screen. The Shuffle has a practical limit to its capacity, based on a user's inability to keep track of what's on it. The mini doesn't, and replacing the hard drive with flash is attractive.
 
I would expect to see iPod mini updates with a color screen before seeing the iPod Shuffle get close to the mini's capacity. There would need to be a good enough reason for the price difference.
Besides this is DigiTimes, so as everyone's said the info is not reliable.
What I hope to see at WWDC is anything besides iPod updates. We need more computing power, not more music devices...
 
I suppose this is unlikely, but I might buy one. In addition to the Samsung solid-state disk mentioned above, the SanDisk Cruzer Mini is now available in 4GB capacity, for $400. A 4GB Shuffle would definitely be used for storage in addition to music, and I think the flexibility would be nice (would you rather have a flash drive, or a flash drive that plays music and has a nice, simple Apple design?). The 4GB Shuffle would not cut into the iPod Mini's market. If introduced right now, it would cost much more and still not have a screen. If later, the iPod Mini would already have a bigger hard drive.

By the way, I agree with oskar. What I really want is a PowerBook G5, and it's past time for an iBook update too, even if an iBook wouldn't be my first choice. What I meant in my above post was that I would buy one if I were rich, and most people who'd like to fill these devices up with music agree that a screen would be very important on a higher-capacity Shuffle-type device.
 
DPazdanISU said:
What I like to say to PC fans that rip on Macs is this: Buy a Mac, use it for a year, and come back to me. Then if you still don't like Macs then at least you have supporting evidence, however I doubt that will be the case!:
Who in their right mind would take you up on this offer? Did you even bother to think this through before you made this your signature?

"At least you have supporting evidence"? Like that would be any consolation to someone?
 
asif786 said:
also, does anyone else think the ipod lineup is getting a bit too complex?

i mean, i'm all for choice but when you change the lineup every 3 months it kinda gets a bit annoying..no?

Agreed! But, I think have 512mb, 1gb, 4gb, 6gb, 20gb, 30gb, and 60gb and price ranges from $99-$449 allows more people to have an iPod.

Maybe losing the U2 iPod would help a bit. (Sorry U2 fans)

instead of a 2gb iPod Shuffle (screen or w/o screen) I would rather see something in between the 6gb and 20gb... Its just a kinda a huge leep and it would be nice to see something that can even that out. Maybe they should bring back the 10gb iPod?
 
zap2 said:
i really doubt a 4gb maybe a 2 and a 1 but 4gb would make the mini pointless unless u realy want that screen

agreed. why have a 4 GB shuffle that's more expensive than an 4 GB ipod mini (with more features). also i just wish apple starts putting more features into the ipods (radio or built in voice recording, for example) for the same prices.
 
oskar said:
What I hope to see at WWDC is anything besides iPod updates. We need more computing power, not more music devices...

Thank you!
 
I don't seeing this happening. Who would buy a 4mb MP3 player that you can't select what song you want and stuff $150-180 (guess based on current prices). When you can get a 4mb mini for $199 with all the features you would want with that kind of space. They would have to drop the price.

Now watch I say 'no way' and it come out like next month! LOL

-Hugh

zap2 said:
i really doubt a 4gb maybe a 2 and a 1 but 4gb would make the mini pointless unless u realy want that screen

A 2mb version maybe, I can see that. But not a 4mb version, not with the Mini prices and features.

-Hugh
 
If they added a screen to the iPod Shuffle it would no longer be an iPod Shuffle. With a screen the shuffle feature becomes redundant. There's no point in calling it that anymore. Anything more than 1GB is without a screen is pushing it too so yes, the iPod mini would be a good candidate. However, I can see Apple releasing an all new player in between the Shuffle and the mini instead or perhaps we will have 2GB and 4GB iPod minis with the grayscale screen and 6GB and 10GB iPod minis with a color screen.
 
i do not believe. how much it will cost? a 4GB shuffle more expensive than 4GB iPod mini?! well...
if Apple maintain the price of current shuffles and upgrade it to 2 / 4GB, I should be very pleased to buy.
well thats impossible, at least, at this point of time.
flash memory is not that cheap
 
my workday...

is frequently longer than 6 hours. My coworkers would surely appreciate not hearing the same song twice... so the 512 is out. Always would play random from a least recently played five star playlist, so the screen is irrelevant. 13 to 24 hours of music is great, but can the price stay low?
 
The fact is, flash memory will keep getting bigger and cheaper no matter what. The question is of course would it make sense in a Shuffle. I say yes if:

- you add the ability to play lossless;
- more importantly, you add a "skip playlist/album" button. No screen needed!
- and of course you can still use the spare room for your files. Imagine backing up Home on your Shuffle! :D
 
pontecorvo said:
This is great news for anyone with an iPod!
Well, no. It would be great news for someone getting an iPod. But if you already have one, it's not so great. If this were true. Which it isn't. Of course, I just got a Shuffle, so I'm sure it will turn out to be true.

pontecorvo said:
Who in their right mind would take you up on this offer? Did you even bother to think this through before you made this your signature?

"At least you have supporting evidence"? Like that would be any consolation to someone?
Oh, ok. Now I see what you're doing here. Kinda a little off-topic there aren't we?

On topic, maybe everyone who doesn't like iPods should try one for awhile. I thought the Shuffle was kinda dumb until I got one at Night Of The Tiger. Now I love it. More than I could say about the last flash player I had. It was one of those with a billion features and none of them worked right. Ironically, I sold my iPod Mini because it couldn't do voice recording. :p Something it turns out I never use. :rolleyes:
 
w_parietti22 said:
Agreed! But, I think have 512mb, 1gb, 4gb, 6gb, 20gb, 30gb, and 60gb and price ranges from $99-$449 allows more people to have an iPod.

Maybe losing the U2 iPod would help a bit. (Sorry U2 fans)

instead of a 2gb iPod Shuffle (screen or w/o screen) I would rather see something in between the 6gb and 20gb... Its just a kinda a huge leep and it would be nice to see something that can even that out. Maybe they should bring back the 10gb iPod?

i think..

512, 1gb, 2gb, 4gb, 20gb, 40gb, 60gb.

i think the 6gb mini is completely pointless. that's pointless. if you have more than 1000 songs but less than 1500 you should be buying a regular ipod anyway, because you'll go past 1500 sooner or later.

the 6gb mini was a mistake. sooner or later it's gonna get dropped, which is gonna confuse consumers even more..
 
asif786 said:
i think..

512, 1gb, 2gb, 4gb, 20gb, 40gb, 60gb.

i think the 6gb mini is completely pointless. that's pointless. if you have more than 1000 songs but less than 1500 you should be buying a regular ipod anyway, because you'll go past 1500 sooner or later.

the 6gb mini was a mistake. sooner or later it's gonna get dropped, which is gonna confuse consumers even more..

I agree, I think the 6mb iPod is kinda pointless. When I was shopping for my iPod I was originally thinking of getting the 6mb Mini, but then I thought about it and decided to get the 20mb. Even though at the time I didn't have enough music to go over the 5.xmb you get with the 6mb mini. I do now, (all legal) which pushes over.

They should have made a 10mb Mini (if they could), I would have bought that one instead.

Note: I am thinking about getting a Shuffle because of it's size. (Off topic) Can you recharge the unit without a computer like you get with an iPod?

-Hugh
 
w_parietti22 said:
Agreed! But, I think have 512mb, 1gb, 4gb, 6gb, 20gb, 30gb, and 60gb and price ranges from $99-$449 allows more people to have an iPod.

instead of a 2gb iPod Shuffle (screen or w/o screen) I would rather see something in between the 6gb and 20gb... Its just a kinda a huge leep and it would be nice to see something that can even that out.
Depends on how you look at the product line. Instead of looking at capacities, look at the prices:

$100 (512M), $150 (1G), $200 (4G), $250 (6G), $300 (20G), $350 (30G), $450 (60G).

Aside from the largest model, there's a uniform progression of price points. What would Apple gain by slipping a new model in between the 6G mini and the 20G iPod, when the difference in price between those two models is $50. Would people prefer a 10G model for $275? instead of a 20G model at $300? I wouldn't count on it.

It's more likely that we'll see the mini capacities go up (6G and 10G) at the same price points first. When Hitachi announced the 6G microdrive that the mini uses, they also announced 10G capacities by the end of 2005. I wouldn't be surprised if Apple started shipping minis with this drive in January or February (assuming Hitachi ships the drives on-schedule.)

Hugh said:
They should have made a 10mb Mini (if they could), I would have bought that one instead.
Wait a year. The necessary drive doesn't exist yet, but Hitachi did pre-announce them when they announced their 6G microdrive.

Personally, if Apple would update iTunes to allow me to AutoFill a mini, like you can a shuffle, I'd go for it in a heartbeat. My music collection is approaching 40G, so I either need an iPod that can hold it all (the 60G model) or something with AutoFill (one of the shuffles).
Hugh said:
(Off topic) Can you recharge the unit without a computer like you get with an iPod?
Yes. Buy a standalone charger from the Apple Store. These wall warts have a USB-shaped port that provides power. Just plug the shuffle directly into it.
 
i think that we will we the ipod as
1gb-99( shuffle)
2gb-150( shuffle
6gb-200(mini)
10gb-250( mini)
30gb-300( iPod photo renamed)
60gb-350-iPod( ipod photo renamed)
80gb-450 or 500-iPod video
100gb-500 or 599-iPod video

i think this will be the line up in about a year, and id like to see a black or Orange ipod mini.
 
i think some people are forgetting that most people are using the shuffle as a secondary player. therefore, the size of your library doesn't really matter.

right? how many people on this thread have either and iPod or a mini AND a shuffle...i know i do

the point of the shuffle is to be a simple music player with storage capabilities. with that in mind, it's capacity will grow with the other iPod's and the price will stay the same.
 
marmotte said:
You see that's the problem with these rumor sites: bottom line they hurt Apple's sales. That's bad for everyone.

Don't worry my friend-- Apple seems to have silenced all rumors-- we're 8 days from WWDC with ZERO rumors, even with ancient notebooks with 5 year old processors. Clearly the thinksecret suit paid off. Personally, if I were you, I'd post on Ain't it Cool News or somewhere where's it not "bad for everyone." :D
 
I'm trying to figure out all these posts about problems navigating a 2GB or 4GB shuffle. You weren't meant to "navigate" a shuffle, hence the name.

I've had my 1GB since week one, use it daily, and have yet to navigate anything except iTunes while deciding which music I want to do without in order to make room for different tracks.

Now, on the same note - I've always said, I'd be delighted if I could have multiple playlists and simply triple tap next or previous for the next or previous playlist (as with triple tap play/pause for reshuffle/track1). Then, I could have my daily run, work out, office mix, etc all on my shuffle at once and with 4GBs, plenty of space. Apple would have me sold on 4 GB shuffle, I'd prefer it over a mini, weight and form factor alone.

Now from a business perspective... maybe not a wise choice against the mini.

I know I could listen to 500+ random songs and I've seen the size of some of your music collections.
 
skwoytek said:
I'm trying to figure out all these posts about problems navigating a 2GB or 4GB shuffle. You weren't meant to "navigate" a shuffle, hence the name.

Well probably some of use like to choose what we listen to. ;)

I find the shuffle is great for the gym; but I don't use it anywhere else, because I usually want to choose a particular album or playlist to listen to, and have it played in the proper order.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.