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4GB 'iPod Mini' and 15GB iPod
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biking
maybe in a few years I'll take up biking - but then I can just strap my powerbook (or a G5 for that matter) on the rat-trap - no need for a memory-deprived iPod mini. on the other hand, I live in NYC and the potholes here would cause more jostling to the iPod than running!
maybe in a few years I'll take up biking - but then I can just strap my powerbook (or a G5 for that matter) on the rat-trap - no need for a memory-deprived iPod mini. on the other hand, I live in NYC and the potholes here would cause more jostling to the iPod than running!
billyboy
macrumors 65816
$249 may sound a lot when you compare the 4gb to a 15GB, but when you compare it to similar size, mid to high quality products elsewhere, it's right on the mark, and product differentiation is enough to make the iPodmini a product in its own right. But none of this makes sense if you arent in the target market (hence why no applause from the Mac faithful at the conference most of whom stuck their hands up when asked who had an iPod) the ones who all have the cash and or the requirements for 40gigas.
30% more of the potential market (with less demanding technical requirements than developers and rumor forum posters) are suddenly going to take a serious look at an Apple iPod - rather than ogle at one and think wouldnt it be luvly but its too big for me - Now the iPod is not an exclusively mega giga MP3, and when these extra 30% of punters look at comparable size storage products they will see ample evidence that "small form factors cost more" and they will see that iPod minis are very similarly priced or exactly the same price - and looks ways they wont see anything to better the coolest and ultra reliable iPod mini.
Apple arent in the low end market for anything, if u want an Apple product you have to suffer a bit to get it. That's why, IMO, Mac owners are dare I say proud of their hardware, because it cost more than they wanted to pay, but they certainly got more than their money's worth. The wow factor comes with an iPod mini, not with a Dell whatever it is, or that other RCA thing that weighs 3 pounds.
And working on the current exchange rates, the £142 starting price in the UK ( before the hidden extras get added on for not being in the USA ) that aint so bad, especially when my mate tells me he is looking to spend £200 on a fancy flash player all of 256MB big!
30% more of the potential market (with less demanding technical requirements than developers and rumor forum posters) are suddenly going to take a serious look at an Apple iPod - rather than ogle at one and think wouldnt it be luvly but its too big for me - Now the iPod is not an exclusively mega giga MP3, and when these extra 30% of punters look at comparable size storage products they will see ample evidence that "small form factors cost more" and they will see that iPod minis are very similarly priced or exactly the same price - and looks ways they wont see anything to better the coolest and ultra reliable iPod mini.
Apple arent in the low end market for anything, if u want an Apple product you have to suffer a bit to get it. That's why, IMO, Mac owners are dare I say proud of their hardware, because it cost more than they wanted to pay, but they certainly got more than their money's worth. The wow factor comes with an iPod mini, not with a Dell whatever it is, or that other RCA thing that weighs 3 pounds.
And working on the current exchange rates, the £142 starting price in the UK ( before the hidden extras get added on for not being in the USA ) that aint so bad, especially when my mate tells me he is looking to spend £200 on a fancy flash player all of 256MB big!
pjkelnhofer
macrumors 6502a
Re: iPod UK price?
Didn't Steve say it wasn't availible worldwide until April. Maybe the do not want international orders yet.
Just a guess.
Didn't Steve say it wasn't availible worldwide until April. Maybe the do not want international orders yet.
Just a guess.
The problem with running is that you are never at a point of no-jarring for more than half a pace. The iPod is "safe" for running because it doesn't spin up the HD when it is being knocked around, and when the HD spins up a whole bunch is read into RAM so that it can spin down again and sleep for a few minutes (I forget how much RAM it has). If you go through that entire buffer without giving the HD a moment of serenity to do its thing, then the music has to stop until you do.
Some other sports tend to be less intensive, allowing time every couple of seconds for the drive to spin up and down.
Of course, this is all just in theory. In practice, I haven't seen anyone who' been able to make their iPod skip.
fcpguy
macrumors member
Re: Re: Low end MP3 Market?????
oh boy, you told me to shut up....you are so angry...I'm so scared....settle down dude....steve DID NOT say he was going after the cheap o MP3 player market....go back and watch and you'll see there are three slices to Steve's pie....he stated that he was not interesting in going after the low- low end market, but the middle market....you are the one saying flash based players are the low end market....steve was more precise about the players he wanted to go after with the mini....besides how is a 199$ flash player necessarily cheap??? That's still way beyond what you want to spend yet you continue to claim this is part of the el cheap-o market....get your facts straight, calm down and stop telling people to shut up, it's just rude and unbecoming.....
oh boy, you told me to shut up....you are so angry...I'm so scared....settle down dude....steve DID NOT say he was going after the cheap o MP3 player market....go back and watch and you'll see there are three slices to Steve's pie....he stated that he was not interesting in going after the low- low end market, but the middle market....you are the one saying flash based players are the low end market....steve was more precise about the players he wanted to go after with the mini....besides how is a 199$ flash player necessarily cheap??? That's still way beyond what you want to spend yet you continue to claim this is part of the el cheap-o market....get your facts straight, calm down and stop telling people to shut up, it's just rude and unbecoming.....
jefhatfield
Retired
very true...i would have preferred 199 usd
i still think the product with it's thinness and small size is a beautiful and amazing product
there were no major computer announcements, for the masses, but i think the mini ipod was worthy enough for the likes of mwsf
great job, apple
new mini-ipod pricing...
....I can't figure out the whining on the price ---- my take is that the "cost" of ipods is only a small part the hard disk component and the final price has little relationship with the *size* of the hard disk.
For example, a quick scan of the OWC site for internal drives reveals:
40 GB drive - $66
80 GB drive - $74
120 GB drive - $99
180 GB drive - $175
250 GB drive - $319
...now based on everyone's complaints/logic why would anyone buy a 40 or 80?
.....remember, it's not the size of the ship (disk), it's the motion of the ocean! ...and its the ipod's motion that costs...
....I can't figure out the whining on the price ---- my take is that the "cost" of ipods is only a small part the hard disk component and the final price has little relationship with the *size* of the hard disk.
For example, a quick scan of the OWC site for internal drives reveals:
40 GB drive - $66
80 GB drive - $74
120 GB drive - $99
180 GB drive - $175
250 GB drive - $319
...now based on everyone's complaints/logic why would anyone buy a 40 or 80?
.....remember, it's not the size of the ship (disk), it's the motion of the ocean! ...and its the ipod's motion that costs...
Does anyone have any idea what the battery life is like on the iPod mini? I looked at Apple's tech specs and it appears that it has the same battery life as the regular iPods (8 hours).
I bet my bottom dollar he will only have a pound change from his 200 pounds when the ipod mini is launched in the UK.
On a side note, with the current exchange rates it is now cheaper to buy a return flight from london to new york, go to an apple store in NY buy a 15" powerbook, go out for a nice meal, stay in a hotel and go home the next day than buying the same powerbook in a UK store
Does anyone beside me think that the iPod mini's look isn't as good as it could have been? It looks like they shrunk the ipod slightly, then lopped off the sides. The sides of the wheel are too close to the edges (rounded sides) for my taste. For the scroll-wheel UI, I think the iPod mini looks a bit too tall and narrow.
My 2 cents.
My 2 cents.
Hmm. Well, actually, the smaller 1" drives tend to be rather robust with regards to shock and vibration issues. Smaller platters, spinning slower == less tendency to wobble and crash into heads.
Granted, solid state will always win out with that regard (for obvious reasons) ... on the other hand, the high-end flash market is dominated by players with horrible design gaffs that guarantee breakage long before the internal HD of a minipod might start showing its age. Look for reviews of Rio and RCA's and Creatives "high-end" players. The workmanship is shoddy, yet masked by ignorant design (like unprotected flash-card slots and flimsy joysticks and USB slot covers so thin you can see through them which tear after two round-trips).
That sounds disturbing like what IBM told Bill Gates. "sure take your silly software...we will rake it in with the hardware"
Mine skips - I don't use it for running anymore and I'm not going to buy another one with less memory that also skips. I guess I could stop during my run and wait a few minutes for the RAM to re-fill - but that would spoil the whole run - I'm sticking with the radio now.
Awimoway
macrumors 68000
NeatGekko
NeatGekko, I am dining on crow pie. After you posted your prediction, I made fun of newbs who make bold predictions. But you were utterly correct in what you said. I hope you continue to serve the MacRumors community. 🙂
P.S. The best way to go about it is to send your intelligence discreetly to MacRumors. Now that you've proven your authenticity, anything you share can become a headlining story (as long as you maintain a winning record, of course). This is a much better way to be believed than if you simply make "voice from the dust" posts within the discussions.
NeatGekko, I am dining on crow pie. After you posted your prediction, I made fun of newbs who make bold predictions. But you were utterly correct in what you said. I hope you continue to serve the MacRumors community. 🙂
P.S. The best way to go about it is to send your intelligence discreetly to MacRumors. Now that you've proven your authenticity, anything you share can become a headlining story (as long as you maintain a winning record, of course). This is a much better way to be believed than if you simply make "voice from the dust" posts within the discussions.
iPod mini Capacity Specs
Capacity
4GB, 15GB, 20GB or 40GB hard disk drive(1)
Holds 1,000, 3,700, 5,000 or 10,000 songs in 128-Kbps AAC format(2)
Stores data via FireWire or USB 2.0(3) hard drive
Capacity
4GB, 15GB, 20GB or 40GB hard disk drive(1)
Holds 1,000, 3,700, 5,000 or 10,000 songs in 128-Kbps AAC format(2)
Stores data via FireWire or USB 2.0(3) hard drive
