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Originally posted by Pants
actually, I'm wondering how durable the anodised aluminium is likely to be. Since its small, its likely to be stuffed into pockets, and with the best will in the world you're going to forget you have keys or coins in there. Ally, being soft, scratches easily, and scratched anodised ally can look pretty ropey pretty quick. Anyone now if its laquered or coated in any way?

For the record, while aluminum is soft, anodized aluminum is not. So, the durability of the surface will depend on how think an anodized layer Apple has put on (standard anodized ~.002" vs. hard anodized ~.006").
 
As others have stated, nobody in their right mind would buy one of these at this price point. They really screwed up on this one.
 
Re: skipping

Originally posted by tgilbey
Amid all these posts, and it has been said before, I think that the crucial question is: will these players skip and then shut down if subjected to such treatment for the time it takes to exhaust the buffer?

I have heard it said that the smaller HDDs get the more resilient they are...I haven't heard of IBM microdrives skipping.


We haven't heard of IBM microdrives skipping because they are mainly used by professional photographers in DSLR's where the lenses alone cost as much as a 17" powerbook. These guys don't run continuously with their equipment for more than 20 seconds, let alone minutes, while they are shooting. But, since microdrives contain a moving hard drive, they, unlike solid state memory, will suffer the same skipping problems that larger drives have, buffer or no. Hence, other than making a fashion statement (which, who knows, may be a much bigger draw than people on this board are allowing for), there appears to be very little reason for downsizing to the dwarfPod.
 
no, I'm not.... that's my point. I was just using poetic licence.....as a uni student I couldn't currently afford to buy half of one anyway.

I would predict they hit us @199 unless the US price takes a significant hit in the interim.

Too many people on the board (ok, me too😉) were
a) wowed by all the beautiful $100 HDD player crap and

b) seemingly ignorant of the fact that apple is a premium brand, and that, as with so many other brands (designer clothes etc) is the reason people like it.
Yes, the product is better, but no, the improvement does not scale linearly in price. Their subconscious wants the premium product, and Apple will never jeopardise this brand-worship

IMHO
 
Re: skipping

Originally posted by tgilbey
To UK posters....if I could get one tommorrow for 250 (137 quid (xe.com) I would buy two, and not come whinging on a message board about it costing the equivalent of 10 pints of lager more....

Er we wont be paying £137 I BET or else i'll eat my hat. Try more like £200. This converts back to around $365

Mini iPod for $365 anyone?

Thought not 🙁
 
THINK ABOUT THIS DIFFERENTLY

Hey, THINK DIFFERENTLY

iPOD is already biggest selling player

Releasing new iPods can't create any more buzz

So, something similar to ipod but a bit smaller in funky colours - more publicity for the WHOLE IPOD RANGE

Still at an 'exclusive' price, but smaller. funkier

Remember what happened with the iMac? Ok, wasn't the greatest machine on the planet but EVERY BODY WANTED ONE

So this isn't about people like US on THESE forums

It's about them, out there....

and it's also about space on shelves

just my 2 quid
 
Originally posted by deputy_doofy
The amount of price complaints fascinates me. A friend of mine just got a new Dell computer and a Rio MP3 player for xmas. I just checked the website for the Rio he got. The Rio "Street Nitrus" w/1.5gb drive is $219.

Ok, look again. They paid $219 for 1.5.

Ok, here's your math.
4gb/1.5gb = 2.6666666666666666666666666667

Ok, take that answer (2.6666666666666666666666667) and multiply by the price. A 4gb Rio WOULD have cost approx. $583.

Yes, I know they just released a 4gb at the same price point as Apple, but you're missing the point. People were and are buying these players with minimal capacity at prices over $200.

Get it?
But Steve wants the under $200 market. If everyone was willing to spend $250 that market would not exist. People who want to buy a Windows only, Dell, Rio, etc. piece crap player would have bought the $250 Dell, Rio, etc. piece crap player.
Clearly, there are people who are not going to pay over $200 no matter what their options are.
 
in stores?

Can anyone tell me when I can expect the new 15 GB iPod in Best Buy (since Best Buy's warrenty is leaps and bounds better than Apples protection plan). Everyone should look at Best Buy's PSP plan, which covers EVERYTHING (even normal wear and tear) for four years for only $40 (less than Apple's two year plan). Will it be within the next couple of days, or will it be weeks? I need my new iPod now; I have the ORIGINAL and the headphone jack is starting to crap out.
 
I think I see why (but am still against)

Ok - a colleague of mine - a doctor who would never consider a mac - has been eagerly awaiting a cheaper iPod (and he's still a Fellow so is not loaded or anything), and was pretty pissed off about the price since he was expecting something in the $100-200 range. I was just discussing with him his reasons for wanting an iPod and his answer was that since iTunes for Windows came out, there is really no alternative even close to it, and so he really wants his MP3 player to be compatible with his iTunes. What's more, he told me he knows a LOT of other people up in the hospital and elsewhere who feel exactly the same way and so wouldn't consider things like the Dell DJ or RCA because they are not iTunes compatible.

Apple, apparently, is on to this - which brings me to (and explains) another puzzlement I had with today's announcements (and don't jump on me here): When will iPod support WMA? That would make it a whole lot more appealing to a lot of people who complain that iTunes and iPod don't play WMA songs, thus they won't be buying an iPod (I know a few of those people too). It turns out that Apple is marketing MiPod (which I pronounce mee-pod for mini iPod) for iTunes adopters right now, since so many people (except those with a lot of WMA files) swear by it. And since iPod and MiPod are the only iTunes compatible players out there, why not sell it at $249? In fact, Apple just introduced the cheapest iTunes compatible music player to date!

When will Apple have a reason to make MiPod cheaper? When (or if) a worthy rival to iTunes appears, which is when Apple may decide to 1- reduce prices on iPods/MiPods, and 2- introduce support for WMA.

Just my thoughts.
 
no offence pjk

...but I don't think whilst demand is outstripping supply the boy SJ gives a crap about the low end. IMO, he can and will make inroads into that market due to the fact that quite a few of the people who want these (kids, teens....) do not think in budgets, just in must-haves....
 
USA iPod Mini : 250 $
Europa: price will be 300 € = 381 $

thats more than 50% more
ok there are taxes etc.(all together i guess 30%)
but then its still +20% more expensive than buying a iPod in america ...
Apple has to lower their prices
(the cheapest eMac is priced at 899€ at the moment thats like 1143 $ ... would you buy a eMac for so much money ?)
 
Price is right!

Did anyone actually watch the keynote? 256mb flash players have 31% of the market at $199!!! This thing is nice and small 16X the capacity for $50 more!! Also, not everyone wants 15GB! Why would I spend $50 for something I will never use! This isn't supposed to steal iPod sales. It is supposed to expand the market for Apple, not redefine it! Buy the 15GB if it fits you, but for 31% of the market the iPod mini is just right!!
 
Originally posted by legion
That $579 figure is Singapore dollars, you're mixing currencies. I freaked out at first but following your link I noticed "S$" which led me to look closely at the top of the webpage that says "Creative Singapore"

Well, though this cushions the blow a little bit, but still SG$579=US$341. That's still about a hundred dollars more than the iPod mini.
 
I'm not an audigeek, merely a pc user converted by the best product design in the world and the best piece of digital music management software available.

very few people have a lot of affection for WMA...it's not supposed to sound as good and people perceive, rightly or wrongly, that Gates is far more evil than jobs.

apples DRM seems a lot more relaxed at the mo, as opposed to the "lock-your-whole pc down" windows attitude, and AAC is a lovely format.

Personally, I would like to see apple win so that people who don't follow such discussions (ie less-techaware or whatever) DON'T end up with large libraries of WMA.
 
BTW do any uk users have any experiences of buying US ipods from bestbuy etc and then bringing them back (GF going to states in summer😉)

I can see probs with the charger, how did/would you get around that??
 
I just don't think this is going to take away any flash player sales. It's in the price range of the "big" ipod, the Dell DJ, etc.

Besides, it's still a hard drive. Meaning that it still can't replace the flash players for those who want it for exercise, which is one of the main reasons that a small form factor matters.

And BTW, how about a white option?? we're not all 12 years old... 🙄
 
Originally posted by BevvyB

Remember what happened with the iMac? Ok, wasn't the greatest machine on the planet but EVERY BODY WANTED ONE

So this isn't about people like US on THESE forums

It's about them, out there....

and it's also about space on shelves

just my 2 quid
Yes but does everybody still want an iMac. It only last for so long and then the "buzz" wears off and the product stands on it quality vs. price.
The original iPod came out and was unlike anything else on the market. The iPod mini may be better than anything else, but is it as far ahead as the original was when it came out.
I guess time will tell.
 
Originally posted by MorganX
If Rio can sell their 4GB player for $199 (remains to actually be seen) then Apple can. They've set themsevles up to give a price cut. Wow, mom, the price just went down $50, can you get me one now?

And remember, the Pepsi blitz will have an impact...

I think they'll do... good at this price point.

Ummm ... where'd you get that Rio is going to sell for $199? Last I heard, their press release stated a target or $249 sometime in January.

[edit:

Yup, $249. Quoting the pressw release at http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040106/sftu015_1.html :

The Rio Nitrus 4GB will begin shipping in January and will be available through Rioaudio.com, and all major retail outlets in the U.S. The estimated U.S. street price is $249.

So, that would be $249, NOT $199.

end edit]
 
I think it is a bit much to hope for something as brilliant as the Ipod every time apple release a product. For me, the Ipod emerged into a market where there were already several players (HDD jukeboxes) and did so with a product so perfect (people on here pick too many holes) that it blew everyone away.

Everything else is just fine-tuning...

I personally think that the larger one will become a colour screened multimedia jukebox like some of archos' offerings to sync with imovie or whatever it's called, whilst the smaller one remains a music player and gradually approaches the large capacities we look for now.
 
My wife thinks it's too much, and more importantly too close to the price of the 15gig, but if one of our two iPods broke or was lost right now, I'd definitely buy the miniPod. One reason...size. I snowboard and even bike with my iPod and would rather have a smaller one than a couple thousand more songs to choose from.
Did anyone notice the new accessory? An armband. Who uses armbands? Joggers and people out excercising with music.

BTW, you should check out Hocus Pocus by Enon...just picked up the CD and it's really good.
 
Originally posted by michelle
It is true about Apple's history of overpricing everything. When are they ever going to learn that in order to capture the market they need to make more affordable products?? There is a reason that something like 98% of computer owners are PeeCee users. PeeCees have something that many Apple products do not—an affordable price tag. I think that is what people really want, above all. Unless you are already a Mac fan, why would any unknowing person shopping for a computer choose something so expensive over something much cheaper?

Uh... you get what you pay for? If you want a really cheap computer, then don't be surprised if it crashes more often than my more expensive computer? And, besides, comparably equipped machines from other name brand companies cost just about the same amount. So, Apple really isn't over-priced. C'est tout.
 
Originally posted by desdomg
Actually the price stinks across the whole of Europe. We pay $127 dollars more in Europe for the 15 gig iPod than than they do in the USA.

How would a $417 15 gig iPod sound to you Yanks?

we got you beat here in mexico.

10g= U$490
40g=U$700

and were neighbors and use the same voltage and plug
 
what happened to a nice plain white one (or black)

except for the Silver one I'd be embarrased to been seen with some of the other colours
 
Originally posted by pjkelnhofer
Not to mention the Dell 15Gb Digital Jukebox costs the same. Sure it is a piece of Dell plastic, but it offers 60x the storage at only $50 more than a 256Mb players. Shouldn't it have already destroyed Steve's "High End Flash Player" market based on Apple own arguement?

NO! And that';s precisely the point:

The high-end Flash market is NOT driven by capacity. They are either driven by size/ruggedness, or they are driven by price (or perceived value).

Apple is betting they are driven more by size/durability than perceived value.


I really think Apple missed the point. People who want to spend less than $200, really want to spend less than $200. They don't care what they can get for another $50. (After all that is 25% more).

Strangely enough, it is significantly easier to save up another $50 (come on .. that's not even one night out at the movies for my family!) than it is to stop jogging every few minutes so that a 1.8" drive device works for you, or to stuff a 1.8" drive device into a pocket that is just big enough to fit a business-card-sized device.
 
Originally posted by Apple //e
we got you beat here in mexico.
10g= U$490
40g=U$700
and were neighbors and use the same voltage and plug

wow thats even beats the price for germany/austria which is at 443 $ for the 15 GB
but pretty even for the 40 GB (= 698 $)
 
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