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4GB 'iPod Mini' and 15GB iPod

well said spook

My major problem with the mipod is, whilst it is undeniably nice, it is just not as WOW in terms of design as the ipod.

Jonathan Ive is a design genius, and his G5 case and 2G/3G ipod are the two nicest electronics product designs i've (geddit...🙂) ever seen, but this new one leaves me strangely cold. better than the competition by a mile tho
 
smart

first off, srobert, love that post with Mr. T.

Hey Steve did mention that they are going after the small MP3 player market, yes old but check this out. I think there is more to that.....

Dell, microplay, even Microsoft, and Telus (Canada) are offering or going to offer Music download sites....making them a commodity service of sorts.

ppl whom currently own sub 5GB mp3 players will hang onto them a) because they don't have disposable income to upgrade to the papa iPod, or b) most of their music library doesn't justify it (Marki Mark & The funky bunch, Insyc, Backstreet Boys, just doesn't cut it.). Also, how many 14yr olds or younger work on digital movies or huge databases that they need to port to the school computers on a dialy basis to need a 15GB iPod???????

probably not many. Now based on this market niche this may be Apples way of protecting their lead in this market.

Think: Aluminum case, different colors - for the fashion conscious that needs to co-ordinate - and iTUnes music store that has the right tracks for EVERYONE to download along with iTunes for both major platforms.

this works out just nice.......if it bombs these will be collectors items as the last Apple product in various colors.
 
Colored iPods and colored LCDs please

I'm not too thrilled with the mini-iPods, but then again I wasn't planning on buying one regardless of the price. I'm looking for bigger and better.

Currently I have a 2nd Gen 10GB iPod that's maxxed out. I was holding off on moving to the 40GB iPod until seeing the results of MWSF and until after 1/24 (when there hopefully will be some more releases).

What I'd love to see are regular iPods in different, non-pastel colors. In particular black and dark blue would be cool. I suppose I could order a custom job for an extra $49, though.

I'd also like to see a larger screen in color capable of playing movies and displaying images. The Archos AV320, while huge, is so cool. I think Apple should dump the big scroll wheel for a horizontal touch bar, and make the screen a little bigger.
 
I am soooo disappointed.
I guess I got too excited by the $100 rumor.

Bottom Line:
$100 - I would have ordered one today (maybe two).
$150 - I'd have to give it some thought but would probably buy one.
$200 - I'd wait for X-mas.
$249 - For a lousy 4GB?! Apple is making a big mistake and this will flop with the intended market. If anything, this will eat into the higher end "regular" iPod sales. Remember the Cube? It didn't sell because it wasn't that much cheaper than a tower (amongst other things).
Sony or someone else will introduce a $100 product that will open up the low-end consumer market and Apple will lose out again.
Hopefully I'm wrong.
 
jett...

I don't know enough about the subject......do you have good info that the 1inch form factor HDDs will be skip-resistant enough to run with???
 
I wonder if the April release is actually to coincide with something like foreign access to iTunes pay for music...
 
my word! this thread is 15 pages long! how did that happen? are we all this disgruntled? i don't want to repeat anyone's lines, but it has happened again. we were all so lost in rumor-ville, that we weren't ready for the facts. ipodmini for $250 and a 15gig for $300? who saw that coming? apple wants to target the flash player market, but with an aggressive price tag. kinda like the ipods enterance into the market with 5giggers when creative had those 6gig mp3 players already in good use. but they did push through didn't they? i hate what happened today. and with the $299-$499 price tag still in full effect, maybe someday those ipodmini's will get between a $100-$250 window. but not for a long time. thanks apple, but my 1st gen 5gigger still plays great for me.
 
rarias...

Firstly....size, even tho this is a smaller reduction than many might have hoped, is a huge drive (along with weight) in the portable market. Ipods, whilst tiny, feel very dense, and whilst this is lost in bulky winter clothing, in summer gear/sports gear etc, they start to feel heavy.

Plus, I do not consider 4gb lousy. If i had said 4gig of music in a player the size of 60 stacked business cards to anyone 6 months ago, they would have been incredulous
 
What are you smoking?

Originally posted by Torajima
The fact is, the ipod mini is ridicuously overpriced. Before the mini rumors even began, I fully expected an update to the iPod line at Macworld. Either price reductions across the board, or an increase in capacity.

We actually would have been better off if the minipods had NOT been released, as then Apple might have lowered the price on the 10 GB model to $250.

And why weren't the upper end models updated?

Apple should be selling the mini iPod at cost, and try to make their money on iTunes music downloads, rather than the hardware itself.
Click to expand...

Nobody makes money on the downloads just ask napster and buy.com

Apple will sell tons of the ipods, and all of crying for the price go out and get a job @ 249 it is price very compettive againts the others players to spend 199 on sucky flash player for $50 more I get the coolest toy ever made so you have to wait one more week to pay for it you people are sad..🙄
 
Originally posted by machan
just to chime in:

mini's look great, but why would anyone pay $249 for it? apple really blew it on that price. $199 would have been SOOOO MUCH SMARTER.
Click to expand...

Agree 100%. If there goal is truly to go after the high-end flash players, than $249 is too much. If it's a profitablilty issue, they'd be better off dropping it to 2GB, if they could get it under $200.

With how it is now, they just introduced another player into the HD market and still have nothing to compete with the sub-$200 flash market.

Anyway you look at it, today's keynote was just a huge letdown.
 
If all that was available were the 20 and 40GB at $400 and $500, then I think a lot more of us would be impressed with the mini-iPod at $249 and 4GB of storage (as long as all the colors weren't so weak!!!).
 
I see that with these updates, Apple also released an in-ear earphone. It looks a lot like the Sony EX-71/70s, and is priced similarly. I once owned a pair of the Sony EX71s, and I was only moderately impressed with them, such is why I ended up getting a pair of Shure e2cs eventually - and those are vastly superior.

On a side note, I've always found it incredibly weird how people actually use the headphones that come with the iPod. Granted, they're better than most headphones that come with audio products, but it still seems absolutely mad to me that anyone would spend $500 on something to play music on, and then use the crappy headphones that come with it.
 
Originally posted by rariasjr
Remember the Cube? It didn't sell because it wasn't that much cheaper than a tower (amongst other things).
Click to expand...

History seems to be repeating itself. I was all ready to order one for my girlfriend... She only has a few hundred songs or so, so a 2GB, $149 or 4GB $199 would have been perfect. $200 is my ceiling. If I was going to spend $249, I would just spend a little extra and get her the 15GB model.
 
it's pricepoint!

The player is probably worth the $249.00 on its merits, but the point is a cheaper iPod would lock up the market for Apple. The low end price point is NOT covered!!!!!!!!!
The 30% or something market share is great, may well make the iPod #1, but that means that 70% of MP3 player owners can't use the iTunes music store's songs on their portable player. Houston, we have a problem!
And not everyone wants to spend hundreds of $ on a small thingy to listen to music. Most of the world is a lot less techno-geeky than all [most] of us here at macrumors.
 
i just like those new mini pods ... they are so nice! can't help myself ... by the way: these are available in april worldwide ... does this mean, they will also announce itunes music store "for the rest of us"?
.a
 
We've been let down

I know I've already replied in this thread three times, but I'm finally over the shock of the price and can organize my thoughts.

First of all, I think the mini is going to sell very well. I think it looks cooler than its competition. Having the iPod interface wins it points there. The price is decent. The problem is, its competition will not be high-end flash players. It will be all the other players priced at $200 and higher.

And that's why I think a lot of people are upset. Rumors have led us to believe that we would be getting a flash killer. Steve Jobs even said it was supposed to be a flash killer. When the price came up though, all hopes of that vanished. Steve said himself the high-end flash market is priced $100 to $200, so making it $249 prices it right out of the market he claimed the mini targets. Instead, it fits into a market of other players that are pretty much the same thing as the mini. If a $249 device was capable of taking market share from flash players, then why haven't Rio's 1.5 gig Nitrus or Dell's 15 gig DJ done it already?

We were promised an amazing new competitor to flash devices. What was got was something that, although good looking, is ultimately more of the same. That's what is upsetting me, and I imagine that's why other people are saying it's too expensive.
 
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
Click to expand...

I am sorry, but Apple Japan just dropped the prices of the iPod TODAY to be in line with the US prices.

15GB (10GB) was $347 now $300
20GB was $450 now $403
40GB was $564 now $498

(1 US Dollar = 106 Yen)

Maybe it has something to do with upcoming iTMS Japan, I don't know.
 
You can't compare Apples (US) to Apples (non-US)

U.S. prices will most likely be lower when compared to other countries -- especially European nations -- for one simple reason.

Taxes.

American retail prices do not include taxes. Taxes are added at the time and point of purchase and vary, of course, from state to state. A $249 iPod mini will retail for $249 + x% local/sale tax.

An iPod will cost less in one state and more in another. And that's here in the States.

Also, there is no federal sales tax in U.S. We don't have a "value-added tax" (VAT) on the things we buy. In England, I believe, the VAT alone adds 17.5% to the price of an iPod mini.

Thanks to the VAT, the price goes up $43. That has nothing to do with Apple or U.S. business practices.

Then factor in the costs of currency conversions and fluctuations, shipping, customs, tariffs, etc. etc.
 
Re: in stores?

Originally posted by Khodi
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.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much for this little bit of info. I have been waiting for this announcement to buy an iPod(looks like the 15Giger for me 🙁 instead of the sleak looking new overpriced one) and I've been a little worried about the battery/wear and tear on something I intend to use a lot. Having peace of mind(except for it being stolen) for 4 years, for $40, is well worth it.

Thanks again!!! 😀
 
Originally posted by avus
I am sorry, but Apple Japan just dropped the prices of the iPod TODAY to be in line with the US prices.

15GB (10GB) was $347 now $300
20GB was $450 now $403
40GB was $564 now $498

(1 US Dollar = 106 Yen)

Maybe it has something to do with upcoming iTMS Japan, I don't know.
Click to expand...

Australia just got a price drop as well as Aussie dollar is doing well

15GB (10GB) was $529 now $450
20GB was $699 now $598
40GB was $899 now $799

jason
 
Originally posted by tgilbey
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??
Click to expand...
Power adapter


6-pin FireWire connector

AC input: 100V to 240V at 0.4 amp maximum

Frequency: 50Hz to 60Hz

DC output: 12V at 1 amp maximum
 
Re: You can't compare Apples (US) to Apples (non-US)

Originally posted by brhmac
U.S. prices will most likely be lower when compared to other countries -- especially European nations -- for one simple reason.

Taxes.

American retail prices do not include taxes. Taxes are added at the time and point of purchase and vary, of course, from state to state. A $249 iPod mini will retail for $249 + x% local/sale tax.

An iPod will cost less in one state and more in another. And that's here in the States.

Also, there is no federal sales tax in U.S. We don't have a "value-added tax" (VAT) on the things we buy. In England, I believe, the VAT alone adds 17.5% to the price of an iPod mini.

Thanks to the VAT, the price goes up $43. That has nothing to do with Apple or U.S. business practices.

Then factor in the costs of currency conversions and fluctuations, shipping, customs, tariffs, etc. etc.
Click to expand...

yeah thats clear but here in austria the VAT is 20 % but the iPods are like 52% more expensive (for the 15 GB iPod) ... 30% fluctuations +shipping seems a to be a lot for me

any body knows where the european iPods are "made" ? because they aren't imported from the USA as far as i know..
 
Maybe there's still hope

I own a 15GB already so I'm not in the market for an iPod. I was really hoping to see an under $200 model to kill off some competition. I'm hoping they held back a less expensive model for a Super Bowl announcement for a lower priced model to go along with 100 million free iTunes downloads.
 
Curious to know

Has any other topic in Mac-dom created such responsive amounts of responses as the iPod mini announcement -- in recent memory here @ Macrumors?
 
Re: You can't compare Apples (US) to Apples (non-US)

Originally posted by brhmac
U.S. prices will most likely be lower when compared to other countries -- especially European nations -- for one simple reason.

Taxes.

American retail prices do not include taxes. Taxes are added at the time and point of purchase and vary, of course, from state to state. A $249 iPod mini will retail for $249 + x% local/sale tax.

An iPod will cost less in one state and more in another. And that's here in the States.

Also, there is no federal sales tax in U.S. We don't have a "value-added tax" (VAT) on the things we buy. In England, I believe, the VAT alone adds 17.5% to the price of an iPod mini.

Thanks to the VAT, the price goes up $43. That has nothing to do with Apple or U.S. business practices.

Then factor in the costs of currency conversions and fluctuations, shipping, customs, tariffs, etc. etc.
Click to expand...

that makes sense, but correct me if im wrong-it only applies to products made in usa. im guessing the ipod is not. therefore we all pay shipping, tariffs, taxes, etc

the xbox was first made in mexico and yet it cost more than in the us. people here are just used to paying more or driving to the border to shop
 
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