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4GB 'iPod Mini' and 15GB iPod

Originally posted by realityisterror
THE SIZE OF A BUSINESS CARD!!!!!


reality😉
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I think that will drive sales, not its price vis-a-vis the 15GB. When he announced it, a few iPod wannabes in my office balked at the price. Then I took a stack of my business cards thick enough to mimic the new mini. Then we put it next to my iPod. Have to admit it, pretty awesome.
 
Originally posted by edesignuk
Yes they are very nice, yes they are smaller, yes they are "cool", yes they are a rip off!!!!! Please, anyone with half a brain will pay another $50 for 15GB.

...I don't get it...
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Maybe I can enlighten you.

For some folks, size is very important.

iPod is 6.1 CI (4.1 x 2.4 x 0.62)

iPod mini is 3.6 CI (3.6 x 2.0 x 0.5)

So the iPod mini is considerably smaller than the iPod (~41% smaller).

For some folks, weight is very important.

iPod is 5.6 oz (15GB model)

iPod mini is 3.6 oz.

So the iPod mini is considerably lighter than the iPod (~35% lighter).

The iPod mini comes with a USB cable, where as the iPod does not.

The iPod mini comes in colors, where as the iPod does not.

Just some examples why the iPod mini will apeal to some folks.

Here in Japan, I bet the iPod mini will sell like hotcakes. Folks here, myself included, have purchased 256MB players for close to $350! Having 4GB of storage, for a much cheaper price, is fantastic.

Anyhow, I hope this sheds some light as to why some folks will be very happy with their iPod mini purchase.

Sushi
 
It was my birthday yesterday and I am now in the category of grumpy old man.

Originally posted by pjkelnhofer
You and Apple are dreaming if you think some one who is looking to spend $100-$150 for a portable MP3 are going to suddenly double their budget for a mini iPod just because it looked cool.
We are not talking about the low end market. Steve himself said Apple is going after the high-end flash market with the mini iPod. He defined this as $100-$200 flash players. Now, I admit that people who are will to spend $200 may well go up to $250, but Steve did not really explain why people who wanted to spend between $100 and $150 (who he himself defined as part of the market they are after) would buy it.
One would have to assume there is more than the 4Gb mini as part of the plan to take over another third of the mp3 player market.

I am a Mac owner and I am not going to pay more than something is worth. I may pay more for my Mac than for a PC equivalent, but I do not sign blank checks and send them to Apple.
C'mon. I hate when Mac fans get too carried away. The "wow" factor counts for something, but Apple says it wants to gain market share (at least in the mp3 player market) and the only way to gain market share at some point to offer value, not just "wow".
Judging by the crowd's reaction, people were only saying "wow" to the price, as in "Wow!" that is more than I expected.
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Obviously you are entitled to your opinion, and Im flattered you referred to my ramblings, but Id rather you didnt misquote my posting on practically every point in order to express your own spin on the iPodmini 🙁

I never mentioned low end market as a target for the iPod mini. Through my fading eyes I saw Jobs spouting off in front of a visual of a $199 player - which I presumed was a ballpark price for the type of mid range MP3 he is going after. I say ballpark because the 4GB Rio is 249, and if the mp3 player innovators think $249 is the right price, than perhaps Apple arent too far off the ball either.

I never said Mac owners buy things that are not worth the money, I said they buy things that probably cost more than they would like to pay. In my experience when you have a piece of Apple hardware you pay more than the so-say equivalent from elsewhere but tend to find out that it has more to offer in terms of build quality or ease of use than you expected.

You may not go wow and let the moment overtake your wallet, and neither do I, (I sweat for days before parting with my cash), but plenty of nubile young things with about $200 in their boyfriend's pocket will when they see those cutesy little itsy bitsy pink iPods - and at least the wow with an Apple product is backed up by performance, which all in all IMHO does equate to value.

cheers anyway. Im off to bed with a cocoa and if I can find her number, a nubile iPod owner. Happy New Year
 
Originally posted by sfhc21

I still have quite a few friends that laugh at me for paying $300 for a "music" player - aka iPod. Its going to have to come way down before the Average Joe becomes interested in it.
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My co-workers said the same thing yet when they come into my office, they ogle it, ask to see it and remark that I've never heard you playing the same song twice even though they're in my office numerous times a day.

I just got one of those Pyrim (www.pyrim.com) carry cases that hold my iPod, accessories and my Sony Clie'. Sold an iPod and Pyrim case today to him. Who do I see for my commission.
 
No offense

No offense to most of you people, you guys are morons in basic marketing. If they made the price too low then noone would buy the regular 15+ gig ipods. If they make it too high, then its stupid. I agree 249 bux is high. But I would say they have good logic, some people want the colors, some want smaller. It will find its place in the market soon.
 
Originally posted by sushi
Maybe I can enlighten you.

For some folks, size is very important.

iPod is 6.1 CI (4.1 x 2.4 x 0.62)

iPod mini is 3.6 CI (3.6 x 2.0 x 0.5)

So the iPod mini is considerably smaller than the iPod (~41% smaller).

For some folks, weight is very important.

iPod is 5.6 oz (15GB model)

iPod mini is 3.6 oz.

So the iPod mini is considerably lighter than the iPod (~35% lighter).

The iPod mini comes with a USB cable, where as the iPod does not.

The iPod mini comes in colors, where as the iPod does not.

Just some examples why the iPod mini will apeal to some folks.

Here in Japan, I bet the iPod mini will sell like hotcakes. Folks here, myself included, have purchased 256MB players for close to $350! Having 4GB of storage, for a much cheaper price, is fantastic.

Anyhow, I hope this sheds some light as to why some folks will be very happy with their iPod mini purchase.

Sushi
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Just to continue on in my last post, this person knows basic marketing. People generally like coolness. That is why most humans are dumb. Most prefer form over function. I know if i had a crap loda cash i would buy the mini ipod just for its coolness. But since I am only 14 and am limited on my allowance, i would get the 15 giger most likely.

Almost the same logic as the buy in bulk thing, Pay a little more (or even less) and get more. But why do so many poeple still buy single packages of sumtin for 5 bux vs double packages for 6 bux. Just as a real world example of dumb humans.
 
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.
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Ok I do understand what you are saying and I (i'm sure also many others) already understood this. Most of the prices quoted on Apple's uk site are inclusive of Value added Tax (17.5%) anyway. But the point is I think people feel that even taking into account taxes and 'other' expenses Apple still seems to put a huge price tag on their products for other countries.

Here are some figures that I hope prove the point a little. The UK prices quoted are with our tax taken off (i.e Excluding VAT)

iPod 15gb
US Price: $299 UK Price: £212 Converted to USD = $386
iPod 40gb
US Price: $499 UK Price: £340 Converted back to USD = $620
iPod Mini
US Price: 249 UK Price: £170 (a guess based around it being £200 inc TAX) Converted to USD = $309

So asside from tax what else could mean hiking the prices up so much like this? I don't buy the whole shipping/customs fee's, mainly because not all Apple products are assembled in America. My iMac was made in Ireland, which should mean it would have been CHEAPER to buy here than in America - yet this was not the case.

I would be interested to know what charges companies like Apple have to pay to distribute products internationally because at the moment it just doesn't make sense to me. Is there a valid reason or is Apple really getting away with ripping off 50% of its customers with hardly anyone raising an eyebrow?
 
Originally posted by srobert
mr_t_inducted_1102orgA.jpg


I pity the foo! who does'nt pick the gold plated mini!

^_^
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Thank you!!! Needed a good laugh after reading this depressing thread.

Don't mean to bash anyone or generalize, but can anyone think about the greater market and not only their own personal wants and opinions?
 
Funny how most of you complainers keep comparing the iPod mini to the regular iPods. It's after a completely different market... and while I do think the pricing is a bit high at $249, I don't think it's unreasonable.

At $249 you get the iPod mini (way better than 256MB or 512MB Rio's for $199, but I guess someone you have decided to buy that because of the outrageous $50 difference), you also get the USB 2.0 cable (a $20 value) and you get a belt clip (worth another $20). Also, the educational discount brings this to $229.

There's always more if you add more money... but what if the other ipods were out of contention? Or what if they didn't exist?

$249 for an iPod mini vs. $199 for a Rio.... if that were the only options, there would be no choice.

Personally, I think Apple would have priced it at $199 if they could have. But they can't... remember, smaller (physical) hard drives cost more.. and these aren't the Toshiba drives like the ones in the other iPods.

Oh well, that's my two cents.
 
quit your whining

the price will come down. if it doesn't sell, it will come down even quicker. if we see a 2 gb ipod, it will be 200 or maybe even 150. i'd pay 150 or so for a 2 gig.
 
I noticed 2 funny things on the iPod Mini page (US page at www.apple.com/ipod)

1- "features an anodized aluminium case" .. not aluminum

2- "smaller than any cell phone" then a footnote "Compared volumetrically to cell phones sold in the U.S."
 
OK. I was just going to lurk, but I had to register and reply to this one.

For the record: I don't own 1 Apple product. I never have. Its not that I don't like them, I do, but there are too many things that just turn me off. Products go obsolete too fast, not upgradable, FAR too expensive. But that is neither here nor there.

This iPod mini thing really burns me. I was really hoping to get one but at $250 it is just out of the question. Its not that $250 is too much for a 4GB mini, its a good deal! The problem is that I don't need that much space! And neither does anyone else I know that is interested in a player. We are not going to pay more for something we aren't going to use. A 2GB at $199 would have had some credit cards blazing, at that rate even a 1GB at $179 would have done it too. That is the key that everyone has been missing in these posts. It has been about 256MB players. Well duh! 256MB is too small! With 1GB you can (on the average) fit at least 3 of your favorites bands *entire catalogs* on the player. I think that SJ is missing the the whole point of digital media players...

Replacement of the discman. There are people that gave up on the discman because they are tired of CDs skipping. These people would be happy to shell out $179-$200 to have a good 10+ CDs at their disposal on a tiny player. But instead Apple misses the mark and basically markets to the wrong people.

This new player at the current specs/price target:

1) People that already have iPods.
2) Were on the fence for a 10GB but couldn't get to $299.
3) "Mac people" that **HAVE** to have everything Apple.
4) People that care more about fashon than functionality. (Many mac users)

So they are never going to get the market saturation that he mentioned in the keynote. He wants to rub out the flash players and get people to get something better, but buy making something that isn't even the same league, it does NOTHING. There is no way they are even going to get anywhere NEAR the 51% market they would like to see.

So once again Apple fails to grab a bunch of new customers. I think the problem with them is that they are so elitist. And it rubs off on their customers. They just feel that they are SO much better than everyone else and thats why as a computer company they will never achieve their installed user base goals either. The perception of this company has to change. As well as the way people perceive it. Thinking different is fine, but alienating people that WANT TO GIVE YOU THEIR CASH is just asinine.

Why do you think Dell is such a successful company? Not that I would ever buy one, but they ALWAYS have a low end beater system for Joe Average and his grandmother. Now, if there was a G4 cube that was something like a 1.2-1.4GHz/256MB/40GBwith a 17" CRT and the bare essentials that was only $799, you can bet your bottom dollar that they would sell thousands and thousands more.

I really didn't mean for this to get into a general rant, but you get the idea. I know that this will probably fall on deaf ears due to the fact that I am a "peecee guy" and therefore inferior, but whatever.
 
Originally posted by hayesk
No offence, but you people who think it's overpriced are extremely short-sighted.

The mini comes with a dock, a case, armband, remote control - all things the 15GB doesn't have. So, no, spending $50 more won't get you the same thing with 11 more GBs.
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This is incorrect.

At the Apple Store page, the "cool optional accessories" are:
Armband-$29
Mini dock-$39
Remote-$??

This is Apple after all. WHat did you expect. a $99 iPod? LOL
 
Originally posted by Spades
Wait a second. There's yet another mp3 player out there that costs $249. How does the iPod mini compete with this?

At $249 there are already competing 4 gig and 15 gig players. Why couldn't Apple have leap-frogged the competition and made a cheaper player, even if it had less capacity? Remind me again which market the mini is supposed to compete with.
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Apple does NOT compete on price. Never have, never will. Repeat after me,
F-U-N-C-T-I-O-N-A-L-I-T-Y
 
Originally posted by simply258
I noticed 2 funny things on the iPod Mini page (US page at www.apple.com/ipod)
1- "features an anodized aluminium case" .. not aluminum
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Aluminium IS the correct spelling 😉 Just jesting. 😀 The horrible irony of it is that they probably had some poor UK sod type it all up, with him drooling all over it and wanting to buy one, but then they hit him with the news that it's not available here yet untill April.
 
Displeasure carries mark of the beast

Hahahaha. When I saw this, I just had to take a screenshot. Our ire carries evil portents:

666.jpg



😀
 
'Must admit, I was initially let down by the pricing. The rumors really diluted Apple big time on this.

HOWEVER high end was the stated focus and a 4GB same-cost Rio Flash player will still probably look like some tweaked ugly tape measurer (CALI) or in the case of their current 1.5 (Nitrus) - a broken Atari joystick slathered in baby oil.

SO I must agree that this is simply a new beast - all size, style, and form factor. These are almost as small as the USB pen drives - which 1GB go for $350 or so. For the chic, not the cheap or the geek.

Cheaps don't buy Apple - Apple knows that when they make a $200 iPod, Rio will make a $165.99 player with the same specs anyway to attract value buyers. And Geeks want SIZE, hey what's that 40 iPod compensating for?... ;-P

Guess we'll never see iPods in WALMART, but hell, if we did you'd all be crying about that too. BTW regarding the WALMART 'value' mentality, you should read this: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/77/walmart.html
 
Originally posted by brywalker
So once again Apple fails to grab a bunch of new customers. I think the problem with them is that they are so elitist. And it rubs off on their customers. They just feel that they are SO much better than everyone else and thats why as a computer company they will never achieve their installed user base goals either. The perception of this company has to change. As well as the way people perceive it. Thinking different is fine, but alienating people that WANT TO GIVE YOU THEIR CASH is just asinine.
Click to expand...

Interesting, it was only announced today, yet you are already sure they have failed to get a bunch of new customers.

And as for elitist attitude, have you ever heard a keynote address from Bill Gates?
 
Re: no offence pjk

Originally posted by tgilbey
...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....
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The question is will the iPod mini sell as well as the iPod. Will it sell out?
I still say if they want more market share they will need better value. iPod sales will not increase forever. I am sure there are teens who are going to get a cheaper lower quality mp3 player because the parents don't want to spend the money on the iPod.
I just would have liked a better explination of how a $250 player is going to dominate the $100-200 market.
 
GRRRR, horrible pricing for this new iPod mini-me.

Apple has yet to impress me with the price of a product.

And having a 2GB cheaper version is not really feasible since hard drive size doesnt necessarily determine its price, like the difference between the current ipod 10 and 15gb drives is probably only 10 or 15 dollars.

Apple needs to get in gear here, most ppl dont want to spend $250-$500 on a music playing device, even if it is the best player out there (and it is). I know because I got a 15GB right when they came out, and I love it. But most ppl who just listen to music casually can't justify such a large purchase.
 
Re: biking

Originally posted by minipoduser
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.
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LOL! Don't laugh, but right now I DO take my PowerBook on the passenger seat of my car and plug it into the Aux-In on my deck's faceplate. Look! The new 60 GB iPod with 15.2" Colour LCD! Sucks how you gotta leave the lid open a sliver, though...it'll sleep when closed.

I have a 10<15GB Music collection, but use my PowerBook in the house 90% of the time. A MiniPod would only be for those car trips, 2GB would be fine, but 4GB even better. I'm not prepared to dish out for a full iPod (although 15GB at entry level makes it more feasible). A MiniPod would have to be significantly less than a current iPod for me to buy, $200 would have been the MAX for 4GB, I was hoping for a 2GB for maybe $150. For $250, no dice, I'll stick with the 60 GB Titanium version, but I'll NEVER take it biking with me...a $150 2GB Mini I'd try it though (but not with the armband) probably belt clip it at my back, I've done this with my cell phone a couple times and didn't even notice it. I think biking is not nearly as rough as jogging, so the memory buffer SHOULD be enough for it to survive the occasional jitter. Has anyone mountain biked with an iPod?...mixed flat gravel trails and offroad...Results?
 
Originally posted by damax452
GRRRR, horrible pricing for this new iPod mini-me.

Apple has yet to impress me with the price of a product.

And having a 2GB cheaper version is not really feasible since hard drive size doesnt necessarily determine its price, like the difference between the current ipod 10 and 15gb drives is probably only 10 or 15 dollars.

Apple needs to get in gear here, most ppl dont want to spend $250-$500 on a music playing device, even if it is the best player out there (and it is). I know because I got a 15GB right when they came out, and I love it. But most ppl who just listen to music casually can't justify such a large purchase.
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Umm dude, these are TINY hd's. 10 or 15 dollars would get you maybe 1 gig more at max. These little hd's cost alot. Heck, even laptop hd's cost enough.
 
here's to all the value cravers out there

Gee if it was about value why not strap an XRAID to your back and enjoy that $3/Gig value, you could carry a million songs everywhere you go. You could christen it the iHump.

How many times could you fly around the world without hearing the same song with the iHump??

Great IDEA!
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