Apple Releases New iPods

[kaltsasa]

Well on the Apple Store the Dock Connector to USB 2.0 and Firewire, and the Dock Connector to Firewire are exactly the same price. That negates any argument that the lack of in box firewire is a cost saving measure on Apple's part since it would seem that both cost the exact same amount. Leaving the only logical reason being that Apple wants to try and force people to upgrade to new macs.

 

[blackfox]

thankyou tomjleeds.

While I am moderately annoyed to have to spend more $$ for FW capability, as a non ipod owner, this thread was sooo confusing to me as to what I needed for FW capability. Thanks for clearing that up.

 

[Lacero]

Leaving the only logical reason being that Apple wants to try and force people to upgrade to new macs.

Either that, or forcing 90% of all iPod users to upgrade their PCs to support firewire.

 

[rtdunham]

...I am getting to the point where I hate buy new computers from Apple. I know things change in the blink of an eye but, Apple need an upgrade program of some kind.

yeah, some system where you can upgrade for just part of the cost of the new device.

Oh, wait, there IS such a program: You SELL your used computer, add an incremental amount to what you get for it, and buy the new one! That accomplishes everything you're asking for, doesn't it?

peace
terry

 

[TENBLUE7™]

£140 for a 4GB Mini - month after I spend £99 on a 1GB Shuffle.

Should've waited, 4 times as much space and a screen for an extra 40 quid.



Though I do love my Shuffle a lot.

 

[ZildjianKX]

Well, I'm really happy Apple didn't include color screens... so now I don't have to buy one

Anyways, the improved battery life is fantastic... but I just know the next mini will go color.

 

[Squire]

just because apple is pissing you off, it dosen't mean they are pissing EVERYONE off... with this move, they are cutting costs and prices to the consumer dramatically, and providing the cables that the majority of iPod purchasers... PC users... need.

[begins beating dead horse]

I do not believe Apple is cutting costs "dramatically" by not including a little 3-foot cord and block of plastic. What do they save? I guess 3 bucks...tops. Don't fall for the "why should you have to pay for a 20-dollar cable you won't use" line.

Until the release of the iMac G5, my 1 GHz iMac was still a very current machine. It doesn't have USB 2.0.

Why couldn't they just throw in that FW/USB 2.0 cable shaped like a 'Y' and make everyone happy?


Squire

 

[Lacero]

£140 for a 4GB Mini - month after I spend £99 on a 1GB Shuffle.

Should've waited, 4 times as much space and a screen for an extra 40 quid.



Though I do love my Shuffle a lot.

You only really need to buy the shuffle if you need anti-skip. Otherwise, it's probably a better value to pay more initially to get a 4gb mini.

 

[rtdgoldfish]

Price Match? Apple does that? News to me, unless you mean a third party reseller or something.

Something Im not clear on... are the iPods getting the increased battery life as well?

Yes, they do price match. I found it on the help section of the Apple store online. I just called the store and they credited my credit card $50+tax. It has to be within 10 days of your purchase and you have 14 days to contact them to recieve the difference. I didn't even have to go to the store, manager handled it over the phone.

 

[EssentialParado]

You know, it's not about the 20 bucks...not at all. I have three of the things, and I did go ahead and order the iPod Photo when I heard of the direct camera support coming.

Those of us who have been around the Mac World for quite some time, the very people that provided Apple with the revenue to develop the original iPod are now being considered the minority...people with machines less than a year old have to go buy a cord, or put in a USB card that will not allow their machine to sleep properly. FireWire is Apple's invention...and they put it out to cold?

Just lame.

Bravo, Apple.

iPods aren't Macs.

 

[puckhead193]

The ipod photo is very tempting, esp. With the EDu discount. Just over $300 for a color screen ipod. They lowered the price because now you don't get the dock or the firewire cable!! It comes with USB 2.0 cable

 

[craigiest]

Shuffle still a deal

Well...it officially makes NO SENSE to buy a 1GB iPod shuffle. For $50 dollars more (not even one hundred) you get four times as much memory, and a screen.

That extra 3GB does not equal extra functionality. 4GB (or 6) isn't enough room for my whole music library, so I'd have to rotate my music anyway. I use my Shuffle to listen to radio programs, which I swap out every day, along with any music I don't want to hear anymore. I just don't need the added memory.

I do, however, need to have a flashdrive with me. An iPod mini, plus a memory stick, plus my cellphone, plus a pen and mini notebook is too much for my left pocket. Having the flashdrive double as an iPod, taking up less room, is definitely worth paying $50 LESS.

 

[macOSX-tastic]

when i first saw the new mini,

i thought that the click wheel icons were lit up! only then did i read that they are colour coordinated. wouldnt that be cool if you had green lighted icons for a green mini? and for other colours also?
surely it cant be that hard to integrate the lighting needed for this....but hey, i woudlnt be able to do it
well, one can dream......


tastic

 

[Yvan256]

Maybe I've lost my mind, or my eyesight, but I don't see a 40GB iPod anymore.

Also, where is everyone getting this language about the coming camera adaptor?

You can see the new line-up on one page by checking the frontpage:
http://www.apple.com/

There seems to be two layouts (random). Just refresh until you see the 4 kinds of iPods. You'll have the names, capacities, colors, prices.

 

[maxterpiece]

sorry to say this but you are wrong there. USB 2.0 is theoretically faster as in 440 kbps but that is only in very short bursts whereas firewire can sustain 400kbps for longer stretches hence firewire external hard drives are far better than usb 2.0 ones. fact.

the fact is, going to usb 2.0 as the primary connection is a step backwards and is just going after all those windows users.

let's be honest here. More users have USB 2.0 than have Firewire. Why? Because there are about 100 times more peripherals that use USB than use firewire. Firewire may be a weeeee bit faster than USB 2.0, but how often are you really transfering huge amounts of data... huge enough to make that small difference even noticeable? 99% of people aren't going to notice (let alone care) that when they first get their ipod and transfer ALL of their music onto it that it takes an extra 30 seconds to transfer.

Maybe if not all of Apple's current line shipped with USB 2.0 this would seem like betrayal, but this is a consumer product and if apple wants it to be a sort of Trojan Horse for converting non-mac users, they can't be elitist and make the majority pay $ to buy a USB 2.0 cable just to use an iPod. It's simple math that Apple had to pick USB over firewire.

 

[Hemingray]

Good move!

Good job, Apple! It's great to see the iPod mini finally hit the $199 price point. Everything else is just a plus.

Too bad for Apple they made the 1st Gen. iPods so good, because mine's still going strong and I have no use to upgrade. Maybe someday...

 

[1984]

No every update needs to be earth shattering or change the course of human history.... get over I sick and annoyed of these latest generations with their needs for instant gratification for everything...

Instant gratification? It's been over a year dude.

 

[Hattig]

You know, I would agree with you to an extent, but Firewire is only truly useful for things such as digital video and HD. Apple has not abandoned Firewire. See their developments in FW 800 and DV device compatibility. USB2.0 has become so universal on PCs and Macs that for Apple to include both cables is unnecessary. I have a 1G iPod mini and have never used the USB2.0 cable. I would have rather saved $19 if Apple didn't include it. You really have to see both sides.

Why don't Apple make a combo-cable. One iPod port, and a splitter at the other end for either USB2 or Firewire port. I suppose you'd have to tell dumb users not to plug both in at the same time, gah.

 

[Jalexster]

ok. I am still confused with all this talk about Firewire.

Is it true that the ipods have a proprietary fw port, rendering generic fw cables useless?

Is it true that I will have to buy a USB/FW adaptor to use Firewire on these new ipods? At which point, i am still stuck with a proprietary port, or not?

Is there no longer even a FW port on the ipods?

These are all asking the same question, I guess. I would like to buy a new ipod. I would like to use FW, if possible. What are my options, here?

All current iPods except the shuffle, have the "dock connector".

This connector offers:

USB 2.0 (allows for charging on 4G, mini and photo
Firewire (allows for charging on all models)
Line-out
Video-out (iPod photo only)
Extra functions (Car control, picture transfers, etc...)

You get one Dock Connector to USB cable with any new iPod. With the 4G, you also get a Dock Connector to Firewire cable. You cannot hook a standard USB or Firewire cable up to your iPod. You need to use the dock cables. The new iPods released today, retain all the old features. This means they allows for full firewire support.

Also, just because Apple is lessening, NOT REMOVING, support for Firewire (it's still there, so don't panic), is nothing to be alarmed of. They probably won't remove Firewire from thier computers. The iPod is a mainstream product. This means that they need to cut costs, and compete. If this means removing an accessory that the majority of the market dosen't use (Windows users don't use Firewire much), then so be it.

Me personally, I use USB 2.0 when connecting my iPod. Why? Because it mounts and unmounts faster!

 

[1984]

Firewire may be a weeeee bit faster than USB 2.0, but how often are you really transfering huge amounts of data... huge enough to make that small difference even noticeable? 99% of people aren't going to notice (let alone care) that when they first get their ipod and transfer ALL of their music onto it that it takes an extra 30 seconds to transfer.

A weeeee bit faster?

FireWire vs. USB 2.0 Hard Drive Performance Comparison

Read and write tests to the same IDE hard drive connected using FireWire and then Hi-Speed USB 2.0 show:

Read Test:
5000 files (300 MB total) FireWire was 33% faster than USB 2.0
160 files (650MB total) FireWire was 70% faster than USB 2.0

Write Test:
5000 files (300 MB total) FireWire was 16% faster than USB 2.0
160 files (650MB total) FireWire was 48% faster than USB 2.0

 

[Jalexster]

Why don't Apple make a combo-cable. One iPod port, and a splitter at the other end for either USB2 or Firewire port. I suppose you'd have to tell dumb users not to plug both in at the same time, gah.

Apple makes one. It used to be the only option if you wanted to hook your iPod up via USB 2.0.

 

[1macker1]

my .02

As long as it's(usb 2.0) backward compatible with USB 1.1, I really don't care. But it's odd to see that apple is kissing the rear end of PC users and saying, "Hey, just buy the $20 cable." to Mac users.

 

[Yvan256]

Either that, or forcing 90% of all iPod users to upgrade their PCs to support firewire.

And it's not like Firewire on Windows works well either. I bought a 3-ports Firewire card, thinking I could sell back my USB cable (and use the Firewire cable that came with my iPod), but after trying to make it work for over a week, I just gave up and returned the Firewire card. I'm still using USB 2.0 because in my case it seems to be the only possible way to connect my iPod to my PC.

Yes, a lot of PC users have Firewire and use it, but believe me, it's not as simple as plug 'n play (it seems that Firewire supports in Windows is not 100% compliant for all cards, which is needed for iPod/iTunes somehow).

 

[mattpol]

A Great Deal

I am in love with the deal I just got, as a result of this new bump!

I picked up a 40GB iPod Photo on clearance, for the edu price of 349.99 (from the "Special Deals" sale store)!!!

Can you beat this deal? 40 Gig iPod Photo, photo dock, FIREWIRE!! cable, AV Cables, and even the apple case!

I am thrilled and can't wait for it to arrive at my doorstep!!

 

[Diatribe]

just because apple is pissing you off, it dosen't mean they are pissing EVERYONE off...

Who said I am pissed off? I said they're pissing a lot of people off. Reading is your friend.

with this move, they are cutting costs and prices to the consumer dramatically

Now where exactly is the dramatical price cut? The $50 on the 4GB? They could've done that with the option to choose a cable too.

and providing the cables that the majority of iPod purchasers... PC users... need.

Ok now, where is the point against having the option to have the FW instead? What about the huge amount of Mac users that have made the iPod what it is today?

how do the people feel that just bought a 1GB shuffle? probably the same, because its not like they released a 2GB shuffle at the same price point.

How many people do you think would've bought a 4GB mini at that price point? Right, many.

people beg for revisions, updates, and innovation...

Continuing from my previous point, releasing revisions or updates of the same line within a month is just bad policy. You can argue that all you want.

if apple looked at the complaining consumer like some people look at them, they would say 'the hell with it', cash out their stock options, and retire to an island, listening to their 60GB color ipods, being charged by USB 2.0.

Ok, now you've won me over. This has to be the smartest, most thought through comment I have ever read.