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Apple Releases New iPods

The problem is the iPod has always come with firewire in one form or another (whether it was an actual firewire port or the dock connector). Most consumers are going to expect the iPod to come with a firewire cable, and may not realize Apple is now selling this once included item seperately.

That requires an extra trip to the computer store, or in a lot of cases the need to order a special cable online just to use the iPod on an "older" Mac.

Apple was late to adopt USB 2.0 technology. Thats why many on this forum are complaining, Apple didn't fully support USB 2.0 across the line until the last year 1/2 or so.
 
h00ligan said:
think of it this way,

for 179 $ you can get a rio player, which has 20 gigs, is smaller than the ipod, has a better interface, comes with a dock, that can dock over ethernet ,has a better battery life

why would you buy a mini for 149? or a 20 gig for 249?

apple has to do something, there are a lot of other options. Having been an owner of a rio car, i can tell you that the rio interface is better on their 20 gig player (as it is close to the riocar).
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Surely you don't mean THIS monstrosity:

30474134-2-300-front-2.gif


First, the thing retails for up to $300 -- there is no guarantee you're ALWAYS going to be able to find it on sale for as low as $179.

Second, it is absolutely hideous. If you happen to like the way that looks, then fine. There is no accounting for taste.

Third, it doesn't play AAC files. So it is positively worthless. AAC is the modern standard, thanks.

Rio was great pre-iPod, but times have changed, and Rio players are bottom of the barrel now.
 
It's pretty easy to see how they jumped the prices down so (and this doesn't even include a case:


Apple iPod Dock Connector to FireWire Cable

Part Number: M9127G/A $19.00

Apple iPod photo AV Cable

Part Number: M9765G/A $19.00

Apple iPod photo Dock

Part Number: M9868G/A $39.00

iPod photo (30GB)

Part Number: M9829LL/A $349.00


$426.00 versus $499.00 for old 40GB model.
 
Apple is killing FireWire 800

mcgarry said:
on this whole FW/USB2 thing--

I agree with iGary & co. in Mac-nerd (or Mac-intelligentsia, if you prefer) principle. Apple should not appear to diminish their support for FW....
Click to expand...

Apple is pricing 1394b out-of-existence by only including the ports in the top end systems.

That, and the questionable decision to use incompatible connectors for 1394b, have so limited the market base for 1394b that very few peripherals support it.

Which, in a vicious circle, justifies Apple's omission of the ports on most of its systems.
 
sparks9 said:
20 gb iPod still include both cables plus AC adaptor.
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Hmm... there's an issue with one of their product comparison charts then. Not that I'm complaining at all mind you. I'm very glad to see the cable and adapter are still present.
 
Newbie here but after 30 minutes of playing with my new toys (30gig iPod photo and Shuffle) I'm blown away. These things are amazingly beautiful!

The Shuffle I was skeptical given the random thing. But I'm enjoying my music and the awesome sound quality from such a tiny thing. The iPod photo I can already tell you will make me an iPod addict. It will make travel a pleasure since I can chill to my music while surfing through photos of my wife. Fantastic piece of wizardry! Makes all other mp3 players look like the cheese they are. :D :) :D
 
TylerL said:
For those complaining about the lack of FireWire in the new iPods, I will gladly sell you the 4GB iPod mini bundled with an Apple FireWire Dock Connector cable for $249.
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They have this really cool online auction site called "e bay" - ever heard of it? :rolleyes:
 
DTphonehome said:
Waaaa! My 486 DX/33 only has a serial port (my dot-matrix printer takes up the parallel port)!! These ipods are useless!!
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Best post on the thread. I agree with apple giving discounts. I don't need what they dropped, so they are saving me some $$! If you need the stuff, then pay extra!

Kudos to apple for not making 95% of the people pay for something only 5% need!

Bill
 
iGary said:
It's pretty easy to see how they jumped the prices down so (and this doesn't even include a case:


Apple iPod Dock Connector to FireWire Cable

Part Number: M9127G/A $19.00

Apple iPod photo AV Cable

Part Number: M9765G/A $19.00

Apple iPod photo Dock

Part Number: M9868G/A $39.00

iPod photo (30GB)

Part Number: M9829LL/A $349.00


$426.00 versus $499.00 for old 40GB model.
Click to expand...

Agreed. The price drops are not as big as they initially appear. Even when you factor in buying the extras, it it is still a net price drop and allows you to pick up only the accessories you need/want. It is never fun when you buy something that includes pack-ins you don't want but are paying for anyway. This setup is more modular and allows customers to buy what they want.

Off topic example, I'm looking for a BT two-button mouse that doesn't come with a BT hub because I don't need one. Does anybody know of any? I sure haven't found them.
 
AidenShaw said:
Apple is pricing 1394b out-of-existence by only including the ports in the top end systems.

That, and the questionable decision to use incompatible connectors for 1394b, have so limited the market base for 1394b that very few peripherals support it.

Which, in a vicious circle, justifies Apple's omission of the ports on most of its systems.
Click to expand...

Yeah, no FW800 even on the 12" PB!

But 1394b has never been used for the iPods, I thought this was more about normal ol' FW400.
 
UWF404 said:
Newbie here but after 30 minutes of playing with my new toys (30gig iPod photo and Shuffle) I'm blown away. These things are amazingly beautiful!
Makes all other mp3 players look like the cheese they are. :D :) :D
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Haha, I'm pleased you're enjoying your new toys!

But it's best not to put down other players in the process :) There are better players than the iPods, albeit in different ways (feature set for example), but the iPod is arguably the best player for the average Mac user because of its software interface with iTunes...
 
feakbeak said:
...[snip]

Off topic example, I'm looking for a BT two-button mouse that doesn't come with a BT hub because I don't need one. Does anybody know of any? I sure haven't found them.
Click to expand...

There are many thread about this, just do a search. If your first terms don't work, try again, because they're there. I've talked about my Bluetake BT500 in a few of them.
 
I'm pleased with today's iPod mini release. It does leave me still standing, waiting expectantly for the colour screens though.

The price drop is superb and says that Apple is serious about competing with other consumer electronics brands, not purely by marketing, but by sheer value for money! I say bravo!
 
4 gb for $199. Won't this kill the sales of 1 GB iPod shuffles for $149? Then again, other companies somehow competed with cheap HD players for so long anyway...
 
personly I think this update is kind of crappy. They no logger give an AC/DC aptor with the minis nor a firewire cord.

They no longer sell the 40gig modle and then with the ipod photo you no longer get the dock that comes with it. NO they want you to pay another 40 for it.
 
d.perel said:
4 gb for $199. Won't this kill the sales of 1 GB iPod shuffles for $149? Then again, other companies somehow competed with cheap HD players for so long anyway...
Click to expand...
In the realm of 1Gb flash players, the Shuffle rules as the cheapest brand-name player in the UK... it'll keep its market share I'm sure.
 
~Shard~ said:
New colors would have been cool though... ;)
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i swear (i may be imagining it) that when i first read it this morning, that the it said the colors were new. or it says 'kicked up' on apple's site. the blue and the green look a little different. Are these ever so slightly modified in color? they really should have changed that and brought in orange. guess i'll just have to wait til their instore to see.
 
Ok people.. heres what needs to be said.. might have already been said, but im not reading 18 pages of posts to find out.

fact: the green, pink, and blue minis are slightly different colors, so people, stop complaining that there are no new colors. how do i know? b/c the apple website says it on the front page:"avalible in silver and 3 new colors"

me: when i read that, i honestly went about searching the site to find out what the new colors were. what a dissapointment.. the blue looks better, and the green and pink is to subtle for me to care.

fact: it is cheaper for apple to include the usb instead of both, and they figure that pc users don't have firewire, and that mac users have usb 2, b/c all macs that have shipped in the past few years have had usb 2.

me: they should still include both, because of these reasons. or at least an adaptor or somthing. (power/usb2/firewire)

and i know im going to get flamed for this:

gee.. hows this for an analogy:

"ipod" is to "mp3 player" as "Windows/ pc's" is to "computers"

both came in late with a few advantages, was sort of a copy, and ended up a hell of a lot above the other(s)
 
Timelessblur said:
personly I think this update is kind of crappy. They no logger give an AC/DC aptor with the minis nor a firewire cord.

They no longer sell the 40gig modle and then with the ipod photo you no longer get the dock that comes with it. NO they want you to pay another 40 for it.
Click to expand...

WOW! 40 dollars! this is terrible! I would completely prefer a few hundred dollars extra so the dock would be in the same box as the ipod! Apple is completly unreasonable, giving you the choice of paying extra for the bare minimum, or letting you choose exactly where you spend your money! how dare them!

don't worry, we all see where you are coming from
 
Dammit Apple...this is the first time I'm rather ticked at something they've done.

Once again, I have a $50 Gift Card, so I'll be putting that into the equation here.

Now, here's what I was planning on buying:

40GB iPod $349. That includes the Firewire Cable and Dock, so I don't need to buy ANYTHING else.

30GB iPod Photo $299 But, oh wait, I'd like a dock and I'm required to purchase a firewire cable. I'll have to pay extra for those. So...
$299 + $39 + $19 = $359

That's $10 more for 10 less GB and a useless color screen.

Thanks alot Apple. I thought the idea was for these to be more affordable, not less affordable.
 
hcuar said:
I'm surprised that people are excited over this supposed price drop! They cut out lots of "stuff" that came with the 60GB iPod that adds up to quite a bit. (Firewire cable, dock, AV cable, case)
Click to expand...

I paid $499 for a 40GB iPod Photo with the Firewire Cable, dock, AV cable, and case. I've never used the AV Cable (use the dock with S-video on my TV) and I'll definitely never use the case. I would gladly have paid less than that $499 for a 60GB iPod Photo without that stuff.....and I would probably have just added the dock.

I've been using Macs for years and iPods since close to the time they were released. I've been paying premium Apple prices for years.....and all I've ever heard was make this .....faster, better, smaller, cheaper. And what has Apple done:
-They released an iMac with a G5 processor that takes up almost no room on your desk (I love mine).....but now people complain about the video card and screen quality and no dual-layer dvd burner, etc.
-They released a $499 Mac (iMac Mini)....but people are upset about how much RAM it can hold or it doesn't come with a keyboard or mouse or there is no Apple LCD screen that's cheap enough to go with it.
-They released a flash iPod at $99 and $149 for the masses......but people are upset with it not having a screen or that it takes away from the appeal of the iPod line
-They give more options for the iPod with ALOT better battery life on the iPod Mini's: $99 $149 $199 $249 $299 $349 $399 $449.....but people complain about there being too many options or not enough accessories included or they should all have color screens

Coming from someone who has spent lots of time and money on Apple products over the years.....all of these steps look like they can only help Apple get their high quality products and AWESOME Operating System into more homes.
Damnit, why did they have to decrease the price of the 4GB iPod Minis and increase the battery life from 8 hours to 18 hours while giving you an option to get an extra 2GB's on the iPod mini for the usual price? Why did they have to give you the option to pay a lot less for an iPod Photo? This makes absolutely no sense to me:)
 
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