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Flash iPod at MacWorld Expo?

I can't believe Apple would sell a 1 Gig iPod for $150. That price is way too low. Here is some of the competition (prices from Best Buy):

$200 - iRiver 512MB with FM tuner
$180 - SanDisk 512MB with with FM tuner and backlit LCD
$160 - Rio 256MB with FM tuner and expandable drive
$150 - Samsung 256MB with FM tuner
$150 - Rumored 1Gig iPod???

Now according to this rumor Apple will sell a 1 Gig iPod for $150. Bull****. iPods sell for a premium. A 1 Gig iPod would be an amazing price at $200. However, at that price it is starting to get to the iPod mini range. That gives me hope the rumor might be true.

I hope the rumor is true, and if it is Apple should completely crush the flash portable competition.

lasuther
 
To compare prices, I went to Circuit City yesterday and they had a 1gig flash for $200, so $149 is a huge underprice for this type of device.
 
the_mole1314 said:
To compare prices, I went to Circuit City yesterday and they had a 1gig flash for $200, so $149 is a huge underprice for this type of device.
Click to expand...

a $499 or $599 Mac, and now a $149 1GB iPod.

Maybe we are just seeing a new tactic by Apple - low introductory price points for products in an attempt to increase market share for long term health.
 
DougJrS said:
Heat would be a big problem in a G5 iBook or PowerBook. Can you but a water cooled processor in a laptop?

I would have to run out and get one of those to show the PC techs at work who water at the mouth talking about building a water cooled desktop.
Click to expand...

Your laptop already uses a closed-cycle liquid cooling system called a heatpipe.

Here's a picture of one (this one's for a 100 watt plus chip, the laptop's version will be smaller :) ).

Note the liquid containing tubes that pull the heat away from the chip (the copper plate on the bottom) into the fins.

enlaregedView.jpg


http://www.thermaltake.com/coolers/comboCool/cl-p0024tower112/cl-p0024tower112.htm
 
Two questions:

1) I remember when the mini came out people thought it was going to be priced at $99 or $149 and everyone was shocked that it wsa $249. Think Secret said that the mini was going to be around $100 before last year's keynote. Just be prepared for $199 for a 1GB.

http://www.thinksecret.com/news/mwsf04roundup.html

2) What color will it be? Do you keep the mini color scheme? just use the most popular colors? or maybe just all white? I wonder also if it will use a dock or have a straight firewire connection?
 
jamdr said:
Is this the same flash iPod that is not going to have a screen?

EDIT: Guess not...

"Sources say the flash-based iPod will be powered by a chipset from SigmaTel and that it will feature a screen that is the same width as the iPod mini's but two lines shorter."

Think Secret has some damn good sources at Apple. I'm surprised an employee with so much knowledge about future products is willing to risk everything for a rumor site. It must be someone really high up.
Click to expand...

My guess is that it's someone outside of Apple; that's why the rumors from Think Secret tend to come within a week or so before an announcement, when the group of people in-the-know becomes a little wider.
 
Bandit said:
Two questions:

1) I remember when the mini came out people thought it was going to be priced at $149 or $199 and everyone was shocked that it wsa $249. I wonder what Think Secret's report was before that announcement? I don't remember anyone saying $249.

2) What color will it be? Do you keep the mini color scheme? just use the most popular colors? or maybe just all white? I wonder also if it will use a dock or have a straight firewire connection?
Click to expand...

According to Think Secret's archive, they called for 2 GB and 4 GB units starting at $100.

"Reliable sources inside and outside of Apple have confirmed Apple will announce the new pocket-size iPods in a number of capacities and in various colors, including stripes. Capacities will be 2 and 4GB -- meaning users could store some 400 and 800 songs, respectively. Prices will start at around $100US, Think Secret has learned. It is not known if the new product line will be available immediately after introduction."

Link
 
puckhead193 said:
and how long do u think it will take for the new "flash ipod to ship" ....
Even better why pay $150 for 1 gig when for another $100 i could get 4 Gigs..
Click to expand...

for the same reason you'd pay $250 for 4 gigs when for $50 more you can get a 20 gig.

i have know idea what the reason is, but that's the "logic" being used.
 
parts cost is much less than that

JayBee said:
http://www.crucial.com/store/partspecs.asp?imodule=CT1GBU2&cat=drives+storage

Crucial are selling 1GB usb thumb drives for $90. So you want to add an iPod to that for $10? I doubt that's even possible...
Click to expand...

Note that Crucial are buying those flash chips for far less than $90.

One poster recently said that he worked at a consumer electronics firm where the rule of thumb was that a device would sell for 4 times the cost of the parts. (The 400% markup covers R&D, assembly, marketing, profit,...)

That rule would say that the 1 GiB of flash is costing Crucial $10 to $15 - maybe $20 max.

Not to say you're wrong about the problems with selling a FlashPod for $100 - but the implication that Apple would only have $10 to work with is wrong. Apple would have $80 to $85 to cover the cost of additional parts, plus other costs and profit.

(IMO, though, Apple would never price it that low - the demand would far outstrip the supply. To maximize profit, they'd pick a price point as high as possible....in other words just below the MiniPod.)
 
Xtremehkr said:
I suggest making it a headpiece, no dangly bits, cept maybe for the remote. It would be very unobtrusive that way, unless you require the use of your ears and the surrounding area.

6711338_rc.jpg


Similar to that thing but with Apple flair. There is more than enough room to incorporate the new HD and longer lasting batteries I think. In fact, you could put them in opposing positions to provide balance. As done here it appears. The Japanese are rather good at design, not something you hear often though.
Click to expand...

Hey how did you get Jordie LaForge's head gear!? :p
 
Finally a iPod for my 1G music collection :)

I guess thinksecret isn't getting their info in a malicious manner. Unless they just dont give a ****.
 
GFLPraxis said:
What will they call this? The iPod Micro?

We'll have a lineup like this:

iPod Micro, iPod Mini, iPod. Kinda weird...

Or maybe just iPod Flash? Or FlashPod?
Click to expand...

What about iFlash? Sounds too perverted doesn't it. :D

Do you think Apple might actually own ThinkSecret and use it as a marketing ploy?
 
rickvanr said:
$150 for 1GB, or $250 for 4GB.. people will buy the $150 because they can't justify the extra $100 even though it's a better deal
Click to expand...

Can't justify $250 for the mini? Yeah, that's why Apple couldn't keep up with consumer demand since it's intro last spring. For the last time, it's not a price "justification" issue. It's a needs issue. Some people need a large capacity player (iPod). Others need a compact player (iPod Mini). But there are still some who can't afford either (the middle school set), are too immature for either (the elementary school set), find the mini still too cumbersome for their active workout (the gym rat and jogging addict set), or are genuine cheap @$$es (like your friend).

Just as the mini did not really cut into "regular" iPod sales, the flash will not cut into mini sales. Completely different target demographic (except for the Apple fanboys who buy everything with an Apple logo stamped on it, just to have it).
 
BWhaler said:
Think Secret has balls of steel.

They're not too smart, that's for sure. But they certainly are fearless.
Click to expand...

Seems like a pretty good approach at this point. Think Secret is probably sick of getting sued by apple and having apple legal call them to take down postings. At some point you say, "let's let a court decide this"

The funniest part is that apple's lawsuits confirm that the rumors are true, as they would have no basis for suing over inaccurate reports.

In the end, though, I'll bet Apple is suing them merely to be able to force them to flip their source. The easy proposal from Apple is "tell us who's feeding you the info and will dismiss our case against you." They don't know whom else to sue, so you sue the publisher rather than the source.
 
mini me

I'm not feeling this iPod flash.

I think there will be to many models and confusing for people.
I feel like it's going to effect people buying the more expensive regular iPods. I don't really see the logic of having these flash players. They hardly hold enough music to last a... ?

I guess till I see it. And Steve explain it. I won't understand.
But having to many models would not be good. Apple is about simplicity.
 
AidenShaw said:
Note that Crucial are buying those flash chips for far less than $90.

One poster recently said that he worked at a consumer electronics firm where the rule of thumb was that a device would sell for 4 times the cost of the parts. (The 400% markup covers R&D, assembly, marketing, profit,...)

That rule would say that the 1 GiB of flash is costing Crucial $10 to $15 - maybe $20 max.
Click to expand...

Your example of Crucial buying $100 drives for $20 is a bit off. I work at a store and the mark up is just over 50%, not 80% to 90% as in your example. I don't believe Crucial is a manufacturer. They sell the products, not make them.

Here is my experience with USB flash drives. You can buy a 512 MB drive for about $80 from a store. It costs the store I work at about $38 to buy it. 256MB drives have about the same mark up. 128MB drives have very little mark up.

There is a good deal of mark up in the flash memory drive market.

lasuther
 
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