iPod Possibilites?

[Yvan256]

After giving this a little thought, I'm thinking that a secure way to market these new flash-iPods will be not to market them at all!

They won't even have to mention the word "Flash", just say they've made smaller and more affordable versions of the iPod mini.

Yeah, but people would find out anyway simply by comparing battery life ("what do you mean, your iPod mini 1GB plays for over 30 hours? My 4GB barely gets 12 hours!").

The smaller size vs longer battery time could even be a selling point, IMO.

 

[Poff]

Apple would NEVER do this... What about the iTunes synchronization simplicity?? This would totally ruin that!! You would have to *phisically* manage your music!! Even worse, you could eventually end up with duplicate files in the same library... Baaaaad idea..

So.. basically, what you're saying is that iPod micro users would have to do the same thing that iPod mini users have to do? Many people with minis have more than 4GB of music. You can choose to synchronice certain playlists and manage the process easily.

Yeah, but people would find out anyway simply by comparing battery life ("what do you mean, your iPod mini 1GB plays for over 30 hours? My 4GB barely gets 12 hours!").

The smaller size vs longer battery time could even be a selling point, IMO.

I don't mean that they will hide it, just not make a big fuzz about it. But, of course, they couldn't write about hard-drives in the 1GB minis.

 

[Vader]

I don't think there will be a flash iPod, flash memory just costs too much. If there ever is one, it would be in a couple of years.

 

[LaMerVipere]

C'moooooon 100 dollar iPod!

 

[corywoolf]

I don't think there will be a flash iPod, flash memory just costs too much. If there ever is one, it would be in a couple of years.

flash can be found for a lot less then you think!!!! check this out...

SanDisk 1GB Cruzer = $50.96

go to kevinrose.com for more info.

 

[corywoolf]

i could see a $99 ipod micro with a 1 GB flash drive

like i said above, you can get a 1 gb of flash for $50, So they wouldn't make a large profit, but it would pay off in the end by the # of people using the music store at least!



pardon my retardism: its actually $80, kevinrose.com made it look like it was $50

 

[Poff]

i could see a $99 ipod micro with a 1 GB flash drive

like i said above, you can get a 1 gb of flash for $50, So they wouldn't make a large profit, but it would pay off in the end by the # of people using the music store at least!

But then there's the aspect of quality. Apple needs high quality flash, they don't want their players to break. I refer to my calculation somewhere above. Apple has a high profit margin. Isn't it like 50% of production cost on regular iPods, and somewhat less on minis? If they just removed their hd's without adding another storage medium, I'm guessing $99 could be a valid price-point. However then there's flash on top of that..?

Remember Apples costs on the iPod is not just parts. It is labour, design costs (yes, they spent big $$ designing the Pod aswell.), storage, electricity...

 

[gekko513]

i could see a $99 ipod micro with a 1 GB flash drive

like i said above, you can get a 1 gb of flash for $50, So they wouldn't make a large profit, but it would pay off in the end by the # of people using the music store at least!



pardon my retardism: its actually $80, kevinrose.com made it look like it was $50

OK, so we're back up at a minimum of $149 for the 1GB iPod mini, although being a pessimist, I still think it'll be more like $199. I don't remember Apple ever having the cheapest player with a particular capacity, and I see nothing to indicate that it should happen now. And like I said the Creative players at 1GB are around $179-$189.

(Wow, I'm a 6502, I haven't even heard of that processor before. Is it the Mac counterpart of the 8086?)

 

[gekko513]

If Apple do reveal a flash based iPod, who do you guys think they'll buy the memory from? I hear Intel makes flash memory, maybe Apple will use Intel memory, that would certainly enrage some Mac people

 

[Poff]

If Apple do reveal a flash based iPod, who do you guys think they'll buy the memory from? I hear Intel makes flash memory, maybe Apple will use Intel memory, that would certainly enrage some Mac people

Who makes the flash-memory (skip-memory) they are using in their iPods?


(with that 6502 I'm guessing you can get your own profile avatar you lucky norwegian!)

 

[scottkle]

I DID relize that, my point was the XM receiver would be taking up room in the iPod( I'm sorry but they can't tuck away a satelite receiver in a menu) and most people that just went out and spent $500 on an iPod are not going to want to spend $20 a month on crappy radio! And if you fully read my post you would see that I said I would have to pay to use the service not the iPod itself.

I'm not a fan of people who post who don't do their homework. $20 a month for crappy radio? Get real. It's the best radio and it's $9.99 a month tops. With an iPod, it would obviously cost less. And, there are people (GASP!) who have XM already and an iPod (GASP AGAIN!) and they'd pay less with a multi-receiver discount.

You, izzle, wouldn't have to use the crappy radio.

And unfortunately, as much as I admire Apple, I don't think it's smart enough to join with XM. I don't think it will see the future benefits. It's probably as close-minded as you are, which is sad. But, one can dream.

 

[MacinDoc]

OK, so we're back up at a minimum of $149 for the 1GB iPod mini, although being a pessimist, I still think it'll be more like $199. I don't remember Apple ever having the cheapest player with a particular capacity, and I see nothing to indicate that it should happen now. And like I said the Creative players at 1GB are around $179-$189.

(Wow, I'm a 6502, I haven't even heard of that processor before. Is it the Mac counterpart of the 8086?)

$149 for a 512 MB iPod Flash, $199 for 1 GB.

BTW, the 6502 has a great significance for Apple fans, being the processor on which the Apple and Apple II computers were built. For a more complete listing of the many computers and consoles that were built with the 6502, try here.

 

[snahabed]

It is as if you people are willfully ignoring 20 years of Apple history.

Apple will not put in a satellite radio in an iPod.

Apple will not release an iPod Micro.

What Apple MIGHT do is alter the iPod Mini to use more efficient and/or cheaper memory. Jobs' stated goal was to get the price of the iPods down while maintaining a healthy profit margin. With iPods selling so well, why on Earth would any normal capitalism company start diluting its line with cheap $99 flash crap?

I think the next step for Apple is to update the Mini to maybe have a 5GB hard drive and try to get the price down to $199.

 

[TWinbrook46636]

How about an AM/FM tuner with HD Radio compatability? It's still in the early stages but you can't beat the price.

 

[Mike Teezie]

It is as if you people are willfully ignoring 20 years of Apple history.

Apple will not put in a satellite radio in an iPod.

Apple will not release an iPod Micro.

What Apple MIGHT do is alter the iPod Mini to use more efficient and/or cheaper memory. Jobs' stated goal was to get the price of the iPods down while maintaining a healthy profit margin. With iPods selling so well, why on Earth would any normal capitalism company start diluting its line with cheap $99 flash crap?

I think the next step for Apple is to update the Mini to maybe have a 5GB hard drive and try to get the price down to $199.

Amen to all the above! I might take one of the rumored U2 iPods though....

 

[Porchland]

iPod mini 4GB - $249
iPod mini 1GB - $199
iPod mini 512MB - $149

Nope. If that happens -- and if the 60-gig iPod is added at $499 as expected -- Apple would have SIX different price points for the iPod. No way.

I'll say it again: Apple can barely keep the iPod mini on the shelf. It was announced only nine months ago and has only had mass availability for the last four or five months. It MIGHT get a refresh, and there MIGHT be a flash-based little brother, but I would be very surprised to see Apple go any smaller than 1GB.

 

[Tommy Wasabi]

Think - Ummm. Different?

I tend to agree with previous posts that it's not going to be this massive annoucement.

Best guess - just a black limited edition ipod with some U2 tunes
Wishful thinking - 60 G Color for 499 - reality: 60G 4G (non-color)
Awe Inspiring - xPod (XML Radio and an iPOD) - reality - iTunes supporting streaming radio where you hear a track and you can buy it.

That's just my 2 cents - I could be wrong.

 

[BoRegardless]

Possibilities Indeed

Remember when Kodak used to make film?
Times are a-changing. Smart companies adapt to meet the evolving marketplace, and the evolving world, for that matter. Trust me, it's a good thing.

Think off what you could do when the iPod has 100 gigs of HD with 802.11 & BlueTooth connectivity, and some cool new software!

It is JUST a matter of price. Nothing more, as far as building it.

The question is whether those other software features will get techsuckers like me to plunk down $499 for it to be cool (& hopefully more efficient).

Why shouldn't you keep all your key data on your DPod, so you can log in to any Mac (& dare I say any Nix flavor & PC) and go ahead with your work wirelessly pulling files off the DPod? Why shouldn't your cellphone pull data off the DPod, and download files to the DPod?

All the iPod is basically is a data storage and retrieval device, and there is no reason it can not be expanded in many many ways to benefit existing people, let alone new uses coming down the pike.

If I can imagine these in a minute or two, think of how far Apple has already taken prototypes inside their 'black room'. Opps...

 

[g4tom]

1 gig flash cards

In Sundays paper here in the Chicago area, Fry's Electronics has a 1 gig compact flash card on sale for 49 dollars. If Apple ordered a million of them at a pop, why couldn't they get them for 30 dollars a piece! Maybe cheaper!

 

[dejo]

Please explain

It is as if you people are willfully ignoring 20 years of Apple history.

Apple will not put in a satellite radio in an iPod.

Apple will not release an iPod Micro.

What Apple MIGHT do is alter the iPod Mini to use more efficient and/or cheaper memory. Jobs' stated goal was to get the price of the iPods down while maintaining a healthy profit margin. With iPods selling so well, why on Earth would any normal capitalism company start diluting its line with cheap $99 flash crap?

I think the next step for Apple is to update the Mini to maybe have a 5GB hard drive and try to get the price down to $199.

How, specifically, does Apple's history support your conclusion that they will not put in a satellite radio in an iPod or release an iPod Micro?

 

[Tacitus]

It is as if you people are willfully ignoring 20 years of Apple history.

Apple will not release an iPod Micro.

...............With iPods selling so well, why on Earth would any normal capitalism company start diluting its line with cheap $99 flash crap?

I think people are missing something here. What if the Flash Pod and the U2 special edition were one and the same? Suppose Apple made a micro flash player that was only available to pop stars and the U2 was the first of many. These would be sold by the bands at concerts or through fan clubs at something like $99 and could have the band's latest CD preloaded. The price would be within "pocket-money" range for teenagers who could not afford a full blown iPod and would get them hooked on AAC and the iTunes music store.

There could be other versions different in only colour and logo that would be sold only by the bands and not directly by Apple. If only so many were made of each version they could even turn into collectors items.

Advantage: get them hooked into AAC early. There would be enough space on one to get them to fill it up at the iTunes store, and when it's full the obvious place to go is to the iPod mini or one of the others which will inevitably fall in price as the market matures.

Think different.

Tacitus

 

[iGary]

Flash.iPod.Not.Happening.

The end.

 

[~Shard~]

In Sundays paper here in the Chicago area, Fry's Electronics has a 1 gig compact flash card on sale for 49 dollars. If Apple ordered a million of them at a pop, why couldn't they get them for 30 dollars a piece! Maybe cheaper!

Just because Apple can do something doesn't mean they should or will.

Not gonna happen.

 

[iGary]

Just because Apple can do something doesn't mean they should or will.

Not gonna happen.

Steve has said so many bad things about flash players. A flash-based player would go against everything the iPod is. Just agreeing with you.

 

[verces]

For all you non-believers...

This is for all those who do not want to accept that fact that Apple is a company, and companies evolve.

You can't just look at what its done for the past 20 years and base your assumptions to what its going to do in the next 20 years. Thats like saying since we've been using tradional cameras for the past 20 years, we won't be using digital cameras for the next 20 years. Technology changes and companies change. Do you honestly think Apple's simply going to keep the way it's always been? Don't you understand that Microsoft is not just a software company anymore? Can't you see that Starbucks is no longer just a coffee shop? Sony is no longer just a walkman, video cassette player making company. Why do you think Samsung went into the Auto industry? Times change.

Its not like Apple's trying to bring out a fridge, (although that would be infinitely cool..), they're just adding another model to their current ones.......they've already brought out the MP3 player......which doesn't quite suit the company's name anyway (Apple Computer Inc.)....and they've done well in it. Its highly ridiculous to think that when they've done so well, they'll just sit back and let everybody else catch up.

Jobs wants the rest of the market share of 30% of the MP3 market, and he wants it all. Its more than possible. Just over the holiday season, with a price like that, they can sell a lot of iPod mini-micros (or whatever you want to dub it), and its going to be a very Merry Christmas for Jobs and Apple. Just imagine....2,000,000 sold, profit = $50,000,000 to 100,000,000. Very very nice. Take on the lower end of the market, but keeping that barrier up at the same time with the not-so-damn-cheap-better-cough-up-some-money price. This maintains iPod brand image and value. Don't want the street beggar with an iPod, it will kill demand.

iPod micro or mini, they're bringing this new thing. 1GB going for $149. Period.