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iPod touch The iPod Touch Must Die ...

a456

a456

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 5, 2005
882
0
... if there is a PAYG option on the new iPhone.

Hypothesis: The majority of people buy the iPod Touch because they don't want the cost of the monthly phone contract (but would happily make the occasional phone call from it if the option were available). Freed from the monthly contract and if prices come down as steeply as rumoured then no need for separate products.

WWDC Prediction: we will see a screen with an iPhone on one side and an iPod Touch on the other they will both be drawn to the centre where they will become the same (new) product simplifying the range and explaining why the iPod Touch has never really received the attention or advertising it deserves.

Extra details: PAYG customers continue to be able to pay The Cloud for Wi-Fi services like iPod Touch users or they can simply take the hit of accessing email and the web using O2 (in the UK).
 
but some people dont want a new phone, they just want the iPod...cant see such a new product being discontinued so soon after all it would say that the Touch was a failure which it most certainly isnt, sure it isnt a sure fire success but hey!
 
a456 said:
... if there is a PAYG option on the new iPhone.

Hypothesis: The majority of people buy the iPod Touch because they don't want the cost of the monthly phone contract (but would happily make the occasional phone call from it if the option were available). Freed from the monthly contract and if prices come down as steeply as rumoured then no need for separate products.

WWDC Prediction: we will see a screen with an iPhone on one side and an iPod Touch on the other they will both be drawn to the centre where they will become the same (new) product simplifying the range and explaining why the iPod Touch has never really received the attention or advertising it deserves.

Extra details: PAYG customers continue to be able to pay The Cloud for Wi-Fi services like iPod Touch users or they can simply take the hit of accessing email and the web using O2 (in the UK).
Click to expand...
I disagree - some people (like me) have no need for an additional phone but would be interested in the features it offers... the iPod touch fills this void perfectly.
 
The iPod touch is not a failure. In countries that don't have the iPhone or the iPhone is too expensive, the iPod Touch is perfect.
 
a456 said:
... if there is a PAYG option on the new iPhone.

Hypothesis: The majority of people buy the iPod Touch because they don't want the cost of the monthly phone contract (but would happily make the occasional phone call from it if the option were available). Freed from the monthly contract and if prices come down as steeply as rumoured then no need for separate products.

WWDC Prediction: we will see a screen with an iPhone on one side and an iPod Touch on the other they will both be drawn to the centre where they will become the same (new) product simplifying the range and explaining why the iPod Touch has never really received the attention or advertising it deserves.

Extra details: PAYG customers continue to be able to pay The Cloud for Wi-Fi services like iPod Touch users or they can simply take the hit of accessing email and the web using O2 (in the UK).
Click to expand...

Only half correct IMO - the iPod touch is also useful in countries that don't have the iPhone available. Whilst there have been a lot of announcements about increased availability of the iPhone, there will still be places where you can't get one, and in those countries, the iPod touch makes a lot of sense...
 
dextertangocci said:
The iPod touch is not a failure. In countries that don't have the iPhone or the iPhone is too expensive, the iPod Touch is perfect.
Click to expand...

If the iPhone is not too expensive, though, and if countries without specific carriers can slap a PAYG SIM card into the phone from any provider, what then?
 
shaunomacx said:
...cant see such a new product being discontinued so soon after all it would say that the Touch was a failure which it most certainly isnt, sure it isnt a sure fire success but hey!
Click to expand...

But what if Apple view the iPod Touch as a transitional product produced for the sake of demand while they got the iPhone into an economically viable position to make it irresistible to the majority?
 
PAYG phones are never discounted like contract phones anyway - the discount is to lock you into a lengthy and lucrative contract
 
wrldwzrd89 said:
I disagree - some people (like me) have no need for an additional phone but would be interested in the features it offers... the iPod touch fills this void perfectly.
Click to expand...

I second this. I had no need for another cell phone but liked the Touch.
 
I almost never use my portable phone so I would consider an iPod touch if I needed a new iPod. On the other hand, I need more storage than what they have currently.
 
beyondthesmile said:
I second this. I had no need for another cell phone but liked the Touch.
Click to expand...

OK, entry level iPhone at the moment is £269 in the UK and entry level iPod Touch is £199. Without the contract in the equation this is even at the moment a relatively small gap. If that gap got smaller or disappeared, who would still buy the Touch and pass up on the opportunity to be able to access the Internet and email (even if only in an emergency) outside of a Wi-Fi network area? Not me, and I doubt many others.

If there was a cheaper EDGE iPod Touch without phone then I'd be very tempted to go for that though.
 
This is an interesting idea, but would students still just get free iPod touches over the summer, or would they get Pay As You Go iPhones instead (when they are available)?
 
The phone parts take up a lot of room. That is why the iPhone is thicker and has less capacity than the Touch. I don't see myself buying a phone I don't need for more money with a smaller hard drive that is at the same time thicker and heavier, just on the off chance I'd like to make an expensive phone call.

Unless they can somehow make the phone parts not use any space and bring the price down to the iPod Touch's they'd be pushing out customers like me.
 
I'm pretty sure that they're carrying the iPhone is exclusive to the current carriers in the countries where it is available. I really don't understand why people think that it will be unlocked and whatnot.
 
I totally disagree with the OP. I have NO need for the iPhone and even if I needed a new cellphone the very week I bought my Touch I would have ourchased a cellphone AND the Touch. The iPhone - for me - is a horrible choice as it totally misses the mark for what I want and need in a cell phone.

Mike
 
akonradi said:
I'm pretty sure that they're carrying the iPhone is exclusive to the current carriers in the countries where it is available. I really don't understand why people think that it will be unlocked and whatnot.
Click to expand...

We believe it will be sold in two forms here, locked and subsidised or unlocked and full price.

Our laws state that phones sold only in locked form are illegal.

Optus and Vodafone have signed non-exclusive deals here as have many other carriers around the world.
 
Chundles said:
We believe it will be sold in two forms here, locked and subsidised or unlocked and full price.

Our laws state that phones sold only in locked form are illegal.

Optus and Vodafone have signed non-exclusive deals here as have many other carriers around the world.
Click to expand...
I'm pretty sure that they'll try to lock it down wherever they can, though. They had unlocked ones for sale for a while in France due to legal problems, but that didn't last too long, nor did it affect any other countries.
 
jonnylink said:
The phone parts take up a lot of room. That is why the iPhone is thicker and has less capacity than the Touch. I don't see myself buying a phone I don't need for more money with a smaller hard drive that is at the same time thicker and heavier, just on the off chance I'd like to make an expensive phone call.

Unless they can somehow make the phone parts not use any space and bring the price down to the iPod Touch's they'd be pushing out customers like me.
Click to expand...

+1

Currently, Touch comes with double memory and a much thinner case for the same price as iPhone. I don't want to pay extra 166$ for something I will probably never use and a thicker case.
 
If there is a PAYG option for the iPhone the iPhone will cost nigh on 600 dollars. And an iPod Touch is $299.
 
eXan said:
+1

Currently, Touch comes with double memory and a much thinner case for the same price as iPhone. I don't want to pay extra 166$ for something I will probably never use and a thicker case.
Click to expand...

Precisely why I have a touch and not an iPhone. The thickness and monthly charges really detract form the Jesusness.
 
I disagree with the OP too.

Chances are the PAYG iPhone is going to be very expensive since there is no subsidy, especially if it still has a 3G radio, bluetooth, possibly even GPS. I'd rather buy a cheaper iPod Touch than fork out potentially a lot more for the same thing with features I don't need. Which would also bulk out the iPod Touch (very impressed with how thin that machine is, not so much the iPhone).

I can't imagine them combining the 2.
 
Phil A. said:
Only half correct IMO - the iPod touch is also useful in countries that don't have the iPhone available. Whilst there have been a lot of announcements about increased availability of the iPhone, there will still be places where you can't get one, and in those countries, the iPod touch makes a lot of sense...
Click to expand...

The Touch is also useful in countries with the iPhone. Since my town has pretty much been forgotten by AT&T and I can't get bars in most of the area I live and work then the iPhone is useless to me. On the other hand I use my iPod Touch almost everyday.

Though I am sure the deal worked out well for them, I still think picking AT&T in the states was a mistake.
 
akonradi said:
I'm pretty sure that they'll try to lock it down wherever they can, though. They had unlocked ones for sale for a while in France due to legal problems, but that didn't last too long, nor did it affect any other countries.
Click to expand...
I think you're mixing elements of the situations in France and Germany.

As of the last reliable news I've read on the topic, in France the unlocked version was offered as an option right from the start, and it is still legitamitely offered for sale as such, but at a significant price premium. If this has changed, then it sure didn't make any news headlines on this side of the pond.

In Germany they were temporarily required by a court injunction to do the same, but it was quickly overturned on appeal within about a week.
 
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