It would be nice though if Jobs considered a cheaper ipod similar to the eMac line for desktops. Why not call it an ePOD. I can't afford the ipod's current price b/c I'm a poor student. Hopefully the ePod will become a reality.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Toshiba Doubling 1.8-inch HDD Production
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
It would be nice though if Jobs considered a cheaper ipod similar to the eMac line for desktops. Why not call it an ePOD. I can't afford the ipod's current price b/c I'm a poor student. Hopefully the ePod will become a reality.
Originally posted by yoman
It would be nice though if Jobs considered a cheaper ipod similar to the eMac line for desktops. Why not call it an ePOD. I can't afford the ipod's current price b/c I'm a poor student. Hopefully the ePod will become a reality.
even then, i'd imagine something like the ePod would be around $200. i'd be very surprised to see apple venture into the price range where things starts to become a commodity.
either that or it will have to have sufficiently "crippled" features to justify differentiation from "upscale" iPods and maintain the margins.
Randomly concerning battery life, as I hear a WHOLE lot about it, the only way you'll be seeing increased battery life in an iPod is (a) more energy efficient components or (b) a bigger battery.
The iPod uses a lithium-ion battery and if you look at the periodic table you'll see were running out of elements to use in these suckers.
From the looks of things, all the components currently in an iPod are extremely efficient. I'll leave the processes of elimination to the reader.
It feels like of weird to say, but batteries are about as good as they're going to get.
-1 Off Topic
The iPod uses a lithium-ion battery and if you look at the periodic table you'll see were running out of elements to use in these suckers.
From the looks of things, all the components currently in an iPod are extremely efficient. I'll leave the processes of elimination to the reader.
It feels like of weird to say, but batteries are about as good as they're going to get.
-1 Off Topic
not weird at all. battery technologies have been improving at a snail's pace compared to the deviced they are used in. from Ni-Cd to Ni-MH to Li, the capacity has not increased and the size has not decreased substantially. unfortunately, as long as batteries depend on chemical processes to generate/hold charge, dramatic improvements are unlikely...
i'm sure there's quite a bit of R&D being done and if some company is to invent a new method, it stands to profit enormously... but likely from a non-chemical processes...
IMO, there is only one thing that you can definitively pull from this article as it relates to the iPod. That is, 1.8" drives will be in much higher supply (double current production). Demand staying equal, this will drive down prices significantly on these drives. However, I'd venture to guess that demand is ramping up with the growth of online music stores fueling the growth of mp3 player sales.
Even if demand does increase into the near future, my guess is that increased supply of drives will drive down prices of the iPod somewhat (edit: or drive up margins for Apple, who knows), in conjunction with increased competition in the mp3 player market.
On the speculative side, a 1" HD from Toshiba sound interesting, and that's about all I think anyone can say about that.
Even if demand does increase into the near future, my guess is that increased supply of drives will drive down prices of the iPod somewhat (edit: or drive up margins for Apple, who knows), in conjunction with increased competition in the mp3 player market.
On the speculative side, a 1" HD from Toshiba sound interesting, and that's about all I think anyone can say about that.
Yeah the iPod uses these, and. It doesnt say the increase in production is iPod related.
I see it as everyone has started to get into the MP3 player business, therefore the demand for the HD's are increasing. Alot of the newcomers are using the 1.8" HD.
I see it as everyone has started to get into the MP3 player business, therefore the demand for the HD's are increasing. Alot of the newcomers are using the 1.8" HD.
Even IF the increase in production brought down prices for Apple, don't expect those savings (however miniscule) to be seen on our end.
Geez, if there were a press release on MR that said "Company X announced today that they make brown paper bags." some posters on this board would expect brown paper Powerbooks ASAP.
This is one story to take at face value.
Geez, if there were a press release on MR that said "Company X announced today that they make brown paper bags." some posters on this board would expect brown paper Powerbooks ASAP.
This is one story to take at face value.
My thoughts exactly.
My fingers aren't going to shrink to half their size in the next year; it'd be silly for the iPod and hence its controls to be shrunk down too.
On the other hand, a smaller drive means a bigger battery can fit.
Of course, the 1" drives are pretty low-capacity these days ... I can't see Apple moving to a 1.5GB iPod any time soon, not with the success their larger drive models have been having ...
While this story isn't a primary indicator of price drops, other factors lead me to believe that price cutting is in the near future.
1) Steve Jobs stated publicly that he wants to sell cheaper iPods but can't get cheap enough compnents. With an increased supply of Toshiba drives, this may be changing.
2) Competition in the mp3 player market is growing. With increased competition, almost *always* means price drops across the industry. I think this will be a bigger factor in price drops than cheaper drives.
If you consider both of these factors influencing price and Steve Jobs public stated intentions, it could mean cheaper iPods. I would venture to guess at least a $50 price cut across the board within a year is likely. While not nearly as likely, but possible, would be a $100 price cut. I don't think this will happen but it is possible.
I'm pretty sure Apple has been paying the lowest possible prices for the 1.8" drives, and I doubt they will see substantial savings after production ramps up. My guess is that Toshiba is trying to meet demand, not drive prices down... since every true "iPod competitor" has to have the same size (or smaller) drive. Prices may go down as a result, or Toshiba may decide to start enjoying some better profit margins... who knows?
I would be very surprised to see a new iPod before Christmas, but they've revamped the iPod more often than any other product I know of... I just don't know what they can do to make it a better music player (yes, that's what it is, for many of you who have forgotten).
I would be very surprised to see a new iPod before Christmas, but they've revamped the iPod more often than any other product I know of... I just don't know what they can do to make it a better music player (yes, that's what it is, for many of you who have forgotten).
i highly doubt an ipod update anytime soon. january, at the earliest and probably just capacity increases, at best. apple is probably yet to capitalize on all the new dock-related features and i doubt they will do a complete design change in the mean time.
check MR's buyer's guide. last update was in sept. and one before that, april. the sept. update was for the holidays. i'm sure many people will buy an ipod for the holidays due to iTMS windows port and generally high exposure they've been receiving/spreading.
also, HD price may come down a bit, but that's not all there's to the iPod. i hear DAC in the iPod is of quite a high quality and those things are not ideal parts to skimp on.
i don't see apple making commodity mp3 players any time soon. there are plenty of makers already and they don't yield the same profit as ipods. in addition, novelty factor will wear off on the high capacity ipods if sub-$100 ipods were to be introduced anyway..?
instead of a price cut, apple will do the same thing they do on macs. they will increase the features/capacities and keep the prices the same. dramatic prices cuts will only happen once competitions get really stiff and starts to affect apple ipod's bottom line. why discount when they are still selling like hotcakes?
check MR's buyer's guide. last update was in sept. and one before that, april. the sept. update was for the holidays. i'm sure many people will buy an ipod for the holidays due to iTMS windows port and generally high exposure they've been receiving/spreading.
also, HD price may come down a bit, but that's not all there's to the iPod. i hear DAC in the iPod is of quite a high quality and those things are not ideal parts to skimp on.
i don't see apple making commodity mp3 players any time soon. there are plenty of makers already and they don't yield the same profit as ipods. in addition, novelty factor will wear off on the high capacity ipods if sub-$100 ipods were to be introduced anyway..?
instead of a price cut, apple will do the same thing they do on macs. they will increase the features/capacities and keep the prices the same. dramatic prices cuts will only happen once competitions get really stiff and starts to affect apple ipod's bottom line. why discount when they are still selling like hotcakes?
sigh
Another thread where I left baffled why people voted this is a "negative."
Admittedly Jobs had said iPods were going to remain part of DLD, so please no conclusion jumps that it'll become a fullfledged NewtonII. However, with increased possible need for room with media and voice recorders, etc., it's make sense that someday, someday soon, the current 40GB will nto be enough. Bring on the 80GB iPod.
Another thread where I left baffled why people voted this is a "negative."
Admittedly Jobs had said iPods were going to remain part of DLD, so please no conclusion jumps that it'll become a fullfledged NewtonII. However, with increased possible need for room with media and voice recorders, etc., it's make sense that someday, someday soon, the current 40GB will nto be enough. Bring on the 80GB iPod.
I think times are changing for apple. They just can't add features and keep the base price. There are too many other companies that are going to try and undercut apple in pricing. And I think many will be able to do so. Apple will have to make a lower priced entry level unit, and make it soon. Not saying that it has to be cheaper than the other MP3 players, but atleast competitive price wise.
I dont think the old "same price, more features" will continue to work once they other companies release their MP3 players.
I dont think the old "same price, more features" will continue to work once they other companies release their MP3 players.
With increased production to me that means slightly lower pricing on next gen iPods. I believe the smaller HD would mean smaller and less features on next economy sized iPod in the 5-10GB range to combat the cheap MP3 players.
I'm sure the next iPod battery power will go up probably to 10-12hrs.
I'm sure the next iPod battery power will go up probably to 10-12hrs.
Yes I think you are right. This is about the new Cube form factor G5 with internal RAID using 2 of the drives.
Of course it is about the iPod becoming a fad.
I have never seen such a rapid ramp-up of Apple mindshare and of course the total magnitude is at record levels.
Apple doesn't have to lower prices. Pretty much every single consumer market has a "premium" brand with a superior design and a higher price. The HDD-based portable music player market will do just fine with the Fords and Kias (Dell, Archon, etc.) as well as the BMWs and Mercedes (Apple, maybe Sony, we'll see).
People just don't get that Apple isn't going for a "most units sold" record. Profitability is not about slashing prices to sell more units. Apple wants the iPod to remain a profitable product that heavily influences the market, and they have that... I consider the iPod to be superior to the competition, and most people agree, so a lot of people will be willing to pay a higher price. That's how this whole "capitalism" thing works... instead of homogenizing all of the products in the market, they are segmented into further sub-categories which appeal to different demographics. The wild success of the iPod is due to the fact that almost every person prefers the iPod, but the price is the only barrier.
Don't forget, it's easy to lower prices, but it's almost impossible to raise them. They can't feasibly fluctuate along with the component market, but the product life evens it out over time (margins start small but increase, a new model starts that cycle over).
People just don't get that Apple isn't going for a "most units sold" record. Profitability is not about slashing prices to sell more units. Apple wants the iPod to remain a profitable product that heavily influences the market, and they have that... I consider the iPod to be superior to the competition, and most people agree, so a lot of people will be willing to pay a higher price. That's how this whole "capitalism" thing works... instead of homogenizing all of the products in the market, they are segmented into further sub-categories which appeal to different demographics. The wild success of the iPod is due to the fact that almost every person prefers the iPod, but the price is the only barrier.
Don't forget, it's easy to lower prices, but it's almost impossible to raise them. They can't feasibly fluctuate along with the component market, but the product life evens it out over time (margins start small but increase, a new model starts that cycle over).
Well, I'll say this, from what I've heard, Apple might release a product that'll crush the flash-based market. Remeber, subject to change.
while some people won't agree with your car analogy, i do - well said. the market is fragmented and apple need not address the entire mp3 player market at all... profit is the bottom line, not the number of units sold. i'm sure apple will definitely react when a comparably equipped device targeting the same market segment starts eating into iPod sales
OR
the segment of the mp3 player market not targeted by iPods starts to dominate
I agree totally. Apple is currently making nearly $175 profit on the high end models, something which they can eat into since iTMS is probably going to send iPod demand through the roof.
The interest is already there, Apple just has to read the market right to capitalize on the opportunity..heh, so to speak.
I was the first person I knew to buy an iPod (5G, 1st gen). Since then I must see 5 every day...and this among poor college students!