New Ipod maybe on its way to a store near you...

[capsicum]

SAN FRANCISCO (August 30) - Apple Computer Inc. on Monday said it will announce a new product in early September and fanned expectations it will introduce an updated iPod Shuffle music player with much more capacity.

Apple is known for its marketing prowess and keeps new products under tight wraps before unveiling them at carefully staged events.

The company is widely expected to introduce a relatively roomy four-gigabyte iPod which uses sticks of flash memory, the type of storage used in digital cameras, rather than a hard disk drive. That would hold about 1,000 songs.

In an email invitation showing a picture of a jeans pocket, Apple alluded to its original 2001 announcement for the portable iPod, saying, "1,000 songs in your pocket changed everything. Here we go again."

Apple plans a San Francisco news conference on September 7 at 10 a.m. PDT (1700 GMT). Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris declined to comment further.

Apple introduced its portable music player in late 2001 with the promise that it could hold 1,000 songs. The first iPod was powered by a hard disk drive, but this year Apple introduced the "Shuffle" with flash memory to hold data.

Industry analyst Tim Bajarin of Creative Strategies Inc. in Campbell, California, said the news could be a new 4-gigabyte Shuffle, which would have four times the memory of the current model.

"The obvious news may be the higher density iPod Shuffle," he said. "But (Apple CEO Steve Jobs) may have something else up his sleeve. Steve loves surprises," he said.

Recent analyst reports out of Asia have noted that Apple plans to buy as much as 40 percent of the flash memory chips produced by South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., the world's second largest chip maker and the largest maker of flash memory used in music players.

Apple currently sells three types of iPods: the classic high-capacity hard-disk iPod capable of storing up to 15,000 songs on 60 gigabytes; the iPod Mini, which comes in two versions, either four- or six-gigabyte hard disk models; and the Shuffle.

Cupertino, California-based Apple has come to dominate the digital music player market, accounting for some three-quarters of industry sales this year, according to analysts estimates.

Apple shipped 6.2 million iPods in its latest quarter

[Hurst2112]

Interesting. So, that would probably mean a discontinuation of the minis? A price drop on those for the holiday season?

The thing about Apple though is that once they unveil something new, they recycle the replaced product. You don't get too many 'closeout' deals with apple. Maybe the mini is going to be gone forever.

[WSUCougar]

waaazhooo

[capsicum]

Originally Posted by WSUCougar

Didnt like that included in there myself....lost my dang slow as molasses in winter internet connection so it took me a minute or two before I could go back in and edit it.

[Subby]

your screenname has a world of possibilities

[Franklinnoble]

Originally Posted by Subby

your screenname has a world of possibilities

Keep it to yourself, bub.

[Ryan S]

Originally Posted by Hurst2112

Interesting. So, that would probably mean a discontinuation of the minis?

I doubt it. The mini has all the benefits of the larger Ipod in a smaller, cheaper package. It would not surprise me if it outsold the larger capacity Ipod.

[Hurst2112]

Originally Posted by Ryan S

I doubt it. The mini has all the benefits of the larger Ipod in a smaller, cheaper package. It would not surprise me if it outsold the larger capacity Ipod.

From my understanding, there are 2 versions of the mini: 4 and 6 GB. 4 for $199.00 and the 6 for $249.00. The current shuffle sizes and prices are 512MB for $99.00 and the 1 GB for $129.

It seems hard to fit a 4 GB shuffle into the middle of these price points. I would guess that because the 6gb mini came out after the 4, they will discontinue the 4Gb mini and place the 4gb shuffle around that price. With that, I also think they will phase out the 512 shuffle and MAYBE lower the 1gb shuffle to $99.

That OR they will up the GB shuffle to 1.5 GB and raise the price to $150 or so. It's been apple's form to do this with most of the ipod lines since 2001. Same with their ibooks.

[Daimyo]

I'd rather see an Ipod with some video capability and a larger screen than an upgraded shuffle. If I had to choose between a 4GB Mini and a 4GB Shuffle at the same price I'd quickly take the mini. I guess shuffle gets the exercise market, but do you really need 1,000 songs when you exercise? Especially with the lack of any visual interface can you even appreciate 1,000 songs on a shuffle?

[Daimyo]

DOLA, and if the announcement isn't so much a larger shuffle, but a flash based 4GB mini that would be pretty anti-climactic as I doubt much of their target audience can appreciate the benefits of that.

[Hurst2112]

WOW! Wasn't expecting this design...






iPod nano

[Hurst2112]

dola:

They jacked the price of the 1GB up to $150. Got rid of the 6GB mini and put a 4 GB nano at the $250 price range. I understand the up-pricing for 'new technology', as the price will probably drop for xmas. Still, I don't know why they increased the 1GB shuffle by 20 dollars.

nano still looks cool.

[Ksyrup]

The size really isn't that much of a difference. My 5GB Zen Micro is thicker than the normal Ipod but shorter, and it actually fits the palm of my hand better. For this to make a true difference in size, they'd probably have to abandon the rectangle size altogether. It still has to fit in the palm of your hand.

I'll stick with 1 extra GB for $50 less.

[Ksyrup]

An article about the Ipod phone:

http://money.cnn.com/2005/09/07/tech...ex.htm?cnn=yes

[Hurst2112]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

The size really isn't that much of a difference. My 5GB Zen Micro is thicker than the normal Ipod but shorter, and it actually fits the palm of my hand better. For this to make a true difference in size, they'd probably have to abandon the rectangle size altogether. It still has to fit in the palm of your hand.

I'll stick with 1 extra GB for $50 less.

For me, the pinnacle of technology with mp3 players is storage capacity. I carry a 'man purse' around town so my 20 GB ipod is small enough. Gimme more storage in a slightly larger box and i would be happy.

Still, the nano will probably appeal to the youth of america. 14 hour battery is an improvement. Black instead of white?!?!? ooooooooohhhhhhh! Runners may be sold on the flash drive of the nano.

But, as you say, there are still better reasons to NOT go with Apple's flavor of the season.

[Draft Dodger]

new iTunes also...but it doesn't seem like there's anything earthshattering there...

[jbmagic]

how the harddrive life on ipods for the 20 or 60gb?

and the battery life. how mnay times can you recharge it before it goes out completly? expensive to replace?

thanks

[Passacaglia]

What do you mean, 'harddrive life'? Do hard drives die?

[jbmagic]

Originally Posted by Passacaglia

What do you mean, 'harddrive life'? Do hard drives die?

yes they do. my friend has his harddrive fail on his 20gb Ipod.

lucky he had warranty left to replace for a new ipod.


just curious anyone else had problems with there ipod 20gb or 60 gb?

[MacroGuru]

Just bought the Nano today...black....very stylish...I am happy....bye....

[Airhog]

I see the technology from two sides.

Hardrives have moving components, and they are more likely to fail during rough handling. OTOH, the more transistors you pack onto a small chip, the more likely it is to fail. I can attest to this at work, since a good number of our failures are VLSI chips.

[jeff061]

I bought one a couple days ago. It's really quite impressive. My first iPod ever and I am pleased with my purchase, despite the new easily scratchable rumblings out there.

[Peregrine]

I still love my regular iPod, but those Nanos are sleek as hell, I have to say!

[jeff061]

It replaces my 2gb iRiver that I bought a year ago. It's like going from a 10 year old beater to a Corvette.

[Hurst2112]

Damn, the gadget geek in me is seriously thinking about getting one of these, despite my previous posts about storage space.

must be a guy thing.

[jbmagic]

how are the ipods harddrive and batteries.


some people reports hardrive failure or battery failure.


what better to get Nano or the 20gb Ipods?

[kingfc22]

My friend just showed me this site the other day. You can make some pretty sweet looking iPods.

hxxp://www.colorwarepc.com/

[colt45]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4286294.stm

flaw with nano....reported by bbc. you can see the video of the story too.

[samifan24]

Originally Posted by colt45

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4286294.stm

flaw with nano....reported by bbc. you can see the video of the story too.

There was an article in today's WSJ about this flaw. It also said that Apple will replace damaged Nanos and that customers with damaged Nanos should contact their nearest Apple store.