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Rumors of iPod mini, 100 Million Songs, Xserve G5 All True
The mini is anodized aluminum and comes in silver, gold, blue, green, and pink. Accessories include a dock and armband. It can be connected to the computer via FireWire 400 or USB 2.0.
Jobs also announced some changes to the existing iPod line, including a bump from 10GB to 15GB for the $300 version, and new in-ear headphones for $40.
The Xserve G5 is, like the previous Xserve, a 1U server. It can hold up to 8GB of ECC DDR 400 memory, and up to 750GB of storage. It includes an unlimited client license for Mac OS X Server 10.3, and comes in three configurations: 2GHz for $3,000, dual 2GHz for $4,000, and cluster node dual 2GHz for $3,000.
The Xserve RAID got a bump, too. The 3U RAID has a 500GB increase in capacity to 3.5TB for $11,000; 1.75TB for $7,500; and 1TB for $6,000. And, it is now certified for use with some versions of Windows and Linux.
Jobs, with the help of recording artist John Mayer, introduced the newest member of the iLife media application family: Garage Band. It is a music instrument and recording tool, that can mix up to 64 tracks, comes with 50 software instruments, over 1,000 professional loops, and 200 effects. It can record live instruments and take input from a USB or MIDI controller. It simulates various modern and vintage amps for guitar playback.
The optional $99 Jam Pack adds 100 more instruments, 2,000 more loops, 15 more amps, and more effects.
iPhoto, the most maligned of the iLife apps for its performance problems, received a much-needed update. It can now handle up to 25,000 photos (instead of mere hundreds), and adds automatic and smart albums (similar to iTunes), ratings of photos, and sharing via Rendezvous. Like iTunes, you apparently can't modify descriptions and titles through sharing, but unlike iTunes, there are no copyright restrictions.
iDVD and iMovie also got updates: better control, new and improved effects, and more. iMovie has exporting directly to your iDisk for use on your home page and importing directly from an iSight camera, and iDVD adds a navigation map and archiving projects for burning on another computer. iDVD also gets higher-quality Pro encoding, with 2 hours per DVD.
iLife, for $49, and the Jam Pack are available starting January 16. There was no indication that any new components of iLife will be available for free download, but iLife will be included with all new Macs.
Final Cut Express was bumped to version 2, and is basically updated to include the features from Final Cut Pro 4. Upgrades are $99.
Microsoft announced Office 2004, an upgrade to Office X. People who purchase Office X now until the spring, when 2004 is released, will be eligible for a free upgrade.
Pepsi's iTunes Music Store giveaway will begin on February 1. Yellow caps noting the 100 million song giveaway will have a 1 in 3 chance of winning.
Jobs also noted that iTunes Music Store has 70% of the market share for online music purchasing; that 50,000 audio books were sold for the quarter; that 500,000 songs are now online, making the store the largest online; and that one person has spent $29,500 on iTunes Music Store. Yes, $29,500.
As a digital music creator (who up until now has used a Windows-based PC and Acid Pro) I cannot tell you how excited I was by the demo John Mayer and Steve Jobs gave of GarageBand. From the looks of it (and I know that looks can be deceiving) you can record instruments straight into the computer without a digital interface... and it sounds amazing...I've tried this in the past (recording through the audio-in port) on my PC and have never gotten good results.
I can't wait to get the new version of iLife.
However, I was a little dissapointed by the price of the new iPod mini. At $250 (just $50 less than the (now) 15Gb iPod) I can't really see how it's worth it. I'll just pay another $50 and get an iPod that can hold my entire music library. Not sure what they were thinking with that price.
Though I'm not effected that much by the Xserve G5 or the Xserve Raid for that matter, I was still impressed by their cross-OS compatability.
The guitars sound good, now give me about 10db more on the cow bell.
The XServe G5 will allow to build supercomputers using far more space and will be obviously one of the best solutions around for webservers.
The iPod is more expensive than what the rumors said but it also has bigger hard drive (4Go/249$ vs 2Go/100$). I think that makes it the best deal by far in its category.
Then this 'Pepsi' thing... Looks like I'm gonna drink Pepsi instead of Coke soon. And I mean a lot of Pepsi. Definitely a good idea for Pepsi.
2004 will definitely be Apple's year and I think that's good news because it will bring some change in the IT world.
Happy new year and no, I'm not a Mac zealot.
Iraq: war to save the U
Thoughts:
New mini-iPod is exactly like I thought it would be .. except for the
price. I thought $100 was too low, so I was thinking $150-$200. $250 is just
borderline too expensive (I.e., I'm not going to get one right away, my budget
can't justify it.
Xserve G5 - WOW!!! ECC RAM! That crosses one more thing off the "reasons not to get an Xserve list".. a very short list now. I know what my next client recommendation is going to be: Dell. No just KIDDING! XSERVE !!! Hell I might get one for home use. People are going to think "G5" = "Supercomputer".
Garage Band - This is cool. I can just hear folks saying it now: "oh now, now we're going to be flooded with crap written in Garage Band and people will think it's 'music'".. well, 95% of everything is crap anyway. This is going to be lots of fun. The iTunes integration is cool.. I'll be getting a copy for sure (I have Reason and this looks like a consumer/guitars version). Also I can't wait to see what the "real" experimental electronic musicians do when they get their hands on it and start deconstructing the fuck out of it!
"Giving away" data that costs nearly nothing to distribute! Gotta love it!
All in all, a bunch of great announcements. Thanks Apple, for making interesting products.
Are we all supposed to pretend not to notice the blatant spin Apple is putting on here?
2 years ago when the 5 gig iPod was released, it was advertised to hold 1000 songs (and those of us who like our music encoded higher than 128kbs and/or listen to prog rock were skeptical).
Now, the 4 gig iPod Mini has a 4 gig hard drive and it holds 1000 songs? It only holds 800 of those 5 meg songs we had on our 5 gig iPod 2 years ago!
Not to mention, the iPod mini is $20 cheaper, while the regular iPod is $30 cheaper if you are a student, lowering the small difference by another $10 (229/269)
Vonal Declosion
Apple said it would be unveiling stuff all year long. Normally there is only 2-3 times per year. I wouldn't be surprised if they used the Boston Expo this summer to unviel the 20th aniversary edition of the Mac. This Keynote was good but I have to agree with other people about being disappointed over the Mini-Ipod. If they were $199 then that would be good but I don't think they are going to be the hit Apple expects.
Don't forget xgrid. A beta has been announced at apple
Build you own supercluster at home...
At the moment, though I wish I had a supercluster of money presses.
Who can afford that? iCant. iWont, its not what iWant! Think I'll wait 3 months for Jobs to come to his senses and reduce the price.
The deal between Apple and Pepsi was previously known! This has already been said in an earlier keynote by Jobs himself!
Why would I get a mini ipod when I can get a rio karmafor 260 dollars. It's 20 gigs, does both USB and ethernet, and plays ogg and flac.
"think of it as evolution in action"
That really freaked me out when I first saw it.
I thought "Apple really WAS ahead of its time" (as in time travel and stuff).
The selling argument is that it's almost half the size and weight. That turns it into something I would seriously consider getting, while the old iPod really is too big for me to bother, almost regardless of price.
To a lot of people 4GB is more space than they can ever want to fill up with music they want to hear, so it doesn't really matter if they have 2GB or 13BG too much.
Hmm... the Super Bowl is Feb. 1st... the Pepsi promotion starts Feb 1st.... Pepsi always has interesting Super Bowl commercials...
Might have to watch it after all...
(As long as I'm posting, here it is clickable. I wonder if the filmed her new or edited it in; either way it's pretty seamless.)
R: That voice. Where have I heard that voice before? B: In about 365 other episodes. But I don't know who it is either.
Yes, it's only $50 cheaper. The thing is this: the $300 iPod is the best seller of the lot. Cost/GB is an important factor, yes, but even if the iPod was only 1GB it would still have a lot going for it over the competing players.
- cool crowd. In marketing speak, the alphas have all bought an iPod and made it popular: the time has come to focus upon the rest of the crowd.
The people who are obsessed with space have already bought iPods. Or, in other words, amongst leading edge people the iPod has become a trailing trend. So the next question is how to break not into the marketplace of people who are tech-savvy, but rather the larger group of less-technically-inclined-but-still-wanting-to-be
Amongst this crowd, there is needed some method of comparision that is, at its very heart, impossible to calculate. Comparing $300/15GB with $500/40GB is a mathematical affair. What is needed is exactly the reverse. Apple does this with colors. Guy A buys a green one, guy B buys a blue one: they can both argue over which color is better without having to get into that inevitable Alpha-male dick contest over whose is bigger. That is why there is no 2GB version. The question when you decide to buy one of these is color, not model.
Or, in other words, Apple has once again found a clever way to shift the didatic from discussing the merits of their product to discussing the aesthetics of it. Ain't marketing cool?
-Brett
Before I hung around Hong Kong and Singapore, I would have agreed with you. After seeing all the people packed into their mass transit systems wearing tiny memory based mp3 players hanging off of their necks, this sorta thing is going to be a big seller there. The only way it could sell better there is to integrate it with bluetooth and allow it to be a mobile phone headset. Then it would own that market like you wouldn't believe.
"My head hurts, My feet stink, and I dont love Jesus." -Jimmy Buffett
Answer: They are not different versions of the same product!!! They occupy two seperate categories:
This new player is obviously of the later type, and it should be viewed and evaluated as such. I've been shopping around for a small mp3 player to use while exercising, and this fits the bill perfectly!
Doesn't this iPod still have the dirty secret? It looks to me as if there is no way to replace the battery. "Power and battery * Built-in rechargeable lithium ion battery" Why would they release another product with the same fatal flaw that marred the first one?
- Nick Busey
www.pedalbmx.com
www.nickbusey.com
iPod Hacks.com
blakespot
-- Heisenberg may have slept here.
iPod Hacks.com
Am I the only one who expects a portable audio device to include at the very least a rudimentary FM receiver? Not asking for AM/FM/SW/SSB/TV/Weather, just intregrated FM. A third party did it with the remote but this has just been cancelled. This seems trivial from an engineering standpoint and could not add too much to manufacturing cost (maybe $5-$10). This seems to be a manifestation of an attitude at Apple that air wave transmitted media (radio, tv) is unimportant. Whether this is a corporate strategy or they believe Apple customers should not/do not consume radio and television in the course of their iLife is unclear but either way this is an arrogant viewpoint. The iMac is positioned as the "digital hub" but doesn't include a TV tuner? American consumers spend more time watching TV than making home movies. I can get a $400 PC bundle on the corner that includes DVR functionality. Just put a radio in there Steve, I promise I'll only listen to NPR.
No it doesn't. Spend you $250 on a Rio Karma instead of the overpriced Apple and get 20gb of ogg playing goodness for your money.
---- Den ene knappen er powerknapp, den andre er Bender voice knapp "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass"
I was disappointed in the mini iPod announcement but I'm sure people will buy them.
Most people focus on "for $50 more you can get 15 more gigs" but there's more to it than that. People will buy the mini ipods for design.
It is smaller and lighter. iPods are already small. Many consumers value smallness hugely. To a consumer who cares more about unit size, than hard disk size, the mini iPod is better and cheaper.
There is also the cuteness factor. Mini iPods come in color. For students in particular, I think this is going to be a big thing. If you think the mini iPod looks better, and it's cheaper, it's a great deal.
Like many iPod consumers I don't care too much about the size of the hard disk, because 4 gigs is enough for me. I don't need to carry my whole music collection around. Sure, I might do that, but it's not a huge deal to me.
So we're left with a smaller, cuter, cheaper iPod that costs less and carries enough music. I'd buy that.
Go into an apple store and try handling one, see how you like it, you may find that 4 gigs vs 15 gigs becomes the least of your concerns.
But I will close with, still disappointed, really wanted to see a 2 gig in the $99-149 range.
karma karma karma karma karma chameleon, you come and go, you come and go.
the scroll wheel is solid state. That's probably where the confusion came from
I'm estimating my cost here to be:
$20 for CD player
$5 for cd case (also at Worst Buy)
$.36 per CD-R x 24 = 8.64
= About $35 (with tax, etc) for just under 17 GB of portable music
$99 be damned. If you're a true cheapskate, this will work just fine.
A bit ike this?
I knew they'd never move from their one-button-mouse position. If it's enough to make a spaceship land then it should certainly be good enough for everything else.
I just got a 40G iPod, and love the convenience of having all my music at any given place. That doesn't mean I'm out of the market for a new one.
My husband and I have two cars, so we might as well have two iPods. The mini would give us more flexibility than having two big iPods. The iPod does not fit comfortably in my pocket, and for any given day, I might just listen to a handful of albums, which would easily fit on the mini.
Docking it and uploading different songs to it in the morning is an easy thing to do. The mini is highly appealing to me largely because of it's size and the fact that it would incorporate seamlessly with my existing setup.
Drool.
Joan
Just think of it this way, instead of an extra 5 GB, you got the product before Christmas. These will not even be available until February. That's WELL after Christmas, nearly a quarter of the year.
Perhaps you should have read some of the rumors and given Daddy Dearest an Apple Gift card.
I only came here to do two things; kick some ass, and drink some beer...looks like we're almost out of beer.
This person is probably selling gift certificates on ebay so people overseas can use the store. It's much more effective for apple to turn a blind eye to this than negotiate different contracts for each region in order to sell to these people.
"Let him go, Ralph. He knows what he's doing." --Otto Mann (simpsons)
http://a192.g.akamai.net/7/192/51/0c5b0d0ef0f03b/w ww.apple.com/server/pdfs/L301323A_XserveG5_TO.pdf
It also uses the hyper-transport protocol which alot X86 users use to say gave Intel and AMD the advantage they had.
I have feeling the new 90nm dual 2.0GHz G5 will give out better #'s then the current 130nm dual 2.0GHz G5.
I'll be buying my iPod mini in about 3 months or so...I want that silver one. I already own the 40GB but I need a iPod I can strap to my arm and go workout with.
When you look at this from the view of apple( i'm flattering myself by pretending to know apple's view on things), its a very smart move to keep the price at 250.
First everyone and their dog was looking for a cheaper ipod, and they delivered, obviously not to the extent everyone wanted but they still did bring down the entry level. To that extent they listened to the market.
Secondly the size limit is important as far as marketing goes, 1000 songs is 899 songs better then 999 in the mind of the consumer. I don't think we'll ever see an ipod that you can't store at least 1000 songs on it, aka one weekends worth of continous listening ( 1000[songs] * 4[minutes per song] / 1440 [minutes in a day]). Apple has avoided sacrificing function for price.
Thirdly the 250 price perserves the higher ipod market. If the price was too low consumers would flock to the cheap ipods when high revenue margins are made on the more expensive, tried, true and established models, and if some small problem did crop up on this new breed of ipod it would severely damage apple's reputation and could risk it's dominance in the player market itself. However by lowering the price just a little it keeps the demand manageable for those that may think the price is two high for just 4 gigs, apple has decreased the form factor. The smaller size alone is not enough to justify the price but freebies like choice in color and armband help win most consumers over. By doing this Apple has avoided cannabalizing its higher end ipod business.
At the same time having the mini out and on the market gives apple the flexibility to release say an 8 gig mini for 250 and lower the 4 gig to 175 6 month down the road should the market begin to turn towards the competition. I think more consumers are reaching that $50 deeper then are buying none ipod devices, as soon as that trend begins to really shift you'll see a cheaper ipod but apples going to bilk the market for as much as it will bear as long as it will bear.
If you can't fix it ask the 3 year old down the street.
OK. So my GF, who liked the iPod and nothing more, did not represent a large part of urban females when she yelled out "ooooooh! it's in PINK, it's in PINK" and "it's even smaller" and "look at that arm strap, now I can jog with it" (1) and " 'only' a thousand songs, I don't have more than a hundre to job to what would I need more than a thousand songs for" (2)?
When they launch here (thank you very much Apple, I have to wait to April to buy me, my GF and mom one), I'm first on the list to get some.
(1) I know that you can jog with the iPode, but she thought it was a little bit big for the arm. Now, there's an alternative.
(2) I also know that 15 GB is a lot more storage, but she don't care, since it's cheaper, smaller, lighter, and PINK.
There are a number of factors, but the big one has been what it cost to develop or distribute the app. The original iMovie 1.0 was $49 by itself. Or maybe that was just the upgrade to 2.0. I don't remember. I bought it back in the day for my old Mac running 8.6. It was ok. Subsequent versions (2 and 3) were free to download but required more recent versions of OS X.
:)
iTunes has been free to download from day one. Either version 2 or 3 required OS X. It will continue to be free because it's the only client for iTunes Music Store. End of story.
iPhoto 1 and 2 were both free for download. They required the latest OS X, no OS 9 or earlier versions at all, unlike the above.
iDVD was never free for download. Originally it only came with Macs equipped with a SuperDrive. Actually it came with any Macs that could be configured with a SuperDrive, regardless of whether they actually shipped with one. But anyway. Apple has to pay the MPEG people royalties for the code that encodes movies to MPEG-2 for DVD. They did this by paying for each SuperDrive they sell - it was included in the cost of the SuperDrive. Also iDVD contains a lot of themes so has always been too big to download anyway.
Last year they bundled iLife for $49, which included iDVD. But iDVD still only ran on Macs with a SuperDrive. So I guess the $49 didn't cover the cost of the MPEG license since it was still no good without an Apple SuperDrive. But until now, you could always download the latest versions of the other apps for free. Only iDVD required purchase for the latest (if it didn't come with your Mac -- all new Macs have always come with the latest and greatest iLife apps as applicable).
Now it looks like only iTunes remains free for download. Personally, I think it's not a bad transition. I use all of the iLife apps (iPhoto the least) and they are damn good for $49 total. Worth way more than that.
Now consider Garage Band. By itself, it could easily sell for $250 or more. There's a lot of damn nice functionality to any recording musician in there. Pro music apps start around $500-700, so this could have easily been Apple's $200 musical equivalent to Logic Audio, just as Final Cut Express is to Final Cut Pro. But nope! They bundled it in with the rest of the useful iLife and still kept it at $49. What a fucking STEAL!
Ok, so I meandered a bit but maybe this helps answer your question. Or not.
I was thinking the same thing -- it would have been very similar to when Apple announced the color classic in 89-90(?) for $999 -- they got a shitload of marketshare out of the deal.
What they also got was a lot of problems in the supply channel -- I think if they *had* put the minis out at $99 a pop they would have had a fufillment nightmare, which ends up being more damaging to people's perception of Apple in the long-run.
This becomes a relevant issue courtesy of the legions of hairless apes who look for any opportunity to slag Apple.
The interesting thing (to me at least) was the near silence while Jobs was demo-ing the thing: you could hear a pin drop. Thanks to the rumor sites (and coverage of the rumor sites on CNN) the expectation was $99 iPod minis, not $249 dollar iPod minis.
I can't imagine that Jobs was thinking and feeling about the keynote as he walked off the stage, but it can't have been good.
It's the big danger associated with the MacWorld conventions and all of the speculation on the various rumor sites (and speculation on the speculation places like here....): there is an underlying expectation that when Steve says "... oh, and one more thing...."
We'll just have to wait and see how the minis sell. The audience response was not encouraging.
- learn to swim.
Not that it matters, but the iPod mini's apparently high price may be a market-based way to limit initial demand. After all, the Cornice storage elements used in these devices are brand new and probably are in limited supply. Apple had the alternative of pricing low and telling everyone "It's $150, but you have to wait 6 months to get one" or making a higher profit on lower volume until the bugs are ironed out (and there will be bugs) and then lowering the price.
Just my $0.02.
I don't think you guys really understand how big of a deal GarageBand is (and I mean to paid musicians whom already own pro audio software). I produce downtempo electro-acoustic psychedelic (bassy breaks stuff) tracks for a local label with Reason, Ableton Live and Logic, but none are as sweet (or should I say organic) looking as GarageBand for recording and editing tracks (Reason actually looks quite good for a synth/sampler/effects rack : yet visually lacks when one is editing within the track mode). Why should I even mention to you how good looking GarageBand is? Why you say? Simple. If it excites me to work with a good looking peice of software - which I admit - it does very much (appealing to my eye - with incredible ease of use and superior workflow), it will inevitably inspire my work. And if it inspires my work, in any sort of creative way, I would gladly pay far more than the small price of $49 for it! Now granted, it does not do all the things that Live, Reason or Logic does, but by the looks of it.... I think it will do what it does better than anything else I've seen. GarageBand should be able to listen to (and record in stereo, I believe) a firewire enabled piece of hardware (like Yamaha's brand new o1x) with the knobs controlling any enabled AudioUnit plugins (in real-time of course). Will the AudioUnit capability within GarageBand allow me to use mastering plugins (not to mention 5.1 mixing)? How many AudioUnit plugins can run in real time while simply monitoring (or recording) my 12 String & vocals? Can you pre-record midi to the AudioUnit plugin effects while monitoring guitar or vocals while jamming to a pre-recorded piece (to provide dub-like capabilities)? Will GarageBand listen to more than one midi device at any given time (keyboards, mixer & envelope pedals)? Obviously I'm not sure on some of these paticular details, but I'll find out soon enough. I must remind myself this is Apple's first release of this product, and updates will inevitably follow! The fact it will seemlessly integrate with Soundtrack (when scoring within FCP 4), plays and records at 24bit 96khz (I think - haven't found the pdf on it yet - Soundtrack does - so GarageBand should), uses AudioUnits, comes with a large amount of high quality (better than CD quality) samples (some of the best I've ever heard by the way) and comes with 100 software instruments... well... it's a steal (to say the least) at $49. Comparable software goes for hundreds of dollars more (not to mention the fact you get to upgrade your iDVD/ iMovie/ iPhoto as well). Not to mention the interface of those other apps are half as clean (re: slick) as GarageBand. Just check out the detailed "wood" side panels on the main mixer window. Don't you think it adds a warm touch? I like details like that. Thank you Apple! I'll be buying it... I'll also be upgrading to the "Jampack" available for it as well. GarageBand is the start of something incredible, for professional and amateur musicians alike... End of story.
an audio player with 4 GB storage for $249 . alright, not so big of a deal . i can get 15 GB for $299 . . . .
wait, it has a backlit screen, an intuitive user menu, contact list/calendar, and a 1 year warranty ? now you're speaking my language
it only weighs 3.6 oz ?! where is the nearest apple store ?!
sure, most of you think a hardware fairy takes the hard drive that resides in a larger ipod, waves a wand and poof ! it's magically smaller . the fact remains that there is cost involved in making things smaller, even if it reduces the amount of standard hd space
yeah, i know, so what . every wannabe entrepreneur living in mom's basement is screaming that the price point is all wrong simply because they'll have to rub two more pennies together so that they can afford one . here's the bottom line
steve jobs in 1999 on the success of the imac computer line
i'll cut and paste the important bit for those too lazy to click...
Jobs: The rest of us. And -- if you go out and ask people what's wrong with computers today, they'll tell you they're really complicated, they have a zillion cables coming out of the back, they're really big and noisy, they're really ugly, and they take forever to get on the Internet. And so we tried to set out to fix those problems with products like the iMac. I mean, the iMac is the only desktop computer that comes in only one box. You can set it up and be surfing the Internet in 15 minutes or less.
CNA: And many colors.
Jobs: Well, now, that was another one. In this technological age, the number one question we got last year about the iMac was, "Can you make it in my favorite color?" It wasn't about megabytes or megahertz or anything. It was about "Can you make it in my favorite color (blank)?"
CNA: You mean it's aesthetics?
Jobs: Yeah. I mean you know, you get clothes in whatever color you want, drive a car in whatever color you want, but except for the iMac, you had to settle for beige, you know?...
jobs' mantra is no longer "save the masses", it is "give the people what they want" . and a marketing report told him that people want smaller ipods in different colours, and they would be willing to pay ~$249 . how can you argue with that ?