Slashdot Mirror
iPod Generation 4 Released
I_am_Rambi writes "According to MSNBC "The considerably tweaked fourth-generation iPod will roll out this week, and Newsweek got an advance peek. It looks a bit different, operates more efficiently, has a few more features and costs less. Here are the highlights...." Improved battery life, upto 12 hours, a click wheel, more efficient menus, multiple on the go play list, and probably one of the best changes is a lower price. $399 (down from $499) for a 40 gig, $299 (down from $399) for a 20 gig, and there are no 15 gig versions." And you can read Apple's iPod site for the full details.
Why do they refuse to offer an iPod for $200?
Umm... Marketing?
The iPod is very successful. Right now, the people that are buying them are going to pay a premium. When this market is saturated, they can then sell lower priced versions. This is pretty straight forward economics.
I'll be one of the first to buy the cheap version that comes out around Christmas time.
Life is the leading cause of death in America.
...they already sell like hotcakes?
Because they're selling like hotcakes at the price point they're at already. Why undercut themselves? I'm sure they've spent quite a bit of time studying the market, and considering their earnings last quarter (61 million profit, much higher than expected) you probably shouldn't expect a price drop anytime soon.
If you're looking for a cheap iPod, check eBay.
seriouslyexcited.net
There are on the go playlists and better backlighting + a new game. 6.5 hours is NOT atrocius - it's not great, but I have no other means of carrying that much music in that small and conveiniant/efficient package... and playing breakout, solitare ;) + holding all of my programs that I use in my daily Apple Technical service
Go to colorware if you need a color or just buy a mini that already has good battery life and comes in colors.
Or you could just go the cheap route and by one of the 100's of different protective skins.
Yell & scream & rant & rave... it's no use... you need a shaaaave ~ Bugs Bunny
Sadly, the cost to make a tiny hard drive like that doesn't go down. Capacities go up, but the expensive part is the actual physical hardware, not the capacity. I agree that I would have seriously considered getting a 15GB if it were dropped $100.
The emperor is naked.
Why do they refuse to offer an iPod for $200? They'd sell like hotcakes. Not everyone needs 40 freakin' gigs.
They're already selling like hotcakes, nimrod.
Q: Why would you drop the price on something that you already can't make enough of?
A: You're an idiot?
If this post offends you, it's because the truth hurts. Try saving up, it's how a lot of us can afford expensive items.
I wish!
I don't see any technical reason why things like multiple generated playlists, speed-variable playback and hearing the clicker through the headphones can't be done on current iPods.
However, the current update page seems to restrict those features the the newest model.
I wish Apple wouldn't try and alienate their older customers so much like this. With software, it isn't so bad since the investment usually isn't as large. But with firmware and hardware, the investment can be quite conciderable.
In addition to the marketing aspects pointed out by other folks, let me remind you of the economics of marking these things.
Hard disks, such as those used in the iPod, have high fixed costs to produce. So while it may be possible to cram more bits in the same package as technology advances, its difficult to take an older, smaller disk and produce them cheaply. The single biggest cost in producing an iPod is the hard disk. QED, etc.
Also, given that iPods in all varieties have been selling like hotcakes from the start, why would Apple want to lower the price? Clearly lots of people are willing to pay the $300-$500...I know I was.
What's with your apparent assumption earphone color affects their quality?
Aside from the fact all iPods in general are already selling like hotcakes (as several others have pointed out), they're also selling the iPod mini, a 4 GB iPod that costs $249. What are they supposed to do, sell a full-size iPod with a higher capacity for $50 less??
everyone keeps replying to you saying it's because they're selling like hotcakes, or it's marketing, etc. bla bla..
sorry, the truth is it costs almost the same amount to make a 15gb hd as a 20gb. infact, i bet the difference is measurable in a few dollars. so what's your choice. offer a 15gb at $290 and 20gb at $300, or just a 20gb at $300? it's pretty simple which one apple's going to sell. until the manufacturing costs come way down on miniturized hard drives, it will pretty much be the same price for years to come.
- tristan
for bringing their products to the masses.
Now its cool to own mac stuff, and not as geeky. When im podding down the street I get stopped by common folk, conversations are struck and I'm meeting new people all from a little white music device.
"oh I want one of those, whats yours" - is all thats said until a conversation is struck.
I have a 3rd gen ipod, and very happy with it. I wont bother with a mini, or the 4th because mine is going great guns.
Some would say expensive, but if they can charge the market and get away with it to get the best margin then goodluck to them.
First off, it could hardly come as a surprise. This is Apple's standard way of introducing products, same as their Macs. The old models don't go cheap, they disappear. In addition to already selling like hotcakes, they also sell by being expensive. The same goes for many other status symbols (which the iPod certainly is).
Yes, they could drop prices, try to be the "Windows" of mp3 players. But it requires a completely different business process. More cost-efficient solutions (read: cut corners), less R&D, heavy optimization of the production process and so on. Move around production based on wage costs etc.
Trying to be a price leader is a very tough market. Unlike software, where you "accumulate" code, the hardware business is full of clone makers, staying just out of reach of your patents. I don't think the iPod would be anywhere near the success it is, if Apple had chosen that strategy. It is simply not in their corporate culture and way of thinking, quite simply: others are better at it.
Instead they build brand, making people want an iPod, not pick it on price. Clone makers can't really touch that, because they customer specifically wants an iPod - not any other brand. And it is amazing how much cash you can up with for something you want, if only you prioritize...
Kjella
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
Sure.
20 gigs: $299
40 gigs: $399
15 gigs with Ogg support: $499
I mean, come on. What do you really mean by "huge?" They obviously don't feel that the cost of integrating the feature would be worth the effort. And when I think about it, I can't blame them: hell, I'm willing to bet that they wouldn't have included mp3 support if it wasn't for the fact that the installed base made that the "cost of entry" for the device to the market. Otherwise, they'd just have gone with AAC (and later, ALC).
Oh, and by the way: what do you mean by "many like you?"
Somehow, I kinda doubt your conception of "many" jibes with theirs.
One of the reason a lot of things, especially electronics, are more expensive in europe is that both the euro and the pound are beating our U.S. dollar into submission at the moment.
That doesn't make sense at all. If your currency increases in value in relation to another country, their goods typically drop in price in your country, not increase.
Casual Games/Downloads
I used to feel the same. Finally I admitted I'd made the wrong choice, re-ripped as VBR mp3s, got an iPod and never looked back.
/.ers tend to overestimate the real world impact of their pet technologies.
It's not the first time (and won't be the last) that I'd backed the wrong horse. For instance, I preferred the Amiga to the PC, but I lost out there too. Market forces meant that I either stayed back with my little minority interest and my politics, or I (begrudgingly at first) followed the herd.
I held out for a good while for ogg support, now I've had 9 months of happy iPodding and I couldn't care less. I really don't see the benefit of vorbis over decent bitrate VBR. I also don't think 95% of the people who've bought iPods have any idea at all what ogg, flac, aiff, audible and so on are.
Whenever I see the spec, though, I always wonder how many people are carrying round an iPod full of WAVs...
They don't sell one for $200, but they do sell one for $249. It's absolutely tiny, weighs nothing, and comes in five colors.
And yes, it is selling like hotcakes.
As far as why they're not selling a 15 gig white iPod, I'm sure there are a few reasons:
- 15 gig drives probably cost about the same as 20 gig drives.
- Offering two products which are very close in features tends to confuse the market.
- A 15 gig model that was much cheaper than the current 20 gig version would probably undercut the mini's market.
If you're so price-sensitive that you can't spring for the extra $49 that a mini would cost you, then probably:
- You shouldn't be spending money on a portable music player anyway.
- You should check out eBay.
- You might want to take a look at some cheaper knockoff devices.
My record collection was entirely converted to VQF. VQF. It was going to be the next big thing-- sounded better than mp3 at lower bitrates. Well, we all know how that turned out... who's heard of vqf now?
Learned an important lesson about "better" standards. Unless it's got widespread adoption, or improves things by an order of magnitude, it's not going anywhere. Vorbis may sneak in as people start using it here and there (video games, etc...) just because it's free, but I'd expect that to take a LONG time. For now, I'm sticking with mp3 for portables, and keeping the files in FLAC for easy reconversion next time. If only I'd had the storage space for that the first time around-- converting LPs is *tedious*.
Well because they're Apple. Apple goes for simplicity instead of features. AAC works, so that's what they use. Simple.
:)
I don't necessarily think this is a good idea, but I'm not the product designer that's been doing this for years, either. Note that there's always the possibility that the iPod's CPU can't decode Vorbis in real time. It does run Linux, though, so just install Linux on the thing and run ogg123
As an aside, I have a lot of FLAC files, but that's not really going to stop me from buying an iPod. Nothing a very small shell script can't fix.
My other car is first.
This isn't as complex as you are trying to make it.
here's how this works:
1. The low end iPod doesn't have a dock or carrying case. It never has.
2. The 15GB model has been eliminated, and the 20GB is now the low end.
3. The 20GB iPod cost you $399 yesterday, and now it costs $299.
Therefore, with these three statements, there was a price reduction, and the product line has been enhanced where the accessory opkits remain the same.
Stop thinking you're getting screwed when you really aren't.
Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
I don't agree that an AM/FM radio is a requirement.
In fact, I wouldn't want a device that included a radio tuner, or for that matter, voice recording and image viewing capabilities. That is the road that cell phone manufacturers went down with the camera phone, MP3 playback, SMS messaging and all that. To some it is a necessity, but not for me.
The iPod is a tool for transporting and listening to high quality music of your choosing, on demand. The ability to listen to AM/FM radio runs counter to this purpose.
I understand some people *really* need a radio, or the ability to record their own voice, or some other feature. Luckily, there is a huge 3rd party industry with high quality products from comapnies like Griffin Technologies that address these concerns wth add-ons.
I only came here to do two things; kick some ass, and drink some beer...looks like we're almost out of beer.
Since Apple can sell all the hardware they can make at the higher price, they would be STUPID to drop the price.
Want something cheap? Go buy one of Apple's competitors' devices.
Oh, you want it to have good design as well? I see. Then you get to pay for it. Get used to the notion that quality engineering costs money. Zero of Apple's competitors have quality engineered hardware.
Yes, including that Neuros lunchbox. Boy, that's a dumb looking piece of hardware.
Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
There is so much wrong with your post it's hard to know where to begin.
First, 51% percent of the MP3 market already is iPods. So your snobbery take is simply wrong. It may have started that way, but now it's become the "me too" syndrome. You aren't hip unless you have an iPod just like your friends.
Second, Alpine will soon be offering an iPod compatible sound system for you car, so there goes your second elitist argument.
Thirdly, iPods are enjoying triple-digit sales growth right now (last quarter sales were 180% above same quarter, previous year sales). Now, please tell me why a company that has 51% of the market, and is STILL enjoying triple-digit growth rates needs to change their pricing structure at all?
You can tell a great deal about the character of a man by observing those who hate him.