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Apple Releases New Touch Screen iPod
JSM writes to tell us that Apple released a new version of their popular iPod music player today that boasts, among other things, an iPhone-like touch screen and Wi-Fi capabilities. "The iPod Touch will feature the Safari Internet browser and, like the iPhone, play YouTube videos. Apple also announced a new version of its iTunes music store that will allow users to buy songs wirelessly. iTunes will also sell customizable 99-cent ringtones for the iPhone."
For a device that seems to play video well (and made for it) 8/16 GB doesn't seem like enough. Especially since the "ipod classic" comes in 80/160GB flavors at the same price point( with a small not so good for video screen).
Otherwise it looks nice.
iPhone 8GB price drop from $599 to $399.
At that pricing, they could sell 5M units by the end of the year. That's a very aggressive move for market share.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
Phatpod iPod Nano - Like your sleek device for workouts? Too bad, go get a Shuffle - BONED
$.99 ringtone on top of $.99 to buy the song (certain songs only) - BONED
Starbucks "integration" - now my iPhone will spend a few extra seconds every time I hook up to a Wifi access point looking for coffee music - BONED
We managed to fit really nice HDs in iPods, but not the new Touch iPod - but you get a few millimeters back - BONED
$599 to $399 price drop in 2 months - EXTREMELY BONED
iTunes Store wireless - kind of cool. Wish they'd do the same thing with TV shows in music (that's what I'd be inclined to buy in an airport somewhere)
All in all, a particularly boneworthy afternoon.
Apple released some nice products today, but had some disappointing moments as well. First, the new ipod classic looks nice and the bump to 160gb is nice. The other announcements were not as exciting. The new nano looks ugly and didn't get a storage bump. The ipod touch looks very nice, but they should have used the 160gb hdd from the classic instead of flash.
The iPhone news was the biggest let down. For all the talk of Apple "redefining" the cellphone industry, the event today showed that they have no intentions of being anything other than just another gouger. The write-up was wrong. Ringtones aren't $0.99, they are $0.99 for songs that you purchased already from itunes, so they are $1.98 and you can't use music that you got from other sources.
The other nice move was dropping the price on the iphone. I personally think this is a great move, even if it is a slap in the face to all the early adopters (henceforth referred to as "suckers"). It was also a nice fuck-in-the-ass to all the ebayers who are sitting on $200 losses now.
Yeah, it's notable that they've kept the "iPod Classic", as well as this new model, which seems to be aiming for a market between the iPod and WiFi tablets like the Nokia 770. Also the new iPod Nano looks a bit... retarded.
I don't understand the impetus behind removing all tactile controls from a portable audio player.
The iPod is already harder to use than many other brands with buttons if you're driving, cycling, jogging, or walking and want to be able to adjust volume or start/stop without looking at the device. With a fair amount of practice you can learn to orient the iPod and manipulate the scroll wheel without looking at it. Is this even theoretically feasible with an iTouch? Or am I going to have to dodge imbeciles swerving all over the road while scrolling through their playlist even more than I do already?
Apple really seems to be in a state of flux right now with their iPod/iPhone lines.
The release of the iPhone went well, but it's really pricey and historically first gen Apple products do little more than set the paradigm and show future promise. By the time we get second and third gen iPhones they'll probably be pretty amazing and a lot cheaper. Just comparing my second gen iPod to the advances made in say, the fourth generation (third introduced major changes, but fourth is where it stabilized design, went color, and started to move more heavily into video) are pretty staggering.
At the same time they're trying to reconcile the popularity of the iPhone with their ongoing iPod line and their iPod Nano line, but without dropping the core functionality of the iPod to such a degree that they lose business (i.e. by cutting the space to make room for the new features). As a result we have a mish-mash of product lines going on right now each of them with flaws.
If anyone out there is interested in purchasing a device now is probably the worst time. Give Apple a year or so and we'll start seeing further consolidation into a more stable product line that better integrates the features of each of their currently available products. Eventually I expect we'll be getting an 80 Gig iPhone with wi-fi and third-party apps, probably in only a year or two based on the way things have been moving so far.
When they stop making changes and start introducing only gradual improvements (like when the video iPod simply came out in a model with more storage) that's the time to go grab it. Based on their past performance though, I'd suggest waiting until then.
Anytime Apple announces a new product and omits the anti-gravity feature, the stock takes a hit for the next day or so. That's when I add to my AAPL holdings.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
That truly is a steep drop in price. Have their supply and production costs dropped that much, or are they sacrificing margin in the expectation of recovering it in subscription fees? I tend to suspect the latter, which amounts to subsidized pricing.
No, Apple is maximizing revenue. It is called walking down the price curve. Everyone has a different willingness to pay, some much higher than others. If you make a product available to everyone at a widely acceptable price you lose revenue from those who would have paid more. So you introduce a product at a high price point that only a few are willing to pay and slowly reduce the price over time. This way all sales are closer to what the various individuals were willing to pay. Note that there needs to be an absence of substitute products. Sometimes this strategy fits in well with initial production and supply problems. However in this case I expect it is mostly revenue maximization.
Yes, 16GB of flash memory isn't enough.
... by creating a huge demand for flash (or other suitable) memory, there's more motivation to produce higher capacity & lower prices thereon.
... but this tact will get you something better sooner.
/. ... but by creating the demand, the supply has appeared.
Yes, they could jam a hard drive in there.
BUT
Yes, you might not have the capacity you want now
Wasn't long ago the idea of a flash-based iPod was seriously scoffed at on
Can we get a "-1 Wrong" moderation option?
A microphone. VOIP with WIFI is kinda useless without a mic...
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
No, that's an estimate by a single group on the cost of the components. Manufacturing, etc. never entered into their stupid calculations.
It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
After they buy a 99 cent (or $1.39) song from iTunes, people accept that they should pay another 99 cents to be able to have that song play when someone calls them? Why do people keep putting up with this kind of crap?
Those who fail to understand communication protocols, are doomed to repeat them over port 80.
It could be because the maximum capacity of the touch iPod is 16GB.
If you didn't think the phone was worth $600, why did you pay that much for it?
Long live the king. The new Newton rises.
Parent has a good point. Good things happened to other people, bully for them. No reason I should be any less happy just because others are now better off. Unless they're better off because they're taking something from you that you didn't want to give, why not just be happy for them? There's plenty of things to be upset about, no need to add to the list.
... even granting your insinuation that hardcore Apple fans are idiots, this tactic will reduce the field, not expand it. ... if their business plan only included the supertrendy and the hardcore fan base, it wouldn't have the rather expensive marketing campaign, or the goal of 10 million units.
...
... I maintain that the Mac fans who hold sway over so many mod points think different(ly).
:-)
You grossly misrepresent my position regarding those who purchased iPhones immediately. They are not idiots, just impatient or vain in the pissing contest sense, and they are very forgiving so this price drop will not diminish their numbers.
You also misrepresent Apple's business plan. The supertrendy and/or hardcore don't represent the 10 million unit target, merely the initial round of buying. That 10 million will predominantly represent the patient who have waited. The price drop will be a triggering event for many, validating their patience in their mind.
Your argument is that the iPhone only aims to be a cult device
Uh, no. I argue that Apple is walking down the price curve to sell to each person at their willingness to pay in order to maximize iPhone revenue. Mass market products do this, not niche products.
That's a foolish argument, Mac fans with mod points have not really been known for their open minded and non-cultlike mods.
The iPod Touch uses a flash drive, whereas the now "Classic" uses a platter-based hard drive.
Apart from the price differences on these, there's also the size and power consumption to consider.
That's irrelevant.. you should only pay as much as an item is worth *to you*. If it was worth the price you paid, then you've lost nothing. If not, you should have waited longer and/or bought something else. Just because you didn't properly anticipate the rate of decay doesn't mean Apple has somehow wronged you -- it was your mistake, not theirs. People make the same mistakes every day in the stock market, so you're not alone. Some people bought houses anticipating a continuing price increase. At least you only bought a phone and you (hopefully) realized from the start that you wouldn't be able to resell it for more than you paid.
At any rate, I'd bet that if you're persistent enough, you can probably get a refund for the difference and/or make an exchange for the next model up. It's in Apple's best interest to keep happy customers, so they'll probably do what they can to make you happy.
https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
I've read through a lot of comments and I'm seeing a lot of people discussing the iPhone price drop (which is pretty huge) and how it's a smack in the face to early adopters.
Question: If a company purchases a few million additional components which is used in both the iPhone and ipod touch wouldn't that drive the cost down of the iphone?
To me I see the Ipod touch as an iphone in a different suit. And since the iphone is only available in the US market their new phone (or a lot of the required components) just opened up to a massive market including Japan, UK, Canada, etc.. Also, the early adopters who went out and spent the money only proved the market was ready for such a change in user input.
So to all future buyers of the iphone, you just lucked out. At least Apple appears to be bringing the cost savings back to the consumer. . or this could be an evil scheme to take over the phone market!
My music collection was once 1000 songs too. Ahh, 1999. A great year. I guess this is why there are different iPods for different tastes. The Touch is for people who love eye candy (and possible the bigger screen for movies) the shuffle is for joggers and athletes, and the nano is for people who like cute things. For me, I'll probably always stick with the iPod Classic for its huge capacity, as my music collection is about 20 gigs and growing by about 25% each year. For me, the best part of having an iPod is bringing EVERYTHING with me because I'll never know what I want to listen to/watch while I'm on the go.
Random rants about technology: http://technorants.blogspot.com