Slashdot Mirror
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."
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.
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?
It could be because the maximum capacity of the touch iPod is 16GB.
If I like the product they are offering now, then just how does the "stability" of Apple's product line even enter the picture? Will I buy an iPod, take it home, only to have it fluctuate into a different product I didn't want when I'm not looking? Sheesh.
I think claims of not buying the first generation are pretty valid, but saying "this product isn't very good right now, because of other products the company is also selling at the same time" is the lamest excuse for now being the "worst time to buy" I've ever heard.
Right. I think the comment was meant to indicate the threat of Apple installing a microphone would keep AT&T in line. I think it's more a matter of just not wanting to piss off their new playground buddy. OTOH, it probably won't be long (next week, maybe) before some enterprising fourteen-year-old cracks the iPod Touch open, finds the chip connector for "mic" and solders one on. From there, a minor hack into the software to enable the non-existent microphone (you know the driver is there), and the Apple WiPhone (tm) will be born.
The Spoon
Updated 6/28/2011
If you didn't think the phone was worth $600, why did you pay that much for it?
From that point of view, it sucks.
But, try it from this point of view:
Buy a ringtone from AT&T / Verizon / etc. for $2.50. You don't get to pick specifically what you want to use as the ringtone from that download, and in addition, you don't get to have the entire song that you want to make into that ringtone.
So, for $2, you get an entire song, and up to a 30 second ringtone custom configured so you can hear what you want to hear
Or, for $2.50, you get a ringtone of a pre-determined length, and only that ringtone, no entire song
Come to the University of Mars! Classes starting soon!
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.
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.