[poorimpulsectrl]

Quote:

Originally posted by blessingx True. How many times have we heard about iCellPhones, tablets, etc.?

I think the mini-pod will happen.

iPod is one of Apple's biggest cash cows, they need to lock in the larger market of people who don't have cash to afford an existing ipod but still want an mp3 player. Which is arguably a larger demographic than the many people who have an iPod right now. Such a move would be in keeping with Apple's well documented digital media strategy. Things like cellphones and tablet pc's comparatively aren't central players in that digital media strategy as is a more accessible priced "common man" iPod.

 

[White Knight]

According to Mercury News website, this speculation about new mini ipod players could well be just that...

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercu...ws/7600695.htm

 

[blessingx]

The Merc may be right, but the article's reasons are wrong. We've already seen there are new microdrives debuting soon from Toshiba and Hitachi. The former was responsible for a partnership that helped create the original iPod. Apple pretty much locked in all 1.8" drives produced for a year. It's possible they've done it again with their new .8" drives (or Hitachis 1" or Cornices rumored new drive) and rumors are they go up to 4 GB as are the rumors about the minipods. So to say a new minipod is unlikely because of the technical options mentioned in the article seem a bit off. Course they could be basing the reasoning because of the low prices discussed, but even this may be off because of mentioned lower material costs of the new drives. We'll see. Which conjecture to believe

 

[episiarch]

Awwwright, we're all just speculating, but since I'm an longtime Apple-watcher and used to work there, I'll join in as well.

The Rio Nitrus and a couple of others are using the teensy cheap Cornice Storage Element hard drive (www.corniceco.com). These players are starting to show up at around $200 in some places.

Now, despite Apple's history of extracting top $ for computers, they do also have a history of being unafraid of pricing new products down into high-volume territory ahead of the rest of the market. The original iPod, the original Stylewriter, the original LaserWriter, even the iMac...they were significant bargains at their introductory prices. So taking something resembling a $200 Nitrus and pricing it down around $120 is aggressive, but not really out of line with Apple's history, especially given the buying power they have and the volume they expect to do. Apple's also had three generations of product to get the component count down on these products, bringing their costs down even further.

The rumor sites have indicated that these things will come in two [storage] sizes. One sounds like 2 (or maybe 1.5) GB and the other like 4 (or maybe 3) GB. The Cornice product is currently announced only at 1.5GB, but these things don't stand still, and Steve Jobs has a history of getting his hands on new little bits of tech and commercializing them before anyone else. So I imagine that Cornice has moved to its next generation and is now producing two sizes of drive - an original-sized one at a reduced price and a new larger one at a higher price - and that Apple has bought a ton of these, pre-announcement. The lower price on the original-sized one lets Apple hit the "around $100" price point for the low-end model.

And finally, Apple expects to extract some additional profit from its customers via the iTunes Music Store. Plus, I'll bet, substantial ultra-high-margin sales of docks/cradles, car adaptors and the like. So the unit cost can be low, since the total customer package still yields a fair bit of profit.

So the whole concept sounds very feasible to me. I'm looking forward to hearing what's announced at MacWorld. My big question is, will I be able to get my hands on one in time for Valentine's Day?

 

[lindrone]

I'm quite surprised at the Mercury news article... for a newspaper being so close to the heart of the Silicon Valley, they seem to be very disconnected with the market.

It's like what BlessingX mentioned, many manufacturers are already moving into smaller drives, like the Cornice, and aim to improve up on both cost and storage size. That's not even like, some secret news, it's been publicly known for months now.

That, and the fact that Mercury even suggested that Apple works on the hard drive at all... Apple never spends any R&D time entirely on their own for most of their hardware components, they focus on product design as a whole, and basically partner/contract other companies to work on them together.

The G5 is an IBM design, G4 was Motorola, all the other components other than CPU & motherboard are just standard, off-the-shelf items now.

The original iPod's hard drive wasn't made by Apple either, even the OS in the iPod was written by a third party contractor....

 

[aroon]

this is straight from the following slashdot post. id say its pretty reliable:

http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl...id=176&tid=188

"Rumors of a new, smaller, "iPodJr" have been floating around the Rumor Sites for a few weeks (as well a here at Slashdot). But now, the rumors have gained credibility and become more substantial. London's Evening Standard reports today (30 Dec 03) that "Apple has announced a cut-price mini version" of the iPod, "costing 65 [~115 USD], which will be able to store 800 songs." Despite the assertion that Apple "announced" the product, there is no mention of it at their official News Page or their product page for the iPod."

 

[Fish Tank X]

Quote:

Originally posted by ph0rk Battery battery battery. By the time we advance battery technology (which we haven't much in the last 30-40 years, we've just made more efficient devices) to power a device to produce music with decent fidelity -and- run off bluetooth (or its replacement, won't be long), we'll have auditory nerve implants anyway. Wireless technology is moving relatively quick (though sucks power like crazy) but batteries are advancing at a crawl.

Thermonuclear powercell.

There's a certain type of plutonium that just gives off heat when it degrades. That could be used to heat a thermocouple, providing electricity.

 

[sygyzy]

Quote:

Originally posted by episiarch Now, despite Apple's history of extracting top $ for computers, they do also have a history of being unafraid of pricing new products down into high-volume territory ahead of the rest of the market. The original iPod, the original Stylewriter, the original LaserWriter, even the iMac...they were significant bargains at their introductory prices.

Wow, are you jokin? The iPOD was such a bargain that they dropped the price a full $100 a year later? Apple never has "bargains".

 

[Frenchman]

Very little of the iPod is made by Apple. The harddrive is a high capacity PCMCIA drive made by Toshiba, the processor is an arm based design from some company (name forgotten) that specialzes in music applications. The battery is the same one used in a LOT of stuff, like iPaqs. All Apple is doing is putting all this stuff on a board they designed and marketing it.

Apple is still around because they don't try to build new components, they just are exceptionaly good at finding new stuff and capitalizing on it before anyone else.

That said, there seems to be a core base of information here about new iPods. But in addition there is a lot of speculation being marketed as reliable rumor.

And I don't think those nuclear-decay powered thermocouples are a viable idea. They're quite big themselves, and they emit a lot of radiation which would then require them to get bigger with shielding and all.

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

Originally posted by sygyzy Wow, are you jokin? The iPOD was such a bargain that they dropped the price a full $100 a year later? Apple never has "bargains".

The components that make up the iPod were cheaper a year later, too.

As for the final assertion, I'm not going to thread-crap. But I suggest doing your homework before making such groundless assertions.

 

[Earwax]

Quote:

Originally posted by austonia my guess is that they will offer 2 flash players and a 1.5gb player $100 ... 128mb $150.. 256mb $200 ... 1.5gb don't hold you're breathe on anything in the 2-4gb range for under $200. Apple's not in the business of losing money on the stuff they sell

I can't see Apple coming out with a "me-too" flash player this late in the game. Since the rumors are all pointing at 2 and 4 gig, I'll wager they'll have a 2 gig cornice drive, but with a price around $180.

 

[Fish Tank X]

Quote:

Originally posted by Frenchman Very little of the iPod is made by Apple. The harddrive is a high capacity PCMCIA drive made by Toshiba, the processor is an arm based design from some company (name forgotten) that specialzes in music applications. The battery is the same one used in a LOT of stuff, like iPaqs. All Apple is doing is putting all this stuff on a board they designed and marketing it. Apple is still around because they don't try to build new components, they just are exceptionaly good at finding new stuff and capitalizing on it before anyone else. That said, there seems to be a core base of information here about new iPods. But in addition there is a lot of speculation being marketed as reliable rumor. And I don't think those nuclear-decay powered thermocouples are a viable idea. They're quite big themselves, and they emit a lot of radiation which would then require them to get bigger with shielding and all.

Well, I remember they had a nuclear powered heart.

A thermonuclear beltclip with a 3V output wouldn't be too bad. You could use it just like an AC adapter.

It would probably be heavy as hell, though. And have a limited power output.

 

[heeeraldo]

Quote:

Originally posted by aroon this is straight from the following slashdot post. id say its pretty reliable: http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl...id=176&tid=188 "Rumors of a new, smaller, "iPodJr" have been floating around the Rumor Sites for a few weeks (as well a here at Slashdot). But now, the rumors have gained credibility and become more substantial. London's Evening Standard reports today (30 Dec 03) that "Apple has announced a cut-price mini version" of the iPod, "costing 65 [~115 USD], which will be able to store 800 songs." Despite the assertion that Apple "announced" the product, there is no mention of it at their official News Page or their product page for the iPod."

still rumours. yesterday's As The Apple Turns (news/satire) (www.appleturns.com) examines the sources behind the articles... which lead back to the original rumour.

 

[sygyzy]

Quote:

Originally posted by MacDEF The components that make up the iPod were cheaper a year later, too. As for the final assertion, I'm not going to thread-crap. But I suggest doing your homework before making such groundless assertions.

You must be sadly confused if you think Apple is or ever has positioned itself as a bargain type company. Apple products target specifically the upper spectrum of buyers, in terms of wealth. emachines is an example of a "bargain" company. I don't see anything that is "groundless" about my assertions. Maybe since you are such a big Apple fan, anytime you get a new powerbook with molded titanium under $4000, you think it's a bargain. I am not going to debate whether their products are a rip off or not, but to say that people are getting great deals on their items is silly and fanboyism at it's finest.

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

Originally posted by sygyzy You must be sadly confused if you think Apple is or ever has positioned itself as a bargain type company.

I made a point of not thread-crapping; I guess you just couldn't do the same. And you had to throw a few flames in, too

You should learn your computer history before you start flaming people. I never said Apple was a "bargain type company." I was simply taking issue with your ignorant assertion that Apple has "never had bargains." When the first LaserWriter was produced, the Mac platform was by far the least expensive way to obtain a professional-quality computer/printing system. In fact, it was advertised, and lauded, for being incredibly inexpensive compared to the competition.

Nowadays, Apple does not target the "low-end" (read: $400 limited computer) market. But that doesn't make their products "rip-offs." Even today they make a number of products that offer more for the money than most other computer manufacturers.


Quote:

I am not going to debate whether their products are a rip off or not

I really hope you can keep that promise so you don't take this thread even further off-topic.