Major electronics launch; new iPods & iPhones, Apple lobbying

[AppleInsider]

Target is prepping for a major product introduction timed with Apple's music-focused special event, AppleInsider has learned. Meanwhile, other sources have also let slip signs of impending iPod and iPhone updates.

Target gears up for new iPod launches

An internal note distributed to employees of the large retailer's electronics department is advising them to be ready for an unknown, but very significant, product announcement on Wednesday for which Target will be one of the first resellers.

In a copy provided to AppleInsider, the memo is vague and notes that one or more "high retail" (high profile) and "high theft" products will ship directly to Target outlets almost immediately after their formal introduction on September 5th. The products would arrive between Thursday and Saturday, but would be of sufficiently high priority that it might reach shops outside of normal hours at the shipping docks, Target said.

While there is no name attached to the manufacturer of the products involved in the launch, it wouldn't take much speculation to link Target's preparations with Apple's special event on Wednesday, which is expected to introduce several next-generation iPods.

Newspaper claims iPhone nano, iPod Wi-Fi in the pipeline

Citing documents obtained by a company partnered with Apple, the Washington Post's Sam Diaz claimed in a weekend article that at least two frequently rumored devices were planned for the "coming months."

One of these would be a touchscreen iPod with Wi-Fi, Diaz said. But the Cupertino, Calif.-based company was also planning an "iPhone nano," which would drop prices below the $500 mark of the current iPhone.

Diaz provided no details of when either product would arrive in stores, but has made his claims just ahead of Apple's September 5th iPod-related event. The update also reinforces AppleInsider's reliable sources which pointed to a smaller iPhone likely to ship sometime in the fall.

iPod case maker preps for new video iPod

In one of the more unusual accessory announcements of recent years, Uniea has revealed a new hard leather case that would protect the new, shorter video capable iPod -- even though the iPod itself is still a mystery.

Simply listed as a Hard Protective Leather Case "for new iPod," the design leaked to iLounge would accommodate a wide, larger than 2-inch screen but a click wheel identical to that of the iPod nano. Its launch date is unknown but will see several different color variants sell for $30 each.



Apple spends $720K in federal lobbying

Public disclosures filed in mid-August have revealed that Apple has spent a relatively modest $720,000 in the first half of this year promoting bills in the US House of Congress.

Of the initiatives, the company's highest-profile push included a patent reform bill that would allow companies to contest the validity of patents after they've been granted, preventing some of the infringement lawsuits that affect Apple and other technology firms.

Extra political spending was also channeled towards bills that would boost technology education and cut taxes for product research and development.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[pazimzadeh]

wait so how many new things will apple be announcing on Wednesday? a new iphone, new nano, new touch screen with WiFI video iPod and a new non-touchscreen fat video ipod?

[Walter Slocombe]

Originally Posted by pazimzadeh

wait so how many new things will apple be announcing on Wednesday? a new iphone, new nano, new touch screen with WiFI video iPod and a new non-touchscreen fat video ipod?

yeah, throw enough "darts" and some of them will hit the "board"

[fraklinc]

the current iphone is already Nano base so why will they introduce a new one and called it iphone Nano? i can see apple dropping their price by $100 and the current 4 and 8 gigs and introduce a new one with 3G radio on it though and price it at $599 with a bigger drive, but i don't see a cheaper version coming out because even the 4gig one did not sell that good

[Ireland]

[ThinkDifferent]

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles...in_filing.html

Could this be a possible iPod/iPhone nano design. When Apple filed for this patent, I always thought it would be interesting to see what they did with it?

It certainly isn't the iPhone, but it looks similar and could most certainly be a spin-off?

[drjjones]

Originally Posted by ThinkDifferent

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles...in_filing.html

Could this be a possible iPod/iPhone nano design. When Apple filed for this patent, I always thought it would be interesting to see what they did with it?

It certainly isn't the iPhone, but it looks similar and could most certainly be a spin-off?

phat-boy is comin.

[Ireland]

It's just a patent, that's all.

[MsNly]

How will I ever justify a 5th iPod...

[zorinlynx]

I'd love to see a 32GB Nano.

Anyone speculate on the chances of this? 16GB is still too small for me, but a 32GB solid state iPod would be bliss.

Please, 32GB Nano! Please please!

[dontlookleft]

i just really hope its not that fat and ugly.

[Ireland]

Originally Posted by MsNly

How will I ever justify a 5th iPod...

The beauty is you don't have to buy one.

[Ireland]

Originally Posted by dontlookleft

i just really hope its not that fat and ugly.

If doubt it will be, highly.

[SactoMan01]

ThinkDifferent,

The patent filing you posted could very likely be the iPhone-style interface for the 6G iPod video, which does have a full-screen display with touchscreen interface. It will NOT be the interface of the replacement of the iPod nano, since that new device will use the standard Click Wheel interface.

[addabox]

Originally Posted by zorinlynx

I'd love to see a 32GB Nano.

Anyone speculate on the chances of this? 16GB is still too small for me, but a 32GB solid state iPod would be bliss.

Please, 32GB Nano! Please please!

Sandisk released a 32GB 1.8" flash drive earlier this year, for $600 volume pricing.

So: $750 Nano! Please, please, $750 Nano!

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by addabox

Sandisk released a 32GB 1.8" flash drive earlier this year, for $600 volume pricing.

So: $750 Nano! Please, please, $750 Nano!

Flash prices have dropped since then. The retail price of a component doesn't reflect Apple's cost. Not only that, Apple had priced the original mini at lower than the retail price of the microdrive that's in it. Creative and Apple used crippled microdrives to prevent people from buying their devices just for the drive. But I do agree that it's unrealistic to expect a 32GB nano, or even a flash 32GB standard iPod.

[addabox]

Originally Posted by JeffDM

Flash prices have dropped since then. The retail price of a component doesn't reflect Apple's cost. Not only that, Apple had priced the original mini at lower than the retail price of the microdrive that's in it. Creative and Apple used crippled microdrives to prevent people from buying their devices just for the drive. But I do agree that it's unrealistic to expect a 32GB nano, or even a flash 32GB standard iPod.

Yeah, prices have dropped but the $600 is actual OEM pricing, not retail. Sandisk has subsequently released a much cheaper 2.5" drive (around $325, I believe, again at volume pricing), which makes it a candidate for a full sized iPod, but considering 100GB 2.5" drives retail for around $75 it seems like a tough sell.

I mean, I know there are people who would pay a premium for a larger flash drive iPod, but if the premium is several hundred dollars against a third the capacity, it seems like Apple will still have to wait a while.

[MacTel]

Originally Posted by pazimzadeh

wait so how many new things will apple be announcing on Wednesday? a new iphone, new nano, new touch screen with WiFI video iPod and a new non-touchscreen fat video ipod?

Ah, just 2 days and we'll all know for real.

What I'm waiting to hear about is what's new for the AppleTV. Steve said they'd be news about that coming soon at the last Apple event. Is the 5th when they'll be updating the AppleTV as well? Maybe the 6G iPods will act as programmable advanced remotes for the AppleTVs for things like games.

I don't have an AppleTV but I see the potential it can be. I'm just waiting until it meets that potential. Netflix rentals through the AppleTV would be awesome and negate the negativity of losing NBC's content.

[Walter Slocombe]

I don't believe it!

after posting here my iPod Photo became corrupted and wouldn't restore!!

I became a tad angry and drempt up all manner of conspiracy theories what with the 5th being so close an all I wouldn't mind but I was gonna get a new pod anyway!!

But with some perverse perseverance I've got it up and running again. So I will be able to pass it on as promised.

...and I thought waiting for tuesdays was bad!

[cameronj]

Originally Posted by zorinlynx

I'd love to see a 32GB Nano.

Anyone speculate on the chances of this? 16GB is still too small for me, but a 32GB solid state iPod would be bliss.

Please, 32GB Nano! Please please!

It would cost way too much. To maintain Apple's typical gross margins it would have to be priced far higher than any iPod in the past. 16 GB is reasonable for the high end, 32 is not.

[ajr]

"US House of Congress" ????

[anantksundaram]

Originally Posted by ajr

"US House of Congress" ????

Indeed, I think it is the House of Congress...... unless I am missing something subtle in your fairly lean post......

[anantksundaram]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Target is prepping for a major product introduction timed with Apple's music-focused special event.........

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

No offense, but since when is Target the basis for hyperventilating on a forum such as AI vis-a-vis a major Apple new product intro?

Isn't this just the kind of hype that could send the stock zooming up on Tues (Sept 4), and then come crashing down of Wed (Sept 5) because idiot investors out there concluded that Apple didn't meet expectations?

[SpamSandwich]

iPod Fatso™... mark my words, people!

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by anantksundaram

Indeed, I think it is the House of Congress...... unless I am missing something subtle in your fairly lean post......

That it implies there is one house, there are two and I think both needed to be lobbied on various things. I've never heard of such an expression used to describe the combined US legislative bodies. I think the official term for the combined bodies is "United States Congress".

[The Swedish Chef]

I work for the Target corporation and I heard nothing of this. I registered just to tell you that.

[petrokalis]

Originally Posted by anantksundaram

Indeed, I think it is the House of Congress...... unless I am missing something subtle in your fairly lean post......

The United States Congress is made up of two bodies: the House of Representatives and the Senate.

There is no "House of Congress".

[SpamSandwich]

Originally Posted by The Swedish Chef

I work for the Target corporation and I heard nothing of this. I registered just to tell you that.

Mr. Target? Is that really you?

[addabox]

Originally Posted by The Swedish Chef

I work for the Target corporation and I heard nothing of this. I registered just to tell you that.

I thought you worked for Ikea.

[Rolo]

Originally Posted by The Swedish Chef

I work for the Target corporation and I heard nothing of this. I registered just to tell you that.

So what? Most employees at Apple know nothing, either, especially store employees. New iPods are coming, so get ready.

[PorpoiseMuffins]

Here's a quick (and very dirty) Photoshop job I did to show the size comparison between the old and (apparent) new iPod nano, assuming the click wheels are the same size:

http://www.michaelspooner.com/images...Comparison.jpg

Helps put things into perspective. You can also see that the leaked 3rd party case fits the leaked "nano flower" image perfectly.

[lfmorrison]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Of the initiatives, the company's highest-profile push included a patent reform bill that would allow companies to contest the validity of patents after they've been granted, preventing some of the infringement lawsuits that affect Apple and other technology firms.

A much needed reform IMO. I understand the value of patents to protect the legitimate need for inventors to recover their development costs for introducing genuinely novel products. But some are just frivolous and silly.

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-P...&RS=PN/6368227

And for anybody familiar with first-year college mathematics, physics and electronics, this one has surely ruffled your feathers:
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-P...&RS=PN/6788011

[anantksundaram]

Originally Posted by petrokalis

The United States Congress is made up of two bodies: the House of Representatives and the Senate.

There is no "House of Congress".

I think that "House of Congress" is legitimate usage. Googling the term "US House of Congress" in quotes results in all sorts of legitimate links and identical usage. A search of "house of congress" within www.house.gov (the official website of the US Congress) also produces hundreds of references the term.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by anantksundaram

I think that "House of Congress" is legitimate usage. Googling the term "US House of Congress" in quotes results in all sorts of legitimate links and identical usage. A search of "house of congress" within www.house.gov (the official website of the US Congress) also produces hundreds of references the term.

house.gov is not the official website of the US Congress. That is the official website of the US House of Representatives. senate.gov is the official web site of the US Senate. house.gov can't represent the Senate. The search engine does not restrict the results to only that phrase, many of the results appear to have those words scattered in the linked article.

Most uses of "house of congress" that I found was prepended by "a", "each", "both". As such, I really don't think "House of Congress" is supposed to represent both houses. The times there is "the house of congress", it looks like it only refers to one of the two houses, not the combined legislature. The Forbes source article does not say this.

[britwithgoodteeth]

Originally Posted by Walter Slocombe

I don't believe it!

after posting here my iPod Photo became corrupted and wouldn't restore!!

I became a tad angry and drempt up all manner of conspiracy theories what with the 5th being so close an all I wouldn't mind but I was gonna get a new pod anyway!!

But with some perverse perseverance I've got it up and running again. So I will be able to pass it on as promised.

...and I thought waiting for tuesdays was bad!

That's quite a story!

[britwithgoodteeth]

Originally Posted by anantksundaram

I think that "House of Congress" is legitimate usage. Googling the term "US House of Congress" in quotes results in all sorts of legitimate links and identical usage. A search of "house of congress" within www.house.gov (the official website of the US Congress) also produces hundreds of references the term.

[anantksundaram]

Originally Posted by britwithgoodteeth

Just as I thought. "Cretinous" was the correct answer.

(Ref. post #42 here: http://forums.appleinsider.com/showt...08#post1136408)

[Rolo]

Originally Posted by PorpoiseMuffins

Here's a quick (and very dirty) Photoshop job I did to show the size comparison between the old and (apparent) new iPod nano, assuming the click wheels are the same size:

http://www.michaelspooner.com/images...Comparison.jpg

Helps put things into perspective. You can also see that the leaked 3rd party case fits the leaked "nano flower" image perfectly.

Why do people keep calling this the nano? Has Apple ever made an iPod bigger? I think it's the replacement for the 5.5G iPod, therefore the 6G iPod. The true video iPod will be the iPhone derivative.

[PorpoiseMuffins]

Originally Posted by Rolo

Why do people keep calling this the nano? Has Apple ever made an iPod bigger? I think it's the replacement for the 5.5G iPod, therefore the 6G iPod. The true video iPod will be the iPhone derivative.

Why? Well, because the sources of all the popular Apple web sites seem to be indicating that it is the replacement Nano, the image that Apple legal had taken down was titled "Nano Flower," and it makes logical sense to me considering its small size and click wheel. Do you have any source to backup your claim to the contrary or is it just personal speculation?

[JeffDM]

I think Rolo has a point though, I don't think Apple has ever enlarged any given iPod model other than the 10GB model, that was a thicker addition to the model line, the general trend is to go thinner and smaller.