Let's face it, folks, the iPad Mini is not going to happen and I for one am glad to see it. The most interesting aspect of the new Touch is just how much of a difference the bigger screen is going to make. I suspect the difference will be more than many imagine considering a 4-inch screen is not all that big for a device like this. It's because all the increase is happening in one direction that I think it might just be a significant upgrade. After all, we humans tend to view the world in wide-screen mode, putting more emphasis on width than height.
If the screen is big enough to make assorted activities tolerable, the iPod Touch as redesigned in this new version is a far superior alternative to the rumoured, iPad Mini. A handy camera and a pocket computer with decent horsepower. What's not to like?
Sure it's a little pricey at $299 but owning a 32GB iPad 2, I believe that's an excellent capacity for a device like this. The extra storage, in some respects, is more valuable than a larger screen would have been. And if you can't pocket a 7-inch tablet, why not just buy a full-size iPad instead. I'm buying the new Touch as soon as I can. I suspect that it will make for an ideal companion to my iPad.
New touch is overshadowing the iPhone 5 announcement. Finally, a touch that isn't the ugly younger brother of the iPhone. It finally gets an upgrade of cpu/gpu, SIRI, larger screen and USEFUL cameras. All the prior models just felt like they were gimped so people would buy the iPhone. As for the $299 price for 32gb. That is only slightly more than the prior models 32gb version. So not much of a price increase.
The Apple investor in me wants to know the manufacturing cost and profit margin vs prior models.
So all in all I don't think it would be overly useful in a touch except for maybe fitness apps at the most, as a runner is much slower moving than a car.
No ... it's still hugely useful ... I use the GPS on my iPhone when out-of-range of cellular and wi-fi pretty regularly... yes, it can take as much as two minutes to get an initial signal, but once established it fires right up on subsequent uses. (In other words, it takes it's time the first time i fire up the nav app in the boonies, but doesn't "loose" that info when I use the app again 15 minutes or an hour later.)
And... it has nothing at all to do with speed. My affore-mentioned scenario plays out perfectly barreling down fire-roads at 50+mph.
GPS would be HUGELY useful in an iPod Touch ... not for you, not for everyone... but some people use it for different things than you do.
A comparable iPhone 4S would cost $600-700 so that's an irrelevant comparison.
I too was surprised at the pricing though. The Nano is $50 too high and the Touch is $100 too high.
The prices surprised me too. Maybe Apple is planning on suckering more people into the 7" space, thinking Apple isn't really going to enter it; then in October, (1) announce the 7" iPad at a killer price along with an iPod sale. This should flood the space with Apple products and driving competition over a financial cliff.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mjtomlin
If there is such a thing, they could still price it at $349. However, Tim spent an awful lot of time pointing out how the iPad - in its current size - still far out sells everyone else. So they're either not really making a new iPad or they are downplaying it to throw others off. I have a feeling Apple is going to wait until after the New Year to release any new iPads as they normally do.
Why would Apple pass up having the 7" iPad for the Christmas buying season?? Also, rumors indicate it should come soon.
What a ripoff. A gimped cpu compared to the new iphone. Touch keeps falling behind and now the cpu is being hit. This device is supposed to be the gaming device and the price is outragious. Why not just get the iphone instead? Much better hardware. They might as well just discontinue the ipod touch. My 4th gen is laggy as hell on ios5. Ill be glad to sell it next week.
The $300 price is for the 32 gig model and supports AirPlay Mirroring. It has a flash for the camera. Basically an iPhone 4S without cell capabilities and no contracts. Seems greta to me.
New touch is overshadowing the iPhone 5 announcement. Finally, a touch that isn't the ugly younger brother of the iPhone. It finally gets an upgrade of cpu/gpu, SIRI, larger screen and USEFUL cameras. All the prior models just felt like they were gimped so people would buy the iPhone. As for the $299 price for 32gb. That is only slightly more than the prior models 32gb version. So not much of a price increase.
The Apple investor in me wants to know the manufacturing cost and profit margin vs prior models.
I agree. In many ways the real star of the new products.
#next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; } I think Apple have got the pricing of their iPods completely wrong.
The iPod touch should mostly be aimed at children and teenagers as a gaming device, so should be cheaper.
The only people who would be able to afford these, will already have iPhones, so don't need them. They are also the sort of people who will regularly upgrade their phones, so will just pass the last gen handsets onto their kids instead of getting them an itouch.
Apple are getting to the point where they don't really have any innovative new features to add to their devices, just minor upgrades (and arguably sometimes downgrades) with each generation. This means existing customers have very little reason to upgrade. The way Apple should respond, is by dropping prices a little across the board to attract new customers that wouldn't have previously thought of buying an Apple product.
While they would loose out a little on their margins, their sales would go through the roof.
So, this proves once and for all that everyone who insisted there would be an "iPad mini" was full of it... right?
I still want one. The main difference between a Touch and an iPad mini aside from the iPad's larger screen would be cellular data plan. Without a cellular plan I would not buy an iPad mini. I do agree this new iPod pricing probably indicates that there is not going to be a $199 iPad mini. I also believe that a mini would not replace iPad 2 either because I see iPad 2 as much better suited for academic use in K-12 due to the larger screen and affordability. I'm still hoping for iPad mini perhaps starting at $399 for 16 GB and $499 for cellular 16GB. Personally I don't need a lot of storage in that kind of device especially with iCloud and that I just need it for commuting.
Very unexciting and a bit ugly (except for the all white and all black models IMO). No storage increase. Most importantly, no 3G. I guess I will keep waiting until my dying days for such a device. Imagine an iPod touch with 3G: iMessage, Skype, Line, internet all the time, no need for a contract. But, I guess the Apple and the cell companies simply won't let that happen.
I would say rather that the Classic is popular with music elitists and with so-called "audiophiles" that think they can detect sound differences that science can find no evidence for.
They believe this so strongly (that they can tell the difference between the two), despite it being proven over and over again that this is false, that their only recourse is to stick with uncompressed music. Which of course takes up four times the space. Thus, the Classic.
This same group of folks will swear up and down that vinyl actually sounds better than digital also, which while theoretically true, is and never has been *actually* true.
Oh gods, not true. The classic is NOT appreciated by audiophiles. If you want higher quality sound (which I can hear) get a Sony player. Or get a 5th gen iPod Video...or a 4th gen iPod with a Redwine upgrade.
Proven to be false time and time again? I can tell the difference with music....AND even do the Coke/Pepsi challenge 100% of the time. My hearing is so sensitive (high frequencies) that I could tell if you left your CRT TV on outside your house (with the sound off). Now, having said that my low freq. hearing is hosed thanks to riding in deuce-and-a-halfs for 10 years.
Vinyl does sound better to those who grew up on it. CDs sound better to me. Younger people often LIKE the sound of mp3s.
Now, do I use a Sony anymore? Nope, too expensive to import as Sony only sells low-end junk in North America. Do I listen to Vinyl? Nope. I don't like the hiss/pop they make. I use an old 5th Gen 80GB iPod and my iPhone 4 because they are more convenient to use and just because I can hear the difference doesn't mean I care that much. What is the main reason I don't use the Classic? Because anytime I access the menu system the HDD spins up. This doesn't happen on the older iPods.
Sometimes small size is worth the price both up and down. If you have a $299 iPad (larger, less resolution) and a $299 iPod touch (smaller, retina display) Now you have a real choice. bigger (my dad), or smaller (my daughter).
I'm not getting all worked up about it. In fact, I'm sort of hoping that the 8" iPad was an elaborate Apple security feint to flush out leaks;-)
The prices surprised me too. Maybe Apple is planning on suckering more people into the 7" space, thinking Apple isn't really going to enter it; then in October, (1) announce the 7" iPad at a killer price along with an iPod sale. This should flood the space with Apple products and driving competition over a financial cliff.
Why would Apple pass up having the 7" iPad for the Christmas buying season?? Also, rumors indicate it should come soon.
I strongly doubt apple wants to do anything with it's competition, other than undercut them on price/performance (see: Apple's Zune play, and the original iPad announcement).
And. It's an 7.85" (8") 4:3 just to be clear. That's a big delta from a 4" 16:9. or a 7" 16:10 (nexus). As for the competition, they do their own driving.
Xmas? If apple see's no competition (read: sales drops on the iPad), why should they self-cannabalize? iPads are sold on the 'business' cycle, Macs on the 'Developer' cycle, and iPhones and Pods have evolved to the 'Consumer' cycle. Unless their is a clear and present threat, then I see no reason for Apple to push another form factor in the next month.
But there is always time for "...One More Thing..."
I would say rather that the Classic is popular with music elitists and with so-called "audiophiles" that think ....
No, the Classic is for those of us that actually have music libraries, and not just the 20 CDs they own ripped into itunes. My music library is pushing 34K songs, and it's quite nice to sit at my desk at work and have all my music on shuffle all day long.
Having a nice library also leaves me puzzling as to why itunes (Apple) keeps focusing on albums. First coverflow, now this album view in itunes. Do people really care about albums anymore? I mean we have to buy them in albums, but all my purchases are on-line, and the music gets thrown into the library and shuffled throughout the day. (Never mind the thousands of singles or single song purchases. Do I want to waste the time with cover art for albums I own one song of?). Does anyone really care what album a song is from any more?
If there is such a thing, they could still price it at $349. However, Tim spent an awful lot of time pointing out how the iPad - in its current size - still far out sells everyone else. So they're either not really making a new iPad or they are downplaying it to throw others off. I have a feeling Apple is going to wait until after the New Year to release any new iPads as they normally do.
in complete agreement here. If you all remember, the original iPad was heavily rumored (many media types bet their livelihoods) that it would be out in October 2009 for a Xmas Season Launch. Much to their surprise it was the following January that it was announced and released in March. I think this is exactly what's going to happen.
The fact that the annual "Music Event" was actually in September (instead if the usual October) could be a sign that we won't see an iPad Mini this year.
I'm really glad they went with brushed/polished metal instead of chrome and finally putting some decent cameras on the iPod Touch. Don't like the $100 price hike that came with it though.
there was no price hike. It's the same price as it always was.
Comments
Let's face it, folks, the iPad Mini is not going to happen and I for one am glad to see it. The most interesting aspect of the new Touch is just how much of a difference the bigger screen is going to make. I suspect the difference will be more than many imagine considering a 4-inch screen is not all that big for a device like this. It's because all the increase is happening in one direction that I think it might just be a significant upgrade. After all, we humans tend to view the world in wide-screen mode, putting more emphasis on width than height.
If the screen is big enough to make assorted activities tolerable, the iPod Touch as redesigned in this new version is a far superior alternative to the rumoured, iPad Mini. A handy camera and a pocket computer with decent horsepower. What's not to like?
Sure it's a little pricey at $299 but owning a 32GB iPad 2, I believe that's an excellent capacity for a device like this. The extra storage, in some respects, is more valuable than a larger screen would have been. And if you can't pocket a 7-inch tablet, why not just buy a full-size iPad instead. I'm buying the new Touch as soon as I can. I suspect that it will make for an ideal companion to my iPad.
New touch is overshadowing the iPhone 5 announcement. Finally, a touch that isn't the ugly younger brother of the iPhone. It finally gets an upgrade of cpu/gpu, SIRI, larger screen and USEFUL cameras. All the prior models just felt like they were gimped so people would buy the iPhone. As for the $299 price for 32gb. That is only slightly more than the prior models 32gb version. So not much of a price increase.
The Apple investor in me wants to know the manufacturing cost and profit margin vs prior models.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Entropys
So all in all I don't think it would be overly useful in a touch except for maybe fitness apps at the most, as a runner is much slower moving than a car.
No ... it's still hugely useful ... I use the GPS on my iPhone when out-of-range of cellular and wi-fi pretty regularly... yes, it can take as much as two minutes to get an initial signal, but once established it fires right up on subsequent uses. (In other words, it takes it's time the first time i fire up the nav app in the boonies, but doesn't "loose" that info when I use the app again 15 minutes or an hour later.)
And... it has nothing at all to do with speed. My affore-mentioned scenario plays out perfectly barreling down fire-roads at 50+mph.
GPS would be HUGELY useful in an iPod Touch ... not for you, not for everyone... but some people use it for different things than you do.
Quote:
Originally Posted by blackbook
A comparable iPhone 4S would cost $600-700 so that's an irrelevant comparison.
I too was surprised at the pricing though. The Nano is $50 too high and the Touch is $100 too high.
The prices surprised me too. Maybe Apple is planning on suckering more people into the 7" space, thinking Apple isn't really going to enter it; then in October, (1) announce the 7" iPad at a killer price along with an iPod sale. This should flood the space with Apple products and driving competition over a financial cliff.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mjtomlin
If there is such a thing, they could still price it at $349. However, Tim spent an awful lot of time pointing out how the iPad - in its current size - still far out sells everyone else. So they're either not really making a new iPad or they are downplaying it to throw others off. I have a feeling Apple is going to wait until after the New Year to release any new iPads as they normally do.
Why would Apple pass up having the 7" iPad for the Christmas buying season?? Also, rumors indicate it should come soon.
Quote:
Originally Posted by spacemanjupiter
What a ripoff. A gimped cpu compared to the new iphone. Touch keeps falling behind and now the cpu is being hit. This device is supposed to be the gaming device and the price is outragious. Why not just get the iphone instead? Much better hardware. They might as well just discontinue the ipod touch. My 4th gen is laggy as hell on ios5. Ill be glad to sell it next week.
The $300 price is for the 32 gig model and supports AirPlay Mirroring. It has a flash for the camera. Basically an iPhone 4S without cell capabilities and no contracts. Seems greta to me.
philip
Quote:
Originally Posted by BanExtremists
New touch is overshadowing the iPhone 5 announcement. Finally, a touch that isn't the ugly younger brother of the iPhone. It finally gets an upgrade of cpu/gpu, SIRI, larger screen and USEFUL cameras. All the prior models just felt like they were gimped so people would buy the iPhone. As for the $299 price for 32gb. That is only slightly more than the prior models 32gb version. So not much of a price increase.
The Apple investor in me wants to know the manufacturing cost and profit margin vs prior models.
I agree. In many ways the real star of the new products.
philip
Quote:
Originally Posted by DogCowabunga
There is a mic in the new iTouch, dudes. Otherwise Siri would be pretty DogGone clueless. Duh! DogCowabunga!!
The was a microphone in the 4th G iTouch so of course there would still be one. There are also speakers.
philip
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I think Apple have got the pricing of their iPods completely wrong.
The iPod touch should mostly be aimed at children and teenagers as a gaming device, so should be cheaper.
The only people who would be able to afford these, will already have iPhones, so don't need them. They are also the sort of people who will regularly upgrade their phones, so will just pass the last gen handsets onto their kids instead of getting them an itouch.
Apple are getting to the point where they don't really have any innovative new features to add to their devices, just minor upgrades (and arguably sometimes downgrades) with each generation. This means existing customers have very little reason to upgrade. The way Apple should respond, is by dropping prices a little across the board to attract new customers that wouldn't have previously thought of buying an Apple product.
While they would loose out a little on their margins, their sales would go through the roof.
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Originally Posted by SpamSandwich
So, this proves once and for all that everyone who insisted there would be an "iPad mini" was full of it... right?
Unfortunately, not yet.
Originally Posted by Macky the Macky
Why would Apple pass up having the 7" iPad for the Christmas buying season?
I can think of at least one reason.
Originally Posted by Downpour
While they would loose out a little on their margins, their sales would go through the roof.
"We lose money on every one we sell, but we make it up in volume!"
Yeah. Just like Amazon. I don't see ANY problems with that idea…
Quote:
Originally Posted by SpamSandwich
So, this proves once and for all that everyone who insisted there would be an "iPad mini" was full of it... right?
I still want one. The main difference between a Touch and an iPad mini aside from the iPad's larger screen would be cellular data plan. Without a cellular plan I would not buy an iPad mini. I do agree this new iPod pricing probably indicates that there is not going to be a $199 iPad mini. I also believe that a mini would not replace iPad 2 either because I see iPad 2 as much better suited for academic use in K-12 due to the larger screen and affordability. I'm still hoping for iPad mini perhaps starting at $399 for 16 GB and $499 for cellular 16GB. Personally I don't need a lot of storage in that kind of device especially with iCloud and that I just need it for commuting.
Very unexciting and a bit ugly (except for the all white and all black models IMO). No storage increase.
Originally Posted by lamewing
Most importantly, no 3G. I guess I will keep waiting until my dying days for such a device.
Yeah, you will. It's for kids, not people who think they can game the system.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gazoobee
I would say rather that the Classic is popular with music elitists and with so-called "audiophiles" that think they can detect sound differences that science can find no evidence for.
They believe this so strongly (that they can tell the difference between the two), despite it being proven over and over again that this is false, that their only recourse is to stick with uncompressed music. Which of course takes up four times the space. Thus, the Classic.
This same group of folks will swear up and down that vinyl actually sounds better than digital also, which while theoretically true, is and never has been *actually* true.
Oh gods, not true. The classic is NOT appreciated by audiophiles. If you want higher quality sound (which I can hear) get a Sony player. Or get a 5th gen iPod Video...or a 4th gen iPod with a Redwine upgrade.
Proven to be false time and time again? I can tell the difference with music....AND even do the Coke/Pepsi challenge 100% of the time.
Vinyl does sound better to those who grew up on it. CDs sound better to me. Younger people often LIKE the sound of mp3s.
Now, do I use a Sony anymore? Nope, too expensive to import as Sony only sells low-end junk in North America. Do I listen to Vinyl? Nope. I don't like the hiss/pop they make. I use an old 5th Gen 80GB iPod and my iPhone 4 because they are more convenient to use and just because I can hear the difference doesn't mean I care that much. What is the main reason I don't use the Classic? Because anytime I access the menu system the HDD spins up. This doesn't happen on the older iPods.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveGee
Yep!
My thoughts exactly...
Sometimes small size is worth the price both up and down. If you have a $299 iPad (larger, less resolution) and a $299 iPod touch (smaller, retina display) Now you have a real choice. bigger (my dad), or smaller (my daughter).
I'm not getting all worked up about it. In fact, I'm sort of hoping that the 8" iPad was an elaborate Apple security feint to flush out leaks;-)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Macky the Macky
The prices surprised me too. Maybe Apple is planning on suckering more people into the 7" space, thinking Apple isn't really going to enter it; then in October, (1) announce the 7" iPad at a killer price along with an iPod sale. This should flood the space with Apple products and driving competition over a financial cliff.
Why would Apple pass up having the 7" iPad for the Christmas buying season?? Also, rumors indicate it should come soon.
I strongly doubt apple wants to do anything with it's competition, other than undercut them on price/performance (see: Apple's Zune play, and the original iPad announcement).
And. It's an 7.85" (8") 4:3 just to be clear. That's a big delta from a 4" 16:9. or a 7" 16:10 (nexus). As for the competition, they do their own driving.
Xmas? If apple see's no competition (read: sales drops on the iPad), why should they self-cannabalize? iPads are sold on the 'business' cycle, Macs on the 'Developer' cycle, and iPhones and Pods have evolved to the 'Consumer' cycle. Unless their is a clear and present threat, then I see no reason for Apple to push another form factor in the next month.
But there is always time for "...One More Thing..."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gazoobee
I would say rather that the Classic is popular with music elitists and with so-called "audiophiles" that think ....
No, the Classic is for those of us that actually have music libraries, and not just the 20 CDs they own ripped into itunes. My music library is pushing 34K songs, and it's quite nice to sit at my desk at work and have all my music on shuffle all day long.
Having a nice library also leaves me puzzling as to why itunes (Apple) keeps focusing on albums. First coverflow, now this album view in itunes. Do people really care about albums anymore? I mean we have to buy them in albums, but all my purchases are on-line, and the music gets thrown into the library and shuffled throughout the day. (Never mind the thousands of singles or single song purchases. Do I want to waste the time with cover art for albums I own one song of?). Does anyone really care what album a song is from any more?
Quote:
Originally Posted by mjtomlin
If there is such a thing, they could still price it at $349. However, Tim spent an awful lot of time pointing out how the iPad - in its current size - still far out sells everyone else. So they're either not really making a new iPad or they are downplaying it to throw others off. I have a feeling Apple is going to wait until after the New Year to release any new iPads as they normally do.
in complete agreement here. If you all remember, the original iPad was heavily rumored (many media types bet their livelihoods) that it would be out in October 2009 for a Xmas Season Launch. Much to their surprise it was the following January that it was announced and released in March. I think this is exactly what's going to happen.
The fact that the annual "Music Event" was actually in September (instead if the usual October) could be a sign that we won't see an iPad Mini this year.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marvin
I'm really glad they went with brushed/polished metal instead of chrome and finally putting some decent cameras on the iPod Touch. Don't like the $100 price hike that came with it though.
there was no price hike. It's the same price as it always was.
$199 for the 16gb
$299 for 32gb
$399 for 64gb