I suspect that what the rumor mill has been calling the 5.5" iPhone 6 is really going to be the iPod Touch replacement. The increased size would allow Apple to stuff some serious gaming processor in the thing along with peer-to-peer networking to allow local multiplayer gaming clusters in groups without having to go fully online with the Internet. I think there's a lot of life left in a non-phone handheld product that has serious multimedia chops and access to the massive Apple ecosystem. I also think there's a market for multiplayer gaming that does not expose kids to the pitfalls of online gaming you get on platforms like XBox and PlayStation. I'd also like to see Apple retire the iPod Touch name and roll the next generation version under the iPad moniker as something like the iPad Micro or iPad Nano, maybe even iPad Game or iPad Media. The fact that the Touch looks just like an iPhone makes you wonder why it doesn't have phone capability while iPad has never had phone capability. Being part of the iPad family would give Apple a lower cost and smaller form factor option for education and industrial applications where even the Mini is too big. Putting a data SIM in the thing would be the final missing piece of the puzzle needed to seal the deal for people who need a fully connected and pocketable device that has good screen readability long battery life kickass multimedia and is not a phone. There are a number of vertical industries that would jump all over this type of micro-tablet device, in my opinion. The 128GB storage option fits into this model quite well also.
How many iPod Touch Apple sold last quarter/year? Apple could turn around the iPod business with todays changes. I have been preaching Apple to start iPad model with 32GB for a long time.
Unless they are able to substantially reduce prices further, the market for the iPod is limited to those people who don't use a smartphone, need another device to play apps and music besides a phone for another household member or don't want the storage limited by email, etc.
As more phone companies adopt data plans which apply to all members of the family but still permit you to purchase a subsidized phone, the iPod becomes moot. Why pay $200 or more for an iPod when you can buy a subsidized phone for the same price?
It's no surprise that iPod sales have rolled off. I think Apple knew they would from the day the first subsidized iPhone was available. But if they could get the iPod price below $100, I think sales would pick up substantially. The question is whether there's enough profit for Apple at that price to even bother. At $50 to $75, I think people would buy a lot of iPods for their kids.
How can so many people be [pick an insult] enough to want a SMALLER iPad?! Smaller tablets and bigger phones? How [same insult] can people be?!
OK, strike my use of the letter A rather than the letter O. The reason I want an iPod touch with cellular data is that I sometimes have my iPad with me but I always have my iPod touch. They are both iOS devices but the iPod runs apps just like the iPhone, not a scaled down iPad app. Where there is wifi, all is well. If not, it would be very nice to have cellular data connectivity without the extra bulk of an iPhone (and legacy services with their associated costs).
Extending the month to month data for the iPod would be great because when I am in a location with ample wifi there is no monthly bill (think of it, an "iPhone" with no monthly bill!). Right now Apple has the benefit of the irrationality of fashion. Young children insist that they simply must have an iPhone and parents cave in. What happens when fashion changes? It would be very useful to have an "always connected" iOS device with no mandatory monthly bill to compete with what the cool kids insist is the only must have device.
So just to be clear, I already have my "smaller iPad" and it has more apps designed for it than any iPad (i.e. it runs all iOS apps that are specifically designed for the iPhone form factor). I just want to have the cellular data radio (which would undoubtedly be an option that adds ~$100) so internet connectivity would be improved when one wanders in the wilderness.
p.s. I recently was visiting relatives in Mexico, MO. I had cellular data turned on for my iPad and it did allow me to 'connect' to Verizon but it was neither LTE nor 3G. It was some connection that did not allow for connection to the internet. Bummer.
An overdue change. When you can buy a 1066x 32GB CompactFlash card of the highest quality for a pro camera for $70, paying $100 simply to get an extra 16GB of somewhat slower flash in a cell phone is anachronistic.
Unless they are able to substantially reduce prices further, the market for the iPod is limited to those people who don't use a smartphone, need another device to play apps and music besides a phone for another household member or don't want the storage limited by email, etc.
As more phone companies adopt data plans which apply to all members of the family but still permit you to purchase a subsidized phone, the iPod becomes moot. Why pay $200 or more for an iPod when you can buy a subsidized phone for the same price?
It's no surprise that iPod sales have rolled off. I think Apple knew they would from the day the first subsidized iPhone was available. But if they could get the iPod price below $100, I think sales would pick up substantially. The question is whether there's enough profit for Apple at that price to even bother. At $50 to $75, I think people would buy a lot of iPods for their kids.
The word subsidized really is a marketing gimmick. You are paying back with the two year plan. For exmaple, the AT&T $130/month two smartphones plan will cost you $3120 in two years. Compare this to the $50 to $75 price of your wish.
You can connect to internet via a smartphone which acts as a hotspot. You do not need the cellular built in iPod because you need a smartphone anyway.
I neither need nor want a smartphone. I just want the added feature in an iPod touch that is already an added feature in iPads. My iPad does have the same hotspot feature as an iPhone. I have used the iPad's hotspot sometimes. My experience is that it is as dumb as many public wifi hotspots that dump you and force you to reconnect if you aren't sufficiently actively sending or receiving packets. I'm no more than inches or feet away but it still petulantly disconnects because I am not being sufficiently attentive. I hope that this defective behavior is improved in iOS8.
The above paragraph may not be sufficiently argumentative. Cellphone technology is a crappy, legacy technology that got incredibly lucky when Apple decided to make great handheld unix based computers that included a cellular telephony component. The part of the cellular network that matters for 80 to 90 percent of what people do on iPhones is the data network. That is an expanded version of my first sentence.
... Why pay $200 or more for an iPod when you can buy a subsidized phone for the same price? ...
Because I am capable of performing simple arithmetic and plan to live more than the next few weeks?
The phones are not subsidized by some mysterious munificent entity. You are being billed every month and they don't have the decency to stop charging this rate after the cost has been amortized. While this magical thinking is an issue in the US market, I have read that we are the exception rather than the rule in other markets (i.e. paying upfront rather than being billed forever).
p.s. I recently was visiting relatives in Mexico, MO. I had cellular data turned on for my iPad and it did allow me to 'connect' to Verizon but it was neither LTE nor 3G. It was some connection that did not allow for connection to the internet. Bummer.
That’s Mexico for you.
Originally Posted by tzeshan
The word subsidized really is a marketing gimmick.
No, not really….
You are paying back with the two year plan.
…because the plan price is the same regardless of how you get the phone.
My iPod classic is slowly dying. What to do? I absolutely need the most space I can possibly get, because I have a ton of music I like to carry around. I also have a 32GB iPod Touch 5G, but I don't listen to music on it. So what do I buy to replace my classic? I could buy another classic, but it feels odd because for one, I'd like something solid state (I jog and my classic skips occasionally), and also, it feels like the classic is really a legacy product that will be discontinued shortly. So buying a classic at this moment feels like a losing proposition. If Apple comes out with a 128GB iPod Touch, I'd buy that as a replacement, but 64GB is just too little space.
Bottom line: Apple, give us an option for a 128GB IPT!
And then they’re subsidized again, paying the same amount for the next two years. I don’t get your point.
Simple question to you. When does the $3120 go in two years? Only people poor in math think their smartphones are subsidized without thinking how much money they paid the telephone company in two years.
Simple question to you. When does the $3120 go in two years? Only people poor in math think their smartphones are subsidized without thinking how much money they paid the telephone company in two years.
Even simpler question: Read the posts, please.
It’s so simple it’s not a question. You pay the same amount whether you subsidize or don’t. Except you pay MORE if you don’t, since you bought the device outright.
It’s so simple it’s not a question. You pay the same amount whether you subsidize or don’t. Except you pay MORE if you don’t, since you bought the device outright.
I never understand this. Why would people pay full price for a smartphone if it can be subsidized?
Simple question to you. When does the $3120 go in two years? Only people poor in math think their smartphones are subsidized without thinking how much money they paid the telephone company in two years.
You're gonna have a monthly payment regardless.
If you buy a phone outright... you pay per month just for the service.
If you get a phone subsidized... you pay per month for the leasing of the phone and for the service.
A simple question to you... Where does the $480 go after 5 years of paying for Netflix?
Unless they are able to substantially reduce prices further, the market for the iPod is limited to those people who don't use a smartphone, need another device to play apps and music besides a phone for another household member or don't want the storage limited by email, etc.
As more phone companies adopt data plans which apply to all members of the family but still permit you to purchase a subsidized phone, the iPod becomes moot. Why pay $200 or more for an iPod when you can buy a subsidized phone for the same price?
It's no surprise that iPod sales have rolled off. I think Apple knew they would from the day the first subsidized iPhone was available. But if they could get the iPod price below $100, I think sales would pick up substantially. The question is whether there's enough profit for Apple at that price to even bother. At $50 to $75, I think people would buy a lot of iPods for their kids.
Because that's ALL you pay, no service fees forever..... for people constantly in the presence of WiFi zones paying for voice services makes no sense. A similar reason why the LTE iPad mini is a solid choice for those demanding "larger" phone screens: data BUT no voice charges.
My iPod classic is slowly dying. What to do? I absolutely need the most space I can possibly get, because I have a ton of music I like to carry around. I also have a 32GB iPod Touch 5G, but I don't listen to music on it. So what do I buy to replace my classic? I could buy another classic, but it feels odd because for one, I'd like something solid state (I jog and my classic skips occasionally), and also, it feels like the classic is really a legacy product that will be discontinued shortly. So buying a classic at this moment feels like a losing proposition. If Apple comes out with a 128GB iPod Touch, I'd buy that as a replacement, but 64GB is just too little space.
Bottom line: Apple, give us an option for a 128GB IPT!
Hmmm: 128GB (LTE for the Cloud...) iPad Mini? Stick it in a waist pack for jogging alongside your Gu and water?
Comments
The $199 model is a new model. It's 16GB with a camera, which wasn't the case with the old cheapest iPod Touch.
This looks like getting the iPod Touch sales out of the way while Apple focuses on other stuff this fall.
Sometimes clearing inventories is clearing parts, not finished products.
-kpluck
How many iPod Touch Apple sold last quarter/year? Apple could turn around the iPod business with todays changes. I have been preaching Apple to start iPad model with 32GB for a long time.
Unless they are able to substantially reduce prices further, the market for the iPod is limited to those people who don't use a smartphone, need another device to play apps and music besides a phone for another household member or don't want the storage limited by email, etc.
As more phone companies adopt data plans which apply to all members of the family but still permit you to purchase a subsidized phone, the iPod becomes moot. Why pay $200 or more for an iPod when you can buy a subsidized phone for the same price?
It's no surprise that iPod sales have rolled off. I think Apple knew they would from the day the first subsidized iPhone was available. But if they could get the iPod price below $100, I think sales would pick up substantially. The question is whether there's enough profit for Apple at that price to even bother. At $50 to $75, I think people would buy a lot of iPods for their kids.
...
How can so many people be [pick an insult] enough to want a SMALLER iPad?! Smaller tablets and bigger phones? How [same insult] can people be?!
OK, strike my use of the letter A rather than the letter O. The reason I want an iPod touch with cellular data is that I sometimes have my iPad with me but I always have my iPod touch. They are both iOS devices but the iPod runs apps just like the iPhone, not a scaled down iPad app. Where there is wifi, all is well. If not, it would be very nice to have cellular data connectivity without the extra bulk of an iPhone (and legacy services with their associated costs).
Extending the month to month data for the iPod would be great because when I am in a location with ample wifi there is no monthly bill (think of it, an "iPhone" with no monthly bill!). Right now Apple has the benefit of the irrationality of fashion. Young children insist that they simply must have an iPhone and parents cave in. What happens when fashion changes? It would be very useful to have an "always connected" iOS device with no mandatory monthly bill to compete with what the cool kids insist is the only must have device.
So just to be clear, I already have my "smaller iPad" and it has more apps designed for it than any iPad (i.e. it runs all iOS apps that are specifically designed for the iPhone form factor). I just want to have the cellular data radio (which would undoubtedly be an option that adds ~$100) so internet connectivity would be improved when one wanders in the wilderness.
p.s. I recently was visiting relatives in Mexico, MO. I had cellular data turned on for my iPad and it did allow me to 'connect' to Verizon but it was neither LTE nor 3G. It was some connection that did not allow for connection to the internet. Bummer.
So should I upgrade from my 4th gen or wait for a possible 6th gen?
Unless they are able to substantially reduce prices further, the market for the iPod is limited to those people who don't use a smartphone, need another device to play apps and music besides a phone for another household member or don't want the storage limited by email, etc.
As more phone companies adopt data plans which apply to all members of the family but still permit you to purchase a subsidized phone, the iPod becomes moot. Why pay $200 or more for an iPod when you can buy a subsidized phone for the same price?
It's no surprise that iPod sales have rolled off. I think Apple knew they would from the day the first subsidized iPhone was available. But if they could get the iPod price below $100, I think sales would pick up substantially. The question is whether there's enough profit for Apple at that price to even bother. At $50 to $75, I think people would buy a lot of iPods for their kids.
The word subsidized really is a marketing gimmick. You are paying back with the two year plan. For exmaple, the AT&T $130/month two smartphones plan will cost you $3120 in two years. Compare this to the $50 to $75 price of your wish.
You can connect to internet via a smartphone which acts as a hotspot. You do not need the cellular built in iPod because you need a smartphone anyway.
I neither need nor want a smartphone. I just want the added feature in an iPod touch that is already an added feature in iPads. My iPad does have the same hotspot feature as an iPhone. I have used the iPad's hotspot sometimes. My experience is that it is as dumb as many public wifi hotspots that dump you and force you to reconnect if you aren't sufficiently actively sending or receiving packets. I'm no more than inches or feet away but it still petulantly disconnects because I am not being sufficiently attentive. I hope that this defective behavior is improved in iOS8.
The above paragraph may not be sufficiently argumentative. Cellphone technology is a crappy, legacy technology that got incredibly lucky when Apple decided to make great handheld unix based computers that included a cellular telephony component. The part of the cellular network that matters for 80 to 90 percent of what people do on iPhones is the data network. That is an expanded version of my first sentence.
... Why pay $200 or more for an iPod when you can buy a subsidized phone for the same price? ...
Because I am capable of performing simple arithmetic and plan to live more than the next few weeks?
The phones are not subsidized by some mysterious munificent entity. You are being billed every month and they don't have the decency to stop charging this rate after the cost has been amortized. While this magical thinking is an issue in the US market, I have read that we are the exception rather than the rule in other markets (i.e. paying upfront rather than being billed forever).
That’s Mexico for you.
No, not really….
…because the plan price is the same regardless of how you get the phone.
My iPod classic is slowly dying. What to do? I absolutely need the most space I can possibly get, because I have a ton of music I like to carry around. I also have a 32GB iPod Touch 5G, but I don't listen to music on it. So what do I buy to replace my classic? I could buy another classic, but it feels odd because for one, I'd like something solid state (I jog and my classic skips occasionally), and also, it feels like the classic is really a legacy product that will be discontinued shortly. So buying a classic at this moment feels like a losing proposition. If Apple comes out with a 128GB iPod Touch, I'd buy that as a replacement, but 64GB is just too little space.
Bottom line: Apple, give us an option for a 128GB IPT!
No, not really….
…because the plan price is the same regardless of how you get the phone.
Most people upgrade after the two year plan. The phone company already has this factored in the price.
Most people upgrade after the two year plan. The phone company already has this factored in the price.
And then they’re subsidized again, paying the same amount for the next two years. I don’t get your point.
And then they’re subsidized again, paying the same amount for the next two years. I don’t get your point.
Simple question to you. When does the $3120 go in two years? Only people poor in math think their smartphones are subsidized without thinking how much money they paid the telephone company in two years.
Even simpler question: Read the posts, please.
It’s so simple it’s not a question. You pay the same amount whether you subsidize or don’t. Except you pay MORE if you don’t, since you bought the device outright.
Even simpler question: Read the posts, please.
It’s so simple it’s not a question. You pay the same amount whether you subsidize or don’t. Except you pay MORE if you don’t, since you bought the device outright.
I never understand this. Why would people pay full price for a smartphone if it can be subsidized?
Because no contracts and unlocked, unless you then take it to one of these carriers, in which case you'll be paying the same price.
You're gonna have a monthly payment regardless.
If you buy a phone outright... you pay per month just for the service.
If you get a phone subsidized... you pay per month for the leasing of the phone and for the service.
A simple question to you... Where does the $480 go after 5 years of paying for Netflix?
Unless they are able to substantially reduce prices further, the market for the iPod is limited to those people who don't use a smartphone, need another device to play apps and music besides a phone for another household member or don't want the storage limited by email, etc.
As more phone companies adopt data plans which apply to all members of the family but still permit you to purchase a subsidized phone, the iPod becomes moot. Why pay $200 or more for an iPod when you can buy a subsidized phone for the same price?
It's no surprise that iPod sales have rolled off. I think Apple knew they would from the day the first subsidized iPhone was available. But if they could get the iPod price below $100, I think sales would pick up substantially. The question is whether there's enough profit for Apple at that price to even bother. At $50 to $75, I think people would buy a lot of iPods for their kids.
Because that's ALL you pay, no service fees forever..... for people constantly in the presence of WiFi zones paying for voice services makes no sense. A similar reason why the LTE iPad mini is a solid choice for those demanding "larger" phone screens: data BUT no voice charges.
My iPod classic is slowly dying. What to do? I absolutely need the most space I can possibly get, because I have a ton of music I like to carry around. I also have a 32GB iPod Touch 5G, but I don't listen to music on it. So what do I buy to replace my classic? I could buy another classic, but it feels odd because for one, I'd like something solid state (I jog and my classic skips occasionally), and also, it feels like the classic is really a legacy product that will be discontinued shortly. So buying a classic at this moment feels like a losing proposition. If Apple comes out with a 128GB iPod Touch, I'd buy that as a replacement, but 64GB is just too little space.
Bottom line: Apple, give us an option for a 128GB IPT!
Hmmm: 128GB (LTE for the Cloud...) iPad Mini? Stick it in a waist pack for jogging alongside your Gu and water?