$99 iPod On Friday?
One site (iPodHacks.com) is spreading a rumor that Apple will offer a $99 iPod. Me thinks not. Perhaps $149-$199 in the current form factor is a possibility, but $99 - no way. Except, if it were to be a larger version (ala Rev. 1) with changeable batteries and back to the old mechanical scroll wheel... then maybe? We'll see what the "several surprises" Apple promises are, soon enough.
Comments
(please please please please Steve)
Even though the iPod is the currently the best selling MP3 player on the market, it needs to go for the jugular. By addressing the low end of the market, it'll squash any possible competitors and secure the MP3 market(and iTMS) for good.
for one thing, Apple never really caters to lowest common denominator, they make premium products that cost a good amount. it's just not Apple's style to release a "cheapy" version.
i very well might eat my words, but i don't see a cheap iPod coming out... if so, definitely not $99. maybe a $200 model?
Originally posted by spaz
for one thing, Apple never really caters to lowest common denominator
i tunes for windows?
Originally posted by MacsRGood4U
One site (iPodHacks.com) is spreading a rumor that Apple will offer a $99 iPod.
That sounds too good to be true, although I would certainly jump on a $99 iPod (or two, the first one for my wife, the second for me). I wouldn't even mind if it were based on flash memory instead of a small HDD. But I think that a $199 5GB iPod is more likely. Even though I hope that Apple introduces a small flash memory-based iPod, I fear that they won't sell anything that can fit your entire MP3 collection (or at least a substantial chunk of it).
Escher
Originally posted by Akumulator
I think they should release a miniPod. I like the idea of those very small mp3 players, even if they only hold a small amount of music.
Ewy ewy ew!
Something else to consider...people keep saying "Introduce the 5GB for $99"...but this presumes (probably incorrectly) that the 5GB drives are actually that much cheaper than a 10GB drive. They probably are not.
Originally posted by Chris Cuilla
There was a report a few days ago suggesting that Apple's profit margins at least on the high-end iPod was $175.
That's gotta be bull. First off, Apple keeps it's margins under lock and key and I highly doubt such a specific leak could occur without more media coverage. Second, there is no way Apple is turning over 35% on these things...maybe on gross margins, not profit. In the manufacturing business, 10% is considered highway robbery. However, given the fact that Apple typically doesn't drop prices much in a single product cycle, it's possible they pull in up to 20% or so toward the end of a particular cycle if prices on several components drop at once, but I'm sure that's a rarity.
Originally posted by ast3r3x
Ewy ewy ew!
I didn't say I'd get one... I love my iPod. But I've seen a couple of the small mp3 players and am impressed that it can play music at all. small. very small. like this -----> .
Also, Apple's music strategy is clearly in the iTunes Music Store. The more people on iPods, the better number of users on ITMS, the better the rates they can negotiate with studios, the better the profits.
Mid-market people complain that Macs are more expensive then their PC counterparts, a cheapo iPod would make Apple completely mass market and potentially get some switchers along the way.
how 'bout an iPod with a kind of RAM disk? are 5Gigs are soo $$$?
and:
form factor will be again just a little smaller - just the screen, butttons at the side...