iTunes, Apple ultimately in trouble? (1 Viewer)

[Brian-W]

Jobs made no sense at all:


Yep, because the $100-$200 market = a $249 iPod that has 3x less storage than the model above it for $50 more.

This time, I'll call Apple a bunch of idiots. $199 would have made more sense, and even $149-$179 would have been huge. But $249? That's not a good number.

 

[Kristoffer]

Well its up at www.apple.com now...But for 250$ you don't even get the dockingstation which is
39$!

 

[Lee Scoggins]

$249?

That does seem high if they are going after the $100-200 market. And three times the storage for another $50.

Seems to incremental to me. Maybe we get discounting to $200 but still....

 

[Seth_L]

Well it appears I was partially wrong in that I assumed it would be the same capacity as the current 3rd gen ones.

However, my main point that the rumored $99-$129 low capacity, low cost Ipod wouldn't materialize was certainly true.

 

[Lee Scoggins]

I think 4GB qualifies for low capacity these days given the advancements in disc drives. I'm not sure $249 exactly qualifies as low cost however.

You gotta like the cool colors, though.

 

[Seth_L]

You can get an extra 11gig for $50. How do they plan to sell these?

 

[Marc Colella]

I'm not understanding their pricing on this one.

drop another $50-$100 and it'll be worth it.

4GBs is considerable smaller storage, but I have the older 5GB model and it's more than enough. I've got almost 700 songs stored - none of which are below 192Kbps, while a nice amount are at 256Kbps.

If these mini-iPod's were priced better, and my current iPod died tomorrow - I would've picked up one of these. But at this price - there's no point... I'd spend the little extra cash and get alot more storage.

 

[Patrick Larkin]

Obviousy, they are going after people who want SMALLER iPods. That is the ONLY reason one would buy this. I was shocked as was the audience at the $249. It just doesn't make sense, especially RIGHT after Jobs announced the $299 model was being bumped to 15GB.

The only thing I can fathom is that they are going after the early adopters based on SIZE and then will "lower" the price to $199 at a later date.

It appears that iTunes can only be upgraded by buying the whole 5 app bundle? However, thats probably the BEST $49 anyone has ever spent on software.

 

[Brian-W]

Historically Apple products are never more than $5-$10 cheaper at retail. iPods certainly won't be...

So don't expect a $200 discounted 4GB iPod.

Actually, I take that back, you can pick up your $200 4GB iPod when they clear out all the unsold ones.

 

[Dave Bennett]

The only real discounts on Apple products come from their educational discounts.
I'm in agreement, though, it really doesn't make sense to me. 4gb or 15gb for 50 bucks more? Like someone said, they must be going after people who saw the iPods size as a problem and not it's capacity. Still I was suprised and a bit disappointed to see it wasn't even $200. Guess my TDK Mojo MP3 CD player will be staying with me for a while longer.

 

[Patrick Larkin]

iPod Mini is $229 education price.

 

[DonRoeber]

I ordered an iPod Mini today. I work at a university, so I was able to get educational pricing. $229 for the iPod and $29 for iLife.

My new iPod will be replacing an origional scroll wheel 5GB iPod. For me, the disk capacity has never been a problem, I sync fairly often. I really like the physical size of the thing. I'm looking forward to it arriving.

 

[dpippel]

I'm in agreement about the price on iPod Mini. If it was sub-$200 it would be worth considering, but not at $249. I'd either spend the extra $50 and get a 15GB iPod or spend the same $250 and go for a 15GB Dell Jukebox. What the heck is Apple thinking?

Oh yeah, and apparently the iPod Mini won't be shipping from the Apple Store for over a *month*. February 16th is the ship date if you put one in your cart. Yikes.

 

[Patrick Larkin]

Well, I can understand what they are thinking. I paid substantially more for my digital camera because I wanted one with a very small form factor. Smaller is usually more expensive.

 

[dpippel]

Could be Patrick, but the iPod Mini isn't that much smaller than the original. We're only talking .5" shorter, .4" narrower, and .12" shallower. The weight savings over the (slightly) larger 15/20GB model is only two ounces. If I were basing my purchasing decision on form factor alone those specs certainly wouldn't make up for the less than great capacity/cost ratio. I do like the combined control wheel better than the original iPod's combination of wheel and buttons, but I think Apple misread the market on this product.

 

[Nelson Au]

While I was watching the Keynote and saw the minipod shown and heard the price and specs, I was excited at first, then thought the pricing was kinda high.

But then after looking at it again on apple.com you have to hand it to them. They know the market, they are not going after the people who frequent this site, they are hitting the biggest music market, the teen market with parents who will pay the price for them. Also consider that the pairing with AOL is also such a smart move. The large membership there should find a few new user to join iTunes.

I like the new minipod. The part that appeals to me is the new thinness, the options for color, though I'd get a silver one to match my PowerBook and the smaller capacity will not be an issue as I would be setting up a playlist of songs I am into at the moment.

As was said, we are going to be paying a slight premium now for these new minipods for thinness, and newness and coolness factor. It will come down. And as such a large customer base are college students, they'll get the edu discount.

So I think I may go for one. Certainly the older one which I have, I don't take out of the house because of fear of scratching the metal back and front. The new ones are lighter, thin and will be great for when I go cycling and out and about.

My 2 cents. Nelson

PS. One other thing, the previous poster didn't feel the size difference isn't that great. I bet once you see one and hold one in person, your opinion may change, I doubt that many people here has seen one in person. I'll let you know if I see one at MacWorld today.

 

[RaulR]

Well, considering that you're comparing it to the iPod and not, say, a laptop, I'd say that's pretty darned small. Any smaller and you'd have trouble reading what's on the screen and only a child would be able to use the controls efficiently.

 

[dpippel]

The way it's designed, yes. My point was that TO ME, the very slight size difference doesn't warrant paying a premium when I can spend just a little more money and get greater than 3X the storage capacity. I think the original iPod is plenty small. Apple would have better served it's customers by working on smaller price instead of downsizing the packaging. My opinion.

Nelson may be onto something concerning the coolness factor with younger buyers who can get mom and dad to spring for one though. The colors could be a big draw. Big enough? Time will tell ... when they finally start shipping that is.

 

[RaulR]

Regarding the size: I think Apple had marketing-related factors to consider. A "mini" version of the iPod would have to look different from the original somehow, and what's more logical than having its smaller capacity reflected in a smaller size?

I do agree with you about the price, though. Apple may be hoping that people will go for the iPod Mini for the sheer "coolness" factor. If the Mini isn't the runaway success that the original iPod was, we may yet see a price drop.

 

[Justin Lane]

While the mini seems quite overpriced, I do like the increase to 15 GB for the entry level model. This makes the iPod more competive with the Zen Nomad from a price/storage standpoint. I see the mini becoming popular with the younger crowd, where features such as color are as much a selling factor as size and functionality.

J