Apple Releases New Touch Screen iPod 866
JSM writes to tell us that Apple released a new version of their popular iPod music player today that boasts, among other things, an iPhone-like touch screen and Wi-Fi capabilities. "The iPod Touch will feature the Safari Internet browser and, like the iPhone, play YouTube videos. Apple also announced a new version of its iTunes music store that will allow users to buy songs wirelessly. iTunes will also sell customizable 99-cent ringtones for the iPhone."
Take That (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Take That (Score:5, Funny)
(Sorry, sorry)
Re:Take That (Score:4, Informative)
B.
Re:Take That (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Take That (Score:5, Insightful)
Skype that! (Score:5, Interesting)
One key feature missing... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:One key feature missing... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:One key feature missing... (Score:4, Informative)
Re:One key feature missing... (Score:5, Funny)
You could record your side of the conversation on your computer before calling somebody, put it on your iPod as an MP3, and then play it back for your friend via VOIP! Just leave a lot of pauses, they'll never know the difference...
Re:No, it's genious. (Score:4, Funny)
It looks like an iPhone. (Score:5, Funny)
Great. - I've always said something like this: one day they'll build cell phones that can do nearly everything except making a phone call, and now they did it. I'm speechless.
Re:It looks like an iPhone. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Take That (Score:5, Insightful)
Apart from the price differences on these, there's also the size and power consumption to consider.
Re:Take That (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Take That (Score:4, Insightful)
Here's an idea! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Here's an idea! (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Here's an idea! (Score:5, Funny)
AND A PORTABLE INTERNET COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE! OMG!!!!!!!1111 lim(x->0,sin(x)/x)
(Someone link the Maddox piece)
Re:Here's an idea! (Score:5, Funny)
4GB iPhone on sale for $299 (Score:5, Informative)
Re:4GB iPhone on sale for $299 (Score:5, Funny)
Re:4GB iPhone on sale for $299 (Score:5, Funny)
Yeah, and after years, Cmdr Taco finally has to eat his words about the iPod being lame because it doesn't have wifi.
Re:4GB iPhone on sale for $299 (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:4GB iPhone on sale for $299 (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:4GB iPhone on sale for $299 (Score:4, Insightful)
Remember, they aren't really taking anything away from you by lowering the price of their current/future products, they are simply giving everybody more value for their money.
Re:4GB iPhone on sale for $299 (Score:5, Insightful)
At any rate, I'd bet that if you're persistent enough, you can probably get a refund for the difference and/or make an exchange for the next model up. It's in Apple's best interest to keep happy customers, so they'll probably do what they can to make you happy.
so close.. needs more GB (Score:5, Insightful)
Otherwise it looks nice.
Re:so close.. needs more GB (Score:5, Insightful)
Supply, demand, repeat (Score:5, Insightful)
Yes, they could jam a hard drive in there.
BUT
Yes, you might not have the capacity you want now
Wasn't long ago the idea of a flash-based iPod was seriously scoffed at on
Re:so close.. needs more GB (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:so close.. needs more GB (Score:4, Funny)
No camera, either. That's a heck of a loss.
Guess Apple has to leave people some reason to buy an iPhone instead.
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Have they started with the subsidizing? (Score:5, Interesting)
Of course, it's also possible that they inflated the initial sale price a little to allow for the steep drop. This would seem like a good way to make a little extra money and reinforce the exclusivity of iPhone ownership, but dropping the price now has to piss off existing customers, who must feel like they've been had.
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
No, they are selling at max willingness to pay ... (Score:5, Insightful)
No, Apple is maximizing revenue. It is called walking down the price curve. Everyone has a different willingness to pay, some much higher than others. If you make a product available to everyone at a widely acceptable price you lose revenue from those who would have paid more. So you introduce a product at a high price point that only a few are willing to pay and slowly reduce the price over time. This way all sales are closer to what the various individuals were willing to pay. Note that there needs to be an absence of substitute products. Sometimes this strategy fits in well with initial production and supply problems. However in this case I expect it is mostly revenue maximization.
Re:No, they are selling at max willingness to pay (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Have they started with the subsidizing? (Score:4, Insightful)
Bingo! Basically, they figured that they'd sell a metric butt-load for the first two weeks regardless of price, so they decided to price them ludicrously to take advantage of that. It's economics 101. Early adopters pay through the nose - especially in consumer electronics. The same thing happened with the Razr - it came out at $400 or something crazy (with a contract), was super-popular, and then when the rage started to die down, the price started dropping. The iPhone is a slightly more extreme example of this, but it's not a new concept, especially in the fast moving mobile phone market.
Re:Have they started with the subsidizing? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:"Isn't Well" you mean? (Score:4, Insightful)
Apple then released the iPod Touch, which delivers 60% of the iPhone's features - no cell, no Bluetooth, no camera, no mic or speakers, but largely everything else: the iPod and the "Breakthrough Internet Device!!" The iPhone's price had to drop. Anyone who wanted an iPhone got their phone, and now millions more will grab one at the lower price. People complaining about the $200 price drop should take some consolation from the recent $600 price drop on the significantly improved iMac, and the fact that the iPhone's hardware price is only a small fraction of the price with service. So ownership of the iPhone didn't drop by some monumental huge percentage, but merely from $2000 to $1800 across its two year contract.
Will it be able to run the same 3rd party apps.... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Will it be able to run the same 3rd party apps. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Will it be able to run the same 3rd party apps. (Score:4, Informative)
AAPL down 3.5% (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
"The iPhone buzz is wearing off.
"AT&T (T - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating) shares dropped 2% Wednesday after Apple (AAPL - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating) made two moves that took a little more sparkle off this summer's heavily hyped smartphone debut. "
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:AAPL down 3.5% (Score:5, Informative)
Re:AAPL down 3.5% (Score:5, Informative)
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Can't alienate many Apple early adopters ... (Score:4, Insightful)
The flaw with your logic is that your are assuming that these early iPhone buyers are part of a rational market. They are not. Those early adopters already got want they wanted, winning the pissing contest, first on their block, attention, etc. Anyone with half a brain new that these high prices were temporary. Also, may were hard core Apple fans. Some of these people may kick themselves for not waiting, but they will not abandon Apple.
Re:Can't alienate many Apple early adopters ... (Score:5, Insightful)
You grossly misrepresent my position regarding those who purchased iPhones immediately. They are not idiots, just impatient or vain in the pissing contest sense, and they are very forgiving so this price drop will not diminish their numbers.
You also misrepresent Apple's business plan. The supertrendy and/or hardcore don't represent the 10 million unit target, merely the initial round of buying. That 10 million will predominantly represent the patient who have waited. The price drop will be a triggering event for many, validating their patience in their mind.
Your argument is that the iPhone only aims to be a cult device
Uh, no. I argue that Apple is walking down the price curve to sell to each person at their willingness to pay in order to maximize iPhone revenue. Mass market products do this, not niche products.
That's a foolish argument, Mac fans with mod points have not really been known for their open minded and non-cultlike mods.
meh. (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
The iPod is no longer lame.
Boned and cool (Score:5, Insightful)
$.99 ringtone on top of $.99 to buy the song (certain songs only) - BONED
Starbucks "integration" - now my iPhone will spend a few extra seconds every time I hook up to a Wifi access point looking for coffee music - BONED
We managed to fit really nice HDs in iPods, but not the new Touch iPod - but you get a few millimeters back - BONED
$599 to $399 price drop in 2 months - EXTREMELY BONED
iTunes Store wireless - kind of cool. Wish they'd do the same thing with TV shows in music (that's what I'd be inclined to buy in an airport somewhere)
All in all, a particularly boneworthy afternoon.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
- Bender Bending Rodriguez, circa 3000AD
Re:Boned and cool (Score:4, Informative)
Don't get fooled: The new nano isn't that much wider: 52mm vs 40mm for the old version, but it's much shorter: 70mm instead of 90mm. Thickness remains the same with 6.5mm, weight goes up to 49g from 40g. So it looks much fatter, but actually it isn't, it's just slightly bigger.
Re:Boned and cool (Score:4, Interesting)
current round-up (Score:5, Informative)
iPod shuttle
just new colors
1GB, $US79
iPod nano
all new with 320*240 2" screen, can play video, coverflow, brighter display
4GB $149, 8GB $US 199
slighly wider, but much shorter, 20% heavier than previous model
iPod classic
like the old iPod, now with 80GB/160GB instead of 30GB/80GB, coverflow
80GB $249, 160GB $US 349
iPod touch
like the iPhone without the phone
slightly smaller and slimmer: iPhone is 45% thicker
8mm thin
WiFi, Safari
8GB $US 299, 16GB $US 399
iPhone
killed the 4GB version
reduced 8GB version from $US599 to $US 399
11.6mm thin
Re:current round-up (Score:5, Funny)
(I bought a 4 GB refurb model last week for $399. However, that does not qualify me for a shirt.)
Changes the Web (Score:3, Interesting)
How many hands is this new iPod going to go into? How many of them will start really doing mobile web browsing as a day-to-day activity? Mobile facebook is digital crack, that you can't leave at your home or in your laptop now.
Man I wish these things had GPS...
I'm disappointed... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:I'm disappointed... (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:I'm disappointed... (Score:4, Interesting)
Eliminate the hard drive, and that leaves the battery and the screen as the only failure-prone components.
Not impressed with the new Fat Nano (Score:5, Interesting)
Nice job on the other ipods though. Hacked Ipodtouch + Skype = Goodness? Boy would that put a stick in Apple's craw.
Best comment heard so far regarding the Nano: "Does it do the truffle shuffle?"
Re:Not impressed with the new Fat Nano (Score:4, Informative)
What good is Skype if you have no microphone?
Re:Not impressed with the new Fat Nano (Score:5, Funny)
Overall, not a bad event (Score:5, Insightful)
The iPhone news was the biggest let down. For all the talk of Apple "redefining" the cellphone industry, the event today showed that they have no intentions of being anything other than just another gouger. The write-up was wrong. Ringtones aren't $0.99, they are $0.99 for songs that you purchased already from itunes, so they are $1.98 and you can't use music that you got from other sources.
The other nice move was dropping the price on the iphone. I personally think this is a great move, even if it is a slap in the face to all the early adopters (henceforth referred to as "suckers"). It was also a nice fuck-in-the-ass to all the ebayers who are sitting on $200 losses now.
There you go (Score:5, Funny)
Direct competitor to the nokia N800 (Score:5, Interesting)
I am not suggesting a "Touch" will have an open platform, ready for hacking. But for the regular folk, who just
want Wifi, and an agenda/calendar, the Touch will be enough. Wifi, in my opinion, is the killer app for those who
don't want a cell phone (yes, we exist) but want an agenda. Others will prefer to continue to use a phone as a phone
and get an ipod for its wifi. The greymarket of iphones being shipped overseas (even before the hacks) are evidence
that there is a market for this.
Also, I own a N800 and an Ipod video, and in my opinion the sound quality of the N800 is lower than the ipod. But that is just my opinion.
--dmg
iTouch = loss of functionality? (Score:4, Insightful)
The iPod is already harder to use than many other brands with buttons if you're driving, cycling, jogging, or walking and want to be able to adjust volume or start/stop without looking at the device. With a fair amount of practice you can learn to orient the iPod and manipulate the scroll wheel without looking at it. Is this even theoretically feasible with an iTouch? Or am I going to have to dodge imbeciles swerving all over the road while scrolling through their playlist even more than I do already?
Depends on the control config (Score:3, Informative)
The iPhone headphones also allow you to pause music or skip tracks with a small device attached to the headphone wires, and I'm thinking the iPod touch will probably be able to use the same headphones.
Re:iTouch = loss of functionality? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:iTouch = loss of functionality? (Score:4, Interesting)
Transition (Score:5, Insightful)
The release of the iPhone went well, but it's really pricey and historically first gen Apple products do little more than set the paradigm and show future promise. By the time we get second and third gen iPhones they'll probably be pretty amazing and a lot cheaper. Just comparing my second gen iPod to the advances made in say, the fourth generation (third introduced major changes, but fourth is where it stabilized design, went color, and started to move more heavily into video) are pretty staggering.
At the same time they're trying to reconcile the popularity of the iPhone with their ongoing iPod line and their iPod Nano line, but without dropping the core functionality of the iPod to such a degree that they lose business (i.e. by cutting the space to make room for the new features). As a result we have a mish-mash of product lines going on right now each of them with flaws.
If anyone out there is interested in purchasing a device now is probably the worst time. Give Apple a year or so and we'll start seeing further consolidation into a more stable product line that better integrates the features of each of their currently available products. Eventually I expect we'll be getting an 80 Gig iPhone with wi-fi and third-party apps, probably in only a year or two based on the way things have been moving so far.
When they stop making changes and start introducing only gradual improvements (like when the video iPod simply came out in a model with more storage) that's the time to go grab it. Based on their past performance though, I'd suggest waiting until then.
Re:Transition (Score:5, Insightful)
If I like the product they are offering now, then just how does the "stability" of Apple's product line even enter the picture? Will I buy an iPod, take it home, only to have it fluctuate into a different product I didn't want when I'm not looking? Sheesh.
I think claims of not buying the first generation are pretty valid, but saying "this product isn't very good right now, because of other products the company is also selling at the same time" is the lamest excuse for now being the "worst time to buy" I've ever heard.
This is exactly what I've been waiting for. (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:This is exactly what I've been waiting for. (Score:5, Informative)
I image it won't be long before people get things like Mail.app, google maps, and the other iPhone apps working on the iPhone Touch. I don't know of any reason it can't do everything the iPhone does with the exception of making phone calls and EDGE.
Re:This is exactly what I've been waiting for. (Score:4, Informative)
The only Bluetooth device supported on the iPhone is headsets. Someone might make keyboards work in the future, but it doesn't today.
No Mail app? (Score:3, Insightful)
Web mail sucks anyway. Besides, you couldn't configure a web mail client to auto check your email - say every time you have WiFi access. I really hope they include Mail at some point very soon in the future. Otherwise I think people will probably try to hack the Mail app on the iPhone to run on the iPod.
Oh, and no Google Maps either!? WTF!
What about the OS requirements? (Score:5, Interesting)
Can anyone point me to some info as to what functionality I'll lose if I don't upgrade my OS (not to mention upgrading iTunes itself)?
Funny how WindowsXP+SP2 is sufficient for all the new iPods but on Apple's own OS I would have to buy an upgrade. Grrrr....
Let me get this straight (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Let me get this straight (Score:5, Insightful)
But, try it from this point of view:
Buy a ringtone from AT&T / Verizon / etc. for $2.50. You don't get to pick specifically what you want to use as the ringtone from that download, and in addition, you don't get to have the entire song that you want to make into that ringtone.
So, for $2, you get an entire song, and up to a 30 second ringtone custom configured so you can hear what you want to hear
Or, for $2.50, you get a ringtone of a pre-determined length, and only that ringtone, no entire song
Newton! (Score:4, Insightful)
General Question? (Score:5, Insightful)
Question: If a company purchases a few million additional components which is used in both the iPhone and ipod touch wouldn't that drive the cost down of the iphone?
To me I see the Ipod touch as an iphone in a different suit. And since the iphone is only available in the US market their new phone (or a lot of the required components) just opened up to a massive market including Japan, UK, Canada, etc.. Also, the early adopters who went out and spent the money only proved the market was ready for such a change in user input.
So to all future buyers of the iphone, you just lucked out. At least Apple appears to be bringing the cost savings back to the consumer. . or this could be an evil scheme to take over the phone market!
Re:argh (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re:argh (Score:5, Informative)
Yes, there are shortcomings using either the Safari or POP version of GMail, but (and maybe I'm fanboi rationalizing), POP works for me for my mobile email needs...
One more thing. I think the iPod Touch is very cool, but I'm not complaining about shelling out more for the iPhone--email (yeah, yeah, they could put the email client on the Touch), camera, sms, and...phone make it worth the extra bucks...
Re:argh (Score:5, Informative)
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
Comment removed (Score:4, Funny)
Re:All I want for Christmas, or any day before tha (Score:5, Funny)
In other words -- get over it already. You're not unique or interesting because you developed a filing system in your head that's less intuitive for 99.9% of the rest of the world.
reports of the iPhone death are exaggerated (Score:3, Informative)
Not so much cheaper. The iPhone 8Gig is now just $399. The 4Gig is $299 while supplies last.
I am very happy with my iPhone (Score:4, Interesting)
Don't feel sorry for the million of us that have iPhones, though. They have combined a number of features we have been clamoring for and have done a damn good job of it. Honestly, the phone part of the iPhone is its best part. It is still the best phone I have ever used, even without features I used to rely on - such as the excellent voice dialing of the Motorola E815, Bluetooth synchronization, etc. To be quite honest, the iPod part of the iPhone is where it falls down - not able to manually manage music, not able to create new playlists even though there is a software keyboard, etc. SMS and calling features are pretty awesome.
Re:Why not update the official ipod site? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Why not update the official ipod site? (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Keyboard display? (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Newton Redo (Score:4, Funny)
Not only can it sync with outlook but it also formats your new iMac and installs Windows XP SP2.
Apple has realized that MS products are so superb in the areas of efficiency and user friendliness and are focusing on integrating their entire product line-up with whatever products Microsoft has to offer.
As far as other apps it can run, it can crash regularly on MS Word, Excel, and garble up its slideshows so they look like powerpoint, so Microsoft noobs can feel right at home with it.