Entertainment - Variety Apple may unveil iPod costing less than $100 Mon Dec 29, 7:00 PM ET
BEN FRITZ
(Variety) A $100 iPod may be on the way, according to Apple industry watchers, who report CEO Steve Jobs will announce a new line of less expensive iPods at MacWorld Expo next week.
While Apple dominates the upper end of the portable digital music market, a cheaper iPod would challenge less expensive MP3 players from big-name competitors such as Dell and Sony.
Dell's recently launched digital music player line starts at $224 for 15 gigabytes of storage, while the cheapest iPod is $299 for 10 GB. Sony has said it plans to launch a $60 MP3 player in 2004.
According to Mac insider Web site Think Secret, the new iPods would hold between 400 and 800 songs, while the smallest current model holds 2,500 songs. Existing iPod models also would offer new colors.
"Clearly Dell entered at an aggressive price point and Apple has to offer something competitive," said analyst Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group.
Apple, as always, is keeping silent about any upcoming product launches.
― Danny Quintana (danny quintana), Thursday, 1 January 2004 20:01 (twenty-one years ago)
― webcrack (music=crack), Thursday, 1 January 2004 21:12 (twenty-one years ago)
― Leee Smith (Leee), Thursday, 1 January 2004 21:17 (twenty-one years ago)
― jed_ (jed), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 19:53 (twenty-one years ago)
― jed_ (jed), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 19:57 (twenty-one years ago)
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 20:00 (twenty-one years ago)
― Sean (Sean), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 20:04 (twenty-one years ago)
― M Matos (M Matos), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 20:19 (twenty-one years ago)
The iPod has a mini-me.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs kicked off the annual Macworld Expo in San Francisco Tuesday morning commemorating 20 years of the Apple Macintosh and announcing a new line of miniature iPods that are about the size of a business card.
The new MP3 players, derived from the company's wildly successful iPod players, are available now but won't ship in the United States until Feb. 16. For $249, iPod mini users get 4GB of music storage, the familiar iPod user interface, and a choice of five colored aluminum models that stray from the traditional white models.
Tonight on "Tech Live," get the very latest from Macworld, including an up-close look at iPod mini, and a slew of other announcements made during Jobs' keynote address.
Mini-dissappointment?
For weeks, Apple rumor sites have been pumping up the prospect of miniature iPod models. Most speculation pointed to models of 2GB or less for around $100. As usual, Apple proved most of the rumors either wrong or only partially correct.
On the heels of the pre-show speculation, Jobs' announcement of the 4GB iPod mini drew muted applause from the crowd that packed San Francisco's Moscone Center.
It would seem the Mac faithful wanted less from Apple this time -- less storage and a lower price.
Just prior to announcing the $249 iPod mini, Jobs announced Apple was boosting the bottom line of the traditional iPod, taking it from 10GB to 15GB and keeping the price static at $299.
With the iPod mini, for $50 less, music lovers will get 4GB of storage, albeit in a much smaller iPod package. The business-card sized iPod comes in five colors -- blue, pink, gold, green, and brushed aluminum. It also comes with an optional dock for synching and charging the device, a new belt clip, and an optional armband -- something many active iPod users have been clamoring for.
― Ben Boyer (Ben Boyer), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 20:49 (twenty-one years ago)
― jed_ (jed), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 21:07 (twenty-one years ago)
― El Diablo Robotico (Nicole), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 21:21 (twenty-one years ago)
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― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 22:03 (twenty-one years ago)
― jed_ (jed), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 22:07 (twenty-one years ago)
― El Diablo Robotico (Nicole), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 22:12 (twenty-one years ago)
I am one of the mac faithful, but this sucks.
― hector (hector), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 22:49 (twenty-one years ago)
― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 22:56 (twenty-one years ago)
― Ben Dot (1977), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 23:17 (twenty-one years ago)
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― mzui, Friday, 27 February 2004 12:42 (twenty-one years ago)