macworld ipod gossip -- new $100 ipod to be unveiled?

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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)

Where do I line up to purchase one?

webcrack (music=crack), Thursday, 1 January 2004 21:12 (twenty-one years ago)

I've read in the local (re: Silicon Valley based) paper that Apple is almost certain NOT to reduce the price (or reduce the size), since demand for iPods has actually increased of late.

Leee Smith (Leee), Thursday, 1 January 2004 21:17 (twenty-one years ago)

not $100 but just out. Seems a bit pointless to me.

jed_ (jed), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 19:53 (twenty-one years ago)

what i mean by that is that its not significantly cheaper to justify its relatively small storage capacity.

jed_ (jed), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 19:57 (twenty-one years ago)

My thoughts exactly.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 20:00 (twenty-one years ago)

Agreed. It looks nice enough but it seems like it's a worse deal than the full-sized one. Not that I think the big one's a 'bad deal' (I own one), but you know.

Sean (Sean), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 20:04 (twenty-one years ago)

I dunno, I've talked to a few people who are eagerly awaiting this thing.

M Matos (M Matos), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 20:19 (twenty-one years ago)

From 10 minutes ago!
The iPod mini was announced this morning...
-------------------------------------------------------------
iPod Mini Steals Show at Macworld

Small, colored MP3 players are just the tip of new Apple offerings unveiled in San Francisco.

By Steve Enders, Tech Live Web producer

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)

ipod users have been clamouring for an armband? hahaha! and brown shirts too no doubt!

jed_ (jed), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 21:07 (twenty-one years ago)

I knew Mac users were secretly nazis.

El Diablo Robotico (Nicole), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 21:21 (twenty-one years ago)

"secretly"

Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 21:27 (twenty-one years ago)

Openly, happily and merrily, as compared to the squelching Wintel untermenschen, but we've been down this road.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 21:56 (twenty-one years ago)

I like the iPodmini but it's too expensive.

don weiner, Tuesday, 6 January 2004 21:59 (twenty-one years ago)

Windows users are secretly The Blob.

Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 22:03 (twenty-one years ago)

it looks like a toy - i don't like the way it looks.

jed_ (jed), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 22:07 (twenty-one years ago)

It is a toy, though!

El Diablo Robotico (Nicole), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 22:12 (twenty-one years ago)

What the fuck?
249 for less memory?

I am one of the mac faithful, but this sucks.

hector (hector), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 22:49 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah but, like, look how, like, pretty it, like, is.

Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 22:56 (twenty-one years ago)

Wankers. What I wanted was something cheapish with about 1 gig memory that works on plain old vanilla USB and doesn't require an operating system. OSX .x + Firewire? Fuck off and die.

Ben Dot (1977), Tuesday, 6 January 2004 23:17 (twenty-one years ago)

one month passes...
anyhow i am looking forward to getting it , onec it is true~ hope i can get her ~ it is my dream~

ali_enoc, Friday, 27 February 2004 11:59 (twenty-one years ago)

I want to know when the 120g version is coming out, I want to get my bootlegs happening!

mzui, Friday, 27 February 2004 12:42 (twenty-one years ago)


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